PG&E Accelerating Home Electrification for Customers via SPAN Edge

Rhea-AI Summary

Pacific Gas and Electric (NYSE:PCG) announced a strategic collaboration with SPAN to deploy the SPAN Edge at-the-meter device through a new PanelBoost program to reduce customer costs and delays tied to traditional panel or service upgrades. PG&E estimates >600,000 homes may need service upgrades over the next decade to meet electrification demand.

SPAN Edge offers Dynamic Service Rating™ load shaping, can be installed at the meter, and aims to avoid service upgrades that PG&E says can cost $6,000–$40,000, while installation through PanelBoost could cost customers $500–$2,000. PG&E expects initial deployments to thousands of customers starting summer 2026 and will launch a program website then.

Positive

• Estimated >600,000 homes likely need upgrades within next decade
• Avoids customer service upgrades costing $6,000–$40,000
• Customer installation cost through PanelBoost estimated at $500–$2,000
• Initial scale to thousands of customers starting summer 2026
• Dynamic Service Rating™ helps protect transformers and grid reliability

Negative

• Customers remain responsible for electrician and appliance wiring costs
• Initial rollout limited to thousands, not immediate systemwide relief
• Potential variability in customer installation cost depending on factors

Key Figures

Homes needing upgrades: more than 600,000 homes Traditional upgrade cost: $6,000 to $40,000 SPAN Edge install cost: $500 to $2,000 +2 more

5 metrics

Homes needing upgrades more than 600,000 homes Estimated homes in PG&E service area likely to need electric service upgrades in next decade

Traditional upgrade cost $6,000 to $40,000 Typical range for electric panel or service upgrades that PanelBoost seeks to avoid

SPAN Edge install cost $500 to $2,000 Estimated electrician cost for installing a SPAN Edge device through PanelBoost

Program launch timing summer 2026 Planned launch of website with more information on SPAN Edge PanelBoost offering

Initial deployment scale thousands of customers Planned initial scale of SPAN Edge devices when PanelBoost begins

Market Reality Check

Price: $16.28 Vol: Volume 32,631,911 vs 20-d...

normal vol

$16.28 Last Close

Volume Volume 32,631,911 vs 20-day average 23,433,269 (1.39x activity ahead of the collaboration news). normal

Technical Price 16.23 is trading above 200-day MA at 15.51, reflecting a pre-existing upward bias.

Peers on Argus

PCG gained 5.8% while key peers showed mixed, mostly modest moves (e.g., ED +0.2...

PCG gained 5.8% while key peers showed mixed, mostly modest moves (e.g., ED +0.26%, WEC +0.49%, PEG -2.26%). No momentum scanner peers were flagged, pointing to a company-specific reaction.

Common Catalyst Some peers (ETR, WEC) had earnings-related headlines, but PCG’s move centers on home electrification and grid-edge innovation rather than sector-wide earnings catalysts.

Historical Context

5 past events · Latest: Feb 03 (Positive)

Pattern 5 events

Date	Event	Sentiment	Move	Catalyst
Feb 03	Scholarship program	Positive	+1.7%	Announced $7,000 scholarships for 25 Oakland-area seniors in education program.
Feb 02	Major event support	Positive	+1.7%	Detailed preparations to ensure safe, reliable energy for Super Bowl LX events.
Jan 29	Wildfire innovation	Positive	+1.5%	Highlighted role as sponsor in XPRIZE Wildfire autonomous response competition.
Jan 27	Customer bill relief	Positive	-0.1%	Committed $50M to bill-relief programs and announced electric rate reductions.
Jan 15	Earnings call date	Neutral	-1.1%	Scheduled Q4 and full-year 2025 earnings release and conference call.

Pattern Detected

Recent community and grid-innovation announcements have generally coincided with modest positive price moves, with only one notable divergence on a customer bill-relief update.

Recent Company History

Over the past few weeks, PCG has highlighted community support, grid reliability, and innovation. Scholarship awards and Super Bowl reliability preparations in early Feb 2026 saw gains of about 1.7%. Sponsorship in the XPRIZE Wildfire competition on Jan 29 aligned with a +1.54% move. A bill-relief and rate-cut announcement on Jan 27 slightly diverged with a small negative reaction, while the Feb 12, 2026 earnings call scheduling drew a modest decline. Today’s SPAN Edge collaboration extends this theme of grid-edge and customer-focused initiatives.

Market Pulse Summary

This announcement details PG&E’s collaboration with SPAN to deploy SPAN Edge devices, targeting the ...

Analysis

This announcement details PG&E’s collaboration with SPAN to deploy SPAN Edge devices, targeting the high cost of traditional electric service upgrades—often $6,000–$40,000—by offering an alternative installed for an estimated $500–$2,000. With more than 600,000 homes expected to need upgrades over the next decade, the PanelBoost program extends PG&E’s recent focus on grid-edge innovation and demand management. Observers may watch adoption rates, regulatory reception, and integration with future virtual power plant initiatives.

Key Terms

grid edge, virtual power plant, distributed energy resources

3 terms

grid edge technical

"PanelBoost program, a grid-edge innovation initiative designed to reduce upgrade costs"

The grid edge describes the equipment and software sitting where homes, businesses and local generation meet the wider power grid — things like rooftop solar, batteries, electric vehicle chargers, smart thermostats and local control systems. It matters to investors because these devices change how electricity is produced, stored and sold, creating new revenue streams, cost savings and risks for utilities and technology companies much like adding smart plumbing or storage to a neighborhood changes who controls water flow and bills.

virtual power plant technical

"Seasonal Aggregation of Versatile Energy (SAVE) virtual power plant program"

A virtual power plant is a software-driven system that links many small energy sources — such as rooftop solar panels, home batteries and flexible electricity use — and operates them together as if they were one larger power station. For investors, it matters because it can turn scattered assets into a reliable revenue stream and reduce costs for energy providers, much like organizing many individual taxis into a single fleet that can be dispatched efficiently to meet demand and earn steady fees.

distributed energy resources technical

"value of aggregating residential distributed energy resources to mitigate local grid constraints"

Small, local sources and devices that generate, store or manage electricity near where it’s used—examples include rooftop solar panels, batteries, electric vehicles, smart thermostats and backup generators. They matter to investors because they reshape how power is produced, sold and paid for: they can lower costs, create new revenue streams, change regulation and require grid upgrades, so they affect company profits, risk profiles and growth opportunities much like dozens of small engines changing how a single factory runs.

AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.

New at-the-meter solution gives customers a lower-cost path to adopting EVs and electric appliances—without the delays and expense of traditional panel upgrades

OAKLAND, Calif., Feb. 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) today announced a strategic collaboration with SPAN to deploy the company's SPAN Edge solution to help customers electrify their homes more affordably and efficiently.

SPAN Edge is an at-the-meter device that enables real-time load management and allows homes to add new electric appliances or electric vehicle charging without costly electric panel or service upgrades—addressing one of the most significant barriers to residential electrification.

PG&E will deploy the new SPAN Edge devices coupled with next-generation metering infrastructure through its new PanelBoost program, a grid-edge innovation initiative designed to reduce upgrade costs for customers adopting electric vehicles, heat pumps, induction cooking, and other high efficiency electric technologies.

PG&E estimates that more than 600,000 homes in PG&E's service area are likely to require some type of electric service upgrade in the next decade to meet electrification demand.

"PG&E is committed to helping our customers electrify affordably while maintaining a reliable, resilient grid," said Mike Delaney, Vice President of Strategy & Innovation, PG&E. "Our work with SPAN aims to enable thousands of households to add electric appliances and EVs faster and without more costly panel and electric system upgrades."

PG&E joins a growing list of energy companies and grid partners, including Landis+Gyr, utilizing SPAN Edge to enable affordable customer electrification, manage distribution system upgrades and support the clean energy transition.

"Our partnership with PG&E is a critical step in making home electrification affordable and accessible," said Arch Rao, CEO of SPAN. "By deploying SPAN Edge at scale, we are helping PG&E customers bypass the traditional 'panel bottleneck' and accelerate the transition to clean energy."

A Scalable Solution for California's Load Growth
SPAN Edge uses a Dynamic Service Rating™ capability to shape home energy demand during peak events, helping protect local electric transformers and maintain grid reliability. This technology complements PG&E's broader grid edge, R&D, and innovation strategy to develop and deploy scalable smart-panel and meter-socket-based solutions to avoid expensive service upgrades for customers.

Electricians and installers participating in early PanelBoost feedback sessions praised the program for helping customers avoid electric panel service upgrades.

"PG&E just made it possible to effectively have a 200-amp panel by throttling the loads in their house," one installer noted. Customer testers echoed this sentiment, with several indicating they would have used this pathway before pursuing traditional upgrade work.

Building on the Success of PG&E's SAVE Program
SPAN Edge deployments will build on lessons learned from PG&E's successful Seasonal Aggregation of Versatile Energy (SAVE) virtual power plant program, which demonstrated the value of aggregating residential distributed energy resources to mitigate local grid constraints.

SPAN's existing customer-sited infrastructure and Dynamic Service Rating™ provided PG&E with valuable load-shaping capability and analytics—and future VPPs can further scale these benefits through at-the-meter technologies like SPAN Edge.

With California's energy demand expected to grow meaningfully due to transportation and building electrification, PanelBoost is designed to align with California Energy Commission forecasts and enable cost-effective customer transitions.

The program is a part of PG&E's broader innovation implementation strategy that incorporates extensive customer research, market analysis, and lessons learned from previous technology demonstrations.

Meaningful Economic and Grid Benefits
SPAN Edge devices are installed quickly at the electric meter. They offer utilities a reliable, flexible load-shaping tool and give customers a lower-cost path to electrification—avoiding service upgrades that can cost $6,000 to $40,000 and take months to complete. In comparison, the cost estimate for a customer to have an electrician to install a SPAN Edge device through PanelBoost could be between $500-$2,000 dependent on a range of factors.

Through PanelBoost, PG&E will supply the SPAN Edge device for customers as an add on to their electric meter, and customers will be responsible for the costs for an electrician to install the device and for costs to wire any new appliances and loads connecting to the device.

PG&E plans to launch a website with more information about the SPAN Edge PanelBoost offering in summer 2026.

PG&E plans to initially scale SPAN Edge devices to thousands of customers when the program kicks off later this summer, with further scale as the program develops over the next several years.

To learn more about PG&E's electrification programs and customer offerings, visit www.pge.com/electrification

About PG&E
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE: PCG), is a combined natural gas and electric utility serving more than sixteen million people across 70,000 square miles in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit pge.com, pge.com/news and pge.com/innovation.

About SPAN
SPAN is on a mission to enable electrification for all and provide energy management for every home. The company designs products that remove barriers to electrification, providing a holistic approach to managing increasing demands on household energy. Powering your home with clean energy should be a simple and delightful experience that is technology-forward and human-centered. For more information, go to www.span.io.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pge-accelerating-home-electrification-for-customers-via-span-edge-302680486.html

SOURCE Pacific Gas and Electric Company

FAQ

What is PG&E's PanelBoost program with SPAN for PCG and when does it start?

PanelBoost is PG&E's program to deploy SPAN Edge at-the-meter devices starting summer 2026. According to PG&E, initial deployments will scale to thousands of customers and a program website will launch in summer 2026 with enrollment details.

How does SPAN Edge reduce costs for PG&E customers (PCG) installing EV chargers or heat pumps?

SPAN Edge lets homes add appliances without full panel upgrades, lowering costs versus service upgrades. According to PG&E, service upgrades can cost $6,000–$40,000 while PanelBoost installation costs to customers may be $500–$2,000 depending on factors.

How many PG&E (PCG) customers may need electric service upgrades for electrification?

PG&E estimates more than 600,000 homes in its service area are likely to require some electric service upgrade within the next decade. According to PG&E, this estimate aligns with expected load growth from transportation and building electrification.

Will PG&E (PCG) or customers pay for SPAN Edge installation and wiring?

PG&E will supply the SPAN Edge device as an add-on to the meter, but customers pay for electrician installation and wiring for new appliances. According to PG&E, customer-installed costs will vary and are estimated between $500–$2,000.

What grid benefits does SPAN Edge bring to PG&E (PCG)'s distribution system?

SPAN Edge provides real-time load shaping via Dynamic Service Rating™, helping protect local transformers and support grid reliability. According to PG&E, the device complements its grid-edge strategy and can reduce the need for costly service upgrades.