Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) announced this past week that it is preparing to meet 10 gigawatts (GW) of new electricity demand from data center projects over the next decade, enough to power about 7.5 million homes simultaneously.

The company’s updated projection marks a jump from 8.7 GW reported in May and 5.5 GW in February. This follows PG&E’s April study of data center applications across its 70,000-square-mile service area.

“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,” said Mike Medeiros, PG&E’s vice president of South Bay Delivery. “This growth can help lower costs for all electric customers while creating tens of thousands of jobs and billions in local revenue.”

PG&E estimates the additional 10 GW could reduce customer electric bills by 10 percent or more by spreading fixed costs across higher energy use. The company projects the expansion could create 50,000 construction jobs, 115,000 support jobs, 5,000 permanent tech jobs and 28,500 permanent support roles. It also anticipates $1.25 billion to $1.75 billion in property tax revenue and $2.5 billion to $3 billion in additional sales tax revenue.

Of the 10 GW, 17 data center projects totaling about 1.5 GW are in the final engineering phase and are expected to begin operations between 2026 and 2030. Most of these are in San Jose, Silicon Valley and the greater San Francisco Bay Area, with others in the Central Valley and Sacramento regions.

PG&E said its grid is currently 45 percent utilized on average. By increasing grid use, the company said it can spread the fixed costs of operating and maintaining the grid over more energy units, potentially lowering bills for all customers.

Separately, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved PG&E’s interim implementation of Electric Rule 30, designed to streamline grid connections for large energy loads such as data centers, warehouses, electric vehicle fleets and manufacturing facilities.

Under the interim rule, applicants who agree to fund necessary transmission infrastructure upfront can benefit from accelerated grid connections.

“Our large-load customers have asked for the ability to fund their projects upfront, which helps us serve them faster,” Medeiros said. “We appreciate the Commission’s decision to implement an interim approach while the permanent process is finalized.”

PG&E officials have said the utility will continue working with regulators, developers and communities to ensure the growth is sustainable and beneficial for California.