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PG&E Issues Its First ‘Green Bonds’ to Help Strengthen Electric Grid, Protect California Forests, Reduce Customer Costs
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PG&E Recovery Funding has issued $860 million in green bonds to finance improvements in its electric system, emphasizing environmental benefits and customer savings. The bonds, certified as green by S&P Global Ratings, will help reduce costs for customers by an estimated $450 million through lower securitization costs compared to traditional financing. These investments support the Community Wildfire Safety Program and aim to protect California's forests against extreme weather, thereby reinforcing the company's commitment to sustainability and safety.
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Issuance of $860 million in green bonds enhances sustainability and environmental responsibility.
Expected customer savings of $450 million on a net present value basis due to lower financing costs.
Investments contribute to the Community Wildfire Safety Program, enhancing safety against climate change impacts.
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None.
Recent $860 Million Issuance Demonstrates Company’s Commitment to Triple Bottom Line
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Building upon its longstanding commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship, PG&E Recovery Funding, LLC, a subsidiary of Pacific Gas and Electric Company (the Utility), recently finalized an $860 million green bond issuance to finance electric work that will have significant environmental benefits, while also keeping customers and hometowns safe.
PG&E Recovery Funding issued the bonds to finance a variety of investments that the Utility has made in its electric system and were recently designated as green bonds following an analysis by S&P Global Ratings. Green bonds are a designation for capital project financings with environmental benefits.
“These first green bonds are another way we are working to deliver on the triple bottom line of serving people, the planet and California’s prosperity,” said Chris Foster, PG&E Corporation’s Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. “These bonds will reduce costs for our customers while financing projects that will help protect California’s forests against the impacts of extreme weather and our changing climate, facilitate the distribution of clean energy, and protect our customers and planet from future climate-driven risks.”
In addition to the environmental benefits, financing critical wildfire safety work through these recovery bonds authorized by Assembly Bill 1054 will result in significant customer savings due to the lower cost of securitization when compared to traditional utility financing. The transaction is expected to result in $450 million of customer savings on a net present value basis relative to traditional rate base financings.
The investments financed by these green bonds include electric system improvements and hardening efforts found within Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s Community Wildfire Safety Program. These investments have been authorized by the California Public Utilities Commission through the utility’s 2020 General Rate Case, as well as its Wildfire Mitigation Plans.
In conducting its analysis of the bond issuance, S&P Global Ratings noted that the utility’s work would have environmental benefits by hardening the electric system and preventing the ignition and spread of wildfires, therefore preserving the health of California’s forests, and maintaining the existing state of natural ecosystems.
About PG&E Corporation
PG&E Corporation (NYSE: PCG) is a holding company headquartered in San Francisco. It is the parent company of Pacific Gas and Electric Company, an energy company that serves 16 million Californians across a 70,000-square-mile service area in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit http://www.pgecorp.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements that are not historical facts, including statements about the beliefs, expectations, estimates, future plans and strategies of PG&E Corporation and the Utility (together, “PG&E”), including but not limited to the issuance of green bonds and their environmental, financial and operational impacts. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions, which management believes are reasonable, and on information currently available to management, but are necessarily subject to various risks and uncertainties. In addition to the risk that these assumptions prove to be inaccurate, factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements include factors disclosed in PG&E Corporation and the Utility's joint annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, their most recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2021, and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available on PG&E Corporation's website at pgecorp.com and on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. PG&E Corporation and the Utility undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether due to new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by law.
