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The call emphasized multiple operational and financial positives: solid Q1 core EPS ($0.43), reaffirmed 2026 guidance (midpoint ~10% growth), continued execution of a $73B capital plan with no equity needs through 2030, meaningful rate reductions (23% for most vulnerable customers; 13% for others), progress on wildfire mitigation (undergrounding plans, continuous monitoring), Diablo Canyon NRC license extension, and momentum toward investment-grade credit. Key risks are concentrated around legislative/regulatory uncertainty on wildfire liability (SB 254 Phase 2), state approval needed for Diablo Canyon beyond 2030, and the conversion risk of the large-load pipeline to construction. Overall, the positives are numerous and operational/financial execution appears strong, while the primary negatives are contingent policy and regulatory risks that management is actively monitoring.
On the call PG&E reaffirmed extensive guidance and targets: Q1 core EPS was $0.43 and full‑year 2026 core EPS guidance remains $1.64–$1.66 (midpoint implying ~10% growth vs. 2025), with EPS growth guidance for 2027–2030 unchanged at 9%+ annually; the $73 billion five‑year capital plan through 2030 is unchanged and management sees at least $5 billion of incremental customer investment opportunity, with no new common equity needed through 2030. The five‑year financing plan targets investment‑grade metrics (FFO/debt in the mid‑teens), a ramp to a 20% dividend payout ratio by 2028, and net $2 billion of parent financing through 2030; PG&E executed $1.0 billion of parent junior subordinated notes and $2.2 billion of utility first‑mortgage bonds in February. On system and customer metrics, management reiterated a 0%–3% customer bill growth “path to flat,” highlighted rate reductions since Jan 2024 (most vulnerable customers down 23%, other residential down 13% or ~$300/yr), and updated hardening/undergrounding plans (filing ~5,000 miles for 2028–2037 in Q3, ~1,900 miles expected completed by end‑2027 plus ~4,000 miles overhead hardening for nearly 11,000 miles planned through 2037; >1,200 miles undergrounded to date avoided >$100 million of maintenance). On load and operations: final engineering increased to 4.6 GW, cluster interest exceeded >10 GW, PG&E expects ~1.8 GW online by 2030 (contributing ~1%–2% rate relief), CAISO LSEs have added >33 GW since 2020 (including >7 GW in 2025) and the CPUC has ~22 GW under contract through 2029. Operationally, continuous monitoring helped avoid ~12 million outage minutes in 2025 and ~4 million in Q1 2026, produced 1,484 “good catches” (23 that could have been ignitions), and is estimated to have saved ~$8 million of capital and >$1 million of expense over the last five quarters; PG&E reiterated a 2%–4% long‑term nonfuel O&M reduction target and expects ~$24 million of annual O&M savings this year from targeted technology. Finally, regulatory milestones include a 2025 CPUC safety certificate (valid through early March 2027) and an NRC 20‑year license extension for Diablo Canyon.
Reported Q1 2026 core EPS of $0.43 (up $0.10 YoY). Reaffirmed full-year 2026 core EPS guidance of $1.64–$1.66 (midpoint implies ~10% growth vs. 2025) and maintained 2027–2030 EPS growth guidance of 9%+ annually.
Implemented fifth electric rate reduction since Jan 2024; bundled rates for the most vulnerable residential customers are down 23% since Jan 2024 and down 13% for other residential customers (~$300/year savings). Company projects customer bill growth of 0%–3% under its 'path to flat' model.
Five-year capital plan remains $73 billion through 2030 with no new common equity issuance needed through 2030. Five-year financing plan unchanged, targeting investment-grade ratings (FFO/debt mid-teens) and a 20% dividend payout ratio by 2028.
In February issued $1.0 billion of parent-level junior subordinated notes and $2.2 billion of first mortgage bonds at the utility to address 2026–2027 funding needs and lock in favorable market conditions.
Diablo Canyon received final state permit approvals for extended operations through 2030 and the NRC granted a 20-year license extension, supporting reliability and clean energy goals (further state action required to operate beyond 2030).
Plan to file a 10-year undergrounding request in Q3 for ~5,000 miles (2028–2037). Combined with expected 1,900 miles completed by end-2027 plus 4,000 miles overhead hardening, PG&E plans nearly 11,000 miles of system hardening through 2037. To date >1,200 miles of undergrounding have avoided >$100 million of maintenance spend.
Continuous monitoring helped avoid ~12 million unplanned customer outage minutes in 2025 and ~4 million minutes in Q1 2026; 1,484 'good catches' since early 2025 including 23 potential ignitions prevented. Early detection saved an estimated $8 million of capital spend and >$1 million of expense over the five-quarter period.
Reiterated a path to 2%–4% long-term nonfuel O&M reductions after inflation; technology-driven changes (satellite, LiDAR, inspections) expected to deliver ~$24 million of annual O&M savings this year.
Final engineering stage for large-load projects increased to 4.6 GW; third cluster study showed >10 GW of customer interest. Since 2020 CAISO load-serving entities added >33 GW of new resources (including >7 GW in 2025) and CPUC procurement has ~22 GW under contract through 2029. Company forecasts ~1.8 GW of large load online by 2030, which could reduce rates by ~1%–2% by then.
Momentum toward investment-grade ratings continues; Moody's revised outlook to positive. Management reiterated no-equity plan and metrics focus (FFO/debt mid-teens) to support upgrades and reduce future borrowing costs.
Thank you for standing by. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the PG&E Corporation First Quarter 2026 Earnings Release. [Operator Instructions] I would now like to turn the call over to Jonathan Arnold, Vice President of Investor Relations. You may begin.
Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us for PG&E's First Quarter 2026 Earnings Call. With us today are Patti Poppe, Chief Executive Officer; and Carolyn Burke, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. We also have other members of the leadership team here with us in our Oakland headquarters. First, I should remind you that today's discussion will include forward-looking statements about our outlook for future financial results. These statements are based on information currently available to management. Some of the important factors which could affect our actual financial results are described on the second page of today's earnings presentation. The presentation also includes a reconciliation between non-GAAP and GAAP financial measures. The slides along with other relevant information can be found online at investor.pgecorp.com.
We'd also encourage you to review our quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2026. And with that, it's my pleasure to hand the call over to our CEO, Patti Poppe.
Thank you, Jonathan. Good morning, everyone. I'm pleased to be with you this morning to report another quarter of strong progress on multiple fronts. Today, we announced core earnings per share for the first quarter of $0.43. This strong start puts us solidly on track to deliv...
