PG&E Expands Data Center Capacity to Reduce Customer Energy Costs

Pacific Gas and Electric Company is set to significantly increase its electricity supply to data centers, which could lead to a reduction in monthly electric bills for its customers. Announced in a press release, PG&E expects the demand for electricity from data centers to rise to 8.7 gigawatts (GW) over the next decade, up from 5.5 GW at the end of 2024.

The utility company is working on 18 new data center projects, totaling approximately 1.4 GW, which are in the final engineering phase and expected to begin operations between 2026 and 2030. These projects are primarily located in Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area, with some in the Central Valley and Sacramento.

PG&E estimates that for every 1,000 megawatts (1 GW) of new electric demand from data centers, customers could see a 1-2% reduction in their monthly bills. This is due to the ability to spread costs over more units of energy, thus making each customer's dollar go further.

Additionally, PG&E is collaborating with real estate developer Westbank to build data centers and residential units in downtown San Jose, aiming to create a sustainable community. The company is also hosting the DTECH Data Centers & AI Conference in San Jose, where leaders from tech, government, and energy sectors will discuss the growing power needs of AI and data centers.