1.5GW of which is in final engineering stage
California’s largest utility company, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), has reported another increase in its data center pipeline.
In its Q2 earnings report, the utility said that it now has 10GW of capacity in its pipeline, expected for connection over the next ten years.
This is a rise from May, when it reported an 8.7GW pipeline, and February, when the company said it had a pipeline of 5.5GW.
Of the 10GW, 17 data center projects with a combined capacity of 1.5GW are in the final engineering phases, with operations slated to begin between 2026 and 2030. The majority are in San Jose, Silicon Valley, and the greater San Francisco Bay Area, but also include some in the Central Valley and Sacramento.
The utility claims that the added capacity will have a net positive impact on ratepayers' electricity costs. PG&E said that it expects customers across its footprint could save between one to two percent on their monthly bills.
"Data centers are powering more than just the digital world—they're helping power California's future, and PG&E is proud to lead the way in meeting growing demand for data centers," said Mike Medeiros, vice president, South Bay Delivery, PG&E. "This growth can help lower costs for all electric customers while creating tens of thousands of jobs and billions in local revenue."
In addition, the utility has said that energy demand created by the additional capacity will allow it to utilize more of its existing power infrastructure, with the PG&E grid currently 45 percent utilized on average. As a result, by spreading the fixed costs of operating and maintaining the grid over more units of energy, the utility will be able to increase the average grid utilization rate.
While making continued progress on connecting up data centers to the Californian grid, the utility narrowly missed estimates for Q2 profits, with its operating and maintenance costs rising by 3.7 percent. PG&E had been previously blamed as the root cause of several wildfires due to maintenance issues, and since then, it has been investing heavily to improve the reliability of the grid.
The utility has made several notable announcements within the data center space in 2025 so far. Late last year, the utility announced that it would develop three data centers in San Jose, totaling 200MW. The project is being developed in partnership with real estate firm Westbank.
Last month, the company signed a first-of-its-kind Implementation Agreement with the City of San Jose to streamline and guarantee power delivery for data centers and other large load customers.
The utility has also recently partnered with smart transmission firm Smart Wires on a new project aiming to enhance grid reliability and support the growth of data center energy consumption in San Jose.
