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PG&E has warned about grid-connection delays for roughly 25,000 customers, including more than 60 renewable-energy and storage projects that could add at least 15 gigawatts by 2030. The delays put project schedules and California’s clean-energy targets at risk, but the scale of any resulting shortfall is not yet clear.
PG&E has warned about delays in connecting roughly 25,000 customers to the grid, a backlog that includes more than 60 planned renewable-energy and storage projects. The company’s notices add uncertainty for California’s clean-energy buildout as utility leaders say wildfire-related financial risks are limiting investment in the grid needed to connect new power.
According to the report, PG&E’s letters forecast delays ranging from one to six months for housing developments and office buildings. Some city and county transportation and public-works projects could wait until 2027 or later. A PG&E spokesperson said more than 60 renewable and storage projects scheduled to come online by 2030 are among those facing delays; together, they could provide at least 15 gigawatts of capacity.
The notices do not mean all those projects will be canceled, but delayed grid access can make projects harder to finance and complete on schedule. At an October 28 hearing of the California Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee, Independent Energy Producers Association CEO Jan Smutny-Jones said connection delays could undermine the financial prospects of solar projects. He also pointed to federal tax-credit deadlines that, according to the report, require developers to complete work by 2030 to qualify under revised rules.
PG&E executives link the investment constraints to uncertainty over wildfire liability. At the hearing, company vice president and treasurer Mari Becker said financial exposure can weaken the utility’s credit, raise its borrowing costs and put upward pressure on customer bills. California lawmakers did not reach a wildfire-liability deal before the end of the legislative session, the report said. The scale of the grid-investment cuts and their specific effect on individual projects were not detailed in the supplied report.
Grid Delays Could Squeeze Clean Power
Clean-energy projects depend on transmission and distribution infrastructure to deliver electricity to customers. If projects cannot secure timely connections, developers may face higher costs, financing pressure or missed deadlines. That could make California’s targets harder to reach even if the projects themselves are ready to build.
The report says the delays also put pressure on plans to add 6 gigawatts of clean energy and storage by 2032. Smutny-Jones warned that schedule slippage could force the state to delay the retirement of more than 3 gigawatts of older coastal gas plants. That is a risk he identified, not a confirmed change to the state’s retirement schedule.
There is a competing concern: wildfire losses can threaten utility finances and raise costs for customers. The policy challenge is how to manage that exposure while maintaining utility responsibility and funding the grid upgrades required for new energy projects.
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Wildfire Liability Meets Grid Planning
California utilities face a legal framework known as inverse condemnation, under which a utility can be held liable for damage caused by its equipment even if negligence has not been established. The report describes the resulting wildfire exposure as a major source of financial uncertainty for investor-owned utilities. PG&E’s history includes a 2020 involuntary manslaughter conviction related to the Camp Fire, a fact that underscores why liability reform remains contested.
Outgoing Gov. Gavin Newsom did not secure a legislative agreement on wildfire liability before the session ended, according to the report. Clean-energy groups have urged lawmakers to return to negotiations, while also warning that the state cannot rely on a liability deal alone to address near-term connection problems.
Possible alternatives raised in the report include allowing competitive transmission developers to build projects on PG&E’s delayed list and permitting renewable and storage developers to construct connection infrastructure through arrangements such as build-transfer agreements. Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris also proposed using a $325 million state transmission accelerator fund for competitive projects. Los Angeles Department of Water and Power official Fernando Valero cautioned that wildfire exposure also affects publicly financed utilities.
“Wildfire financial uncertainty leads to weaker credit, weaker credit leads to more expensive capital, and more expensive capital puts upward pressure on customer bills — and all of this constrains the investments that California needs.”
— Mari Becker, PG&E vice president and treasurer
Project Outcomes Remain Unsettled
The report does not say how many of the affected clean-energy projects will miss their planned online dates, nor does it identify the projects or their individual connection timelines. PG&E’s estimate that the projects could add at least 15 gigawatts describes their potential capacity, not capacity already built or guaranteed to reach the grid by 2030.
It is also unclear how much of the reported delay stems directly from reduced grid investment, what work PG&E has paused or rescheduled, and whether alternative developers or project owners can take on the needed construction. No wildfire-liability agreement has been reached in the account provided, and the proposals discussed at the hearing are options rather than adopted solutions.
Lawmakers Weigh Grid Workarounds
California lawmakers may revisit wildfire-liability rules, while energy groups are pressing for a parallel plan to address grid connections. The proposed transmission accelerator funding, competitive transmission development and build-transfer arrangements would each require further decisions before they could resolve specific delays.
For now, the next signals to watch are any updated connection schedules from PG&E, action by state officials on the proposed funding and project-delivery options, and whether lawmakers resume liability negotiations. Until those details emerge, the effect on California’s 2030 project pipeline and 2032 clean-energy target remains uncertain.
Key Questions
How many customers did PG&E warn about connection delays?
The report says PG&E sent letters to roughly 25,000 customers. The group includes building, public-works, renewable-energy and storage projects.
How many clean-energy projects could be affected?
A PG&E spokesperson said more than 60 renewable and storage projects scheduled to come online by 2030 face undetermined delays. The projects could add at least 15 gigawatts of capacity, according to the spokesperson.
Does this mean California will miss its clean-energy targets?
That is not confirmed. The delays create a risk for the state’s goals, but the report does not establish how many projects will be late or canceled, or whether other projects could make up any shortfall.
What is being proposed to address the delays?
Ideas discussed include competitive transmission developers building delayed projects, project owners constructing some of their own grid connections, and using a $325 million state fund to support competitive transmission work. The report does not say these options have been approved.
Source: canarymedia.com
