PG&E data center pipeline edges up to 12.87GW in Q3

PG&E's data center pipeline reached 12.87GW in the third quarter, up marginally from the 12.71GW the California utility reported in July. CEO Patricia Poppe disclosed the figures on the company's Q3 earnings call, where she said the utility is focused on grid modernization to support 1.8GW of potential data center demand through 2030.

The pipeline's composition matters more than its headline size. Of the 12.87GW total, 8.35GW sits in the application and preliminary engineering phase, 3.88GW is in final engineering, 400MW has reached the interconnection construction agreement phase, and 240MW is actually in construction.

That construction figure is the real movement. It's up from 140MW reported in June. Earlier results had shown the pipeline more than double in size, and Poppe acknowledged at the time that not every project in the queue will reach completion.

"We are continuing to build a high-quality data center pipeline and providing visibility into how projects advance from application to energization," Poppe said on the call.

How much capacity is already live?

Since 2024, PG&E has brought 174MW of data center projects online, according to the CEO. "As we look to bring more of our pipeline into service, our focus will continue to be on doing so in a way that will improve affordability for existing customers," she said.

That affordability framing is deliberate. Large new loads can shift costs onto residential and business ratepayers, and regulators in California watch that closely.

What does this change for the San Jose project?

The utility is still waiting on the California Public Utilities Commission to rule on its agreement with Google to build a 250MW data center in San Jose. The project needs a new 230kV switching station, underground lines, and a connection to a high-voltage line. It has faced delays and local opposition.

PG&E has spent 2025 laying groundwork for exactly these large-load deals:

• Early in the year, it 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.
• It recently partnered with smart transmission firm Smart Wires on a project to enhance grid reliability and support data center energy consumption growth in San Jose.

Capital plan cut, undergrounding continues

The quarter wasn't all growth. PG&E reduced its capital plan by $2 billion, a response to sub-investment-grade borrowing costs that make debt-funded infrastructure spending more expensive.

Despite the trim, the utility says it's still pursuing its ten-year, 5,000-mile (8,046km) undergrounding initiative to improve system safety — a core wildfire-mitigation program.

Financially, the company earned $2.285bn in the third quarter, up from $2.281bn in the same period a year earlier. Essentially flat. The earnings call paired that steady result with a pipeline that grows slowly at the top but is converting faster at the bottom, where projects break ground.

For data center operators watching California, the signal is that PG&E's queue is maturing rather than ballooning: more megawatts in final engineering and construction, fewer speculative additions. The 240MW now under construction, up 100MW since June, is the number to track.