Pacific Gas and Electric now has 12.7 GW of data center projects in its pipeline, with 490 MW having signed interconnection agreements and another 3.9 GW in final engineering, company officials said Thursday during a second-quarter earnings call. The California utility's queue has swung dramatically over the past year as it tightens vetting standards, and CEO Patti Poppe said the company is now prioritizing quality over scale as it works to attract data center customers that benefit existing ratepayers.
The utility's data center pipeline has fluctuated sharply over recent months, standing at 7.3 GW at the end of 2025 before dropping to 5.4 GW in the first quarter of 2026 as projects exited the queue. Thursday's investor presentation revised the first-quarter figure down further to 5.1 GW, reflecting changes to the company's methodology. Despite attracting interest from some larger developments this past quarter, smaller data centers with electric demand under a gigawatt make up most of the company's current queue. Poppe said she expects to serve 1.8 GW of new data center load by 2030. The company's five-year capital plan totals $73 billion, with about $58 billion earmarked for transmission and distribution lines and $3 billion for power generation.
"As we continue to build our pipeline, we're focusing not on size, but on quality," Poppe told analysts on Thursday's call. The utility remains focused on pricing data center load to be attractive to those customers while still reducing rates for other customers, she said, noting that done correctly, these efforts can help build a high-confidence pipeline that lowers electric bills, drives economic growth, and keeps California at the forefront of technology and innovation. Executives attributed the pipeline changes to stricter vetting of potential projects and expressed confidence that their efforts to attract the right kind of customer are paying off.
The shifting data center strategy comes as PG&E continues managing significant wildfire-related costs and liabilities. The company faces $400 million in liabilities for the 2022 Mosquito Fire and $2.25 billion related to the 2021 Dixie Fire, though it expects to receive $1.25 billion from the state Wildfire Fund for the Dixie Fire. Earlier this month, the California Public Utilities Commission proposed a $22 million penalty settlement for the Mosquito Fire that would end the agency's investigation. PG&E executive vice president and CFO Carolyn Burke said legislative reform of the Wildfire Fund remains critical to achieving investment-grade credit ratings, and Poppe warned that if lawmakers don't act or fail to solve the problem, the company will have to take action—potentially affecting all aspects of its financing and capital plan.
The utility is also navigating a 2027 General Rate Case seeking more than $16 billion in revenue, with evidentiary hearings currently underway. Poppe said the interim rate request—opposed by some intervenors—was designed to reduce rate shock for customers and would have no bearing on the company's financing plan. Meanwhile, 2026 marks the utility's fourth consecutive year without a major fire, with the company averting 13 potential ignitions this year through monitoring and mitigation efforts, though executives emphasized that wildfire fund reforms remain essential to the company's long-term financial strategy.