PG&E Misses 1Q Profit Estimates on Higher Expenses, LA Wildfire Worries Linger

PG&E Corp. missed first-quarter profit estimates on Thursday, as the power company was hurt by higher operating and interest expenses.

Higher-for-longer interest rates push up borrowing costs for utility companies, which typically need more capital for expenses such as maintaining the grid.

PG&E said its interest expenses rose 2.7% to $734 million in the first quarter from a year earlier.

Multiple wildfires scorched tens of thousands of acres across Los Angeles in January in what is now expected to be the most costly natural disaster in U.S. history. The area’s electric utilities have also come under increasing scrutiny.

The utility, which filed its wildfire mitigation plan for 2026 to 2028 in March, expects to construct nearly 700 miles of underground powerlines and 500 miles of other wildfire safety system upgrades between 2025 and 2026.

PG&E said that average residential electric rates were lower in March than they were a year earlier and it expects natural gas delivery rates to remain flat in 2025.

On any tariff impact, PG&E on a post-earning call said 90% of its equipment sourcing is primarily from domestic suppliers and sees its exposure to tariffs to be “very manageable.”

The company’s total operating revenue was $5.98 billion in the quarter, missing analysts’ estimate of $6.14 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

For the quarter ended March 31, the company’s total operating expenses were up 3.8% at $4.76 billion.

The Oakland, California-based utility said that its data center pipeline has grown to 8.7 gigawatts from 5.5 GW and has added nearly 3,000 customers in the quarter to its electric grid system.

On an adjusted basis, PG&E reported a profit of 33 cents per share, compared with the average analyst estimate of 34 cents.

(Reporting by Menon in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)

Topics
Catastrophe
Natural Disasters
Profit Loss
Wildfire
Louisiana