US to Offer $4 Billion Loan for Vistra to Boost Nuclear Output

(Bloomberg) -- The Trump administration plans to offer a roughly $4-billion loan package to Vistra Corp. to upgrade three of its nuclear plants, according to people familiar the matter.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright is expected to announce the funding as soon as Monday during a planned visit to the Perry nuclear complex northeast of Cleveland. The package would fund investments at Vistra's two plants in Ohio and another in Pennsylvania, said the people, who weren't authorized to speak on record.

Both the Energy Department and Vistra didn't immediately return messages seeking comment.

Electricity demand is expanding rapidly thanks to the growth of power-hungry data centers whose operators are seeking more round-the-clock energy. Trump has set out a goal of quadrupling US nuclear capacity by 2050.

The specific size of the expansions planned by Vistra wasn't immediately known.

However, permitting and building new reactors is a lengthy and expensive process, making upgrades to existing facilities one of the few ways to add capacity relatively quickly.

Vistra supplies power to the biggest US grid, operated by PJM Interconnection LLC, which stretches from Illinois to Washington, DC, and serves about 67 million people. PJM is struggling to meet surging demand from data centers.

The White House sees expanded nuclear plants as a key means to power data centers, as well as a cheap source of electricity to underpin economic growth and domestic manufacturing.