Utilities await DOE action on loans to boost grid
- June 10, 2025
Brian Dabbs and Jason Plautz, E&E News
A growing chorus of consumer advocates and environmentalists are urging the Department of Energy to lock in billions of dollars in loan guarantees for utilities, arguing that the loans will help cut utility bills for everyday Americans as prices spike nationwide.
The $23 billion in loans rolled out in the waning days of the Biden administration — much of which would go to Midwest states that voted for Trump in November — could trigger big investments in new transmission lines, batteries, renewable energy and natural gas infrastructure.
But to move ahead, the loans need approval from the Trump team.
In testimony at the Senate Appropriations Committee in May, Wright said the Biden administration “lent or committed $93 billion” between Election Day in November and the inauguration of Trump, adding that he’s “moving slow” in evaluating the loans to ensure they fit with the Trump administration agenda.
In total, the Biden team closed $61 billion in loans and left $47 billion in conditional commitments, much of which, including the utility loan guarantees, could be closed under Trump.
The Department of Energy budget proposal for fiscal 2026 urges $750 million in new credit subsidies to help finance the Loan Programs Office Title 17 program, which deals with nonvehicle projects and was used to strike the tentative utility loans. The DOE’s fiscal 26 budget lays out the administration’s priorities to Congress as it begins to craft annual appropriations legislation, a separate process from the budget reconciliation debate.
A month before the tentative utility loan guarantees were announced in January, the DOE’s inspector general called on the loan office to suspend financing, arguing that DOE was not properly safeguarding against conflicts of interest. Trump later fired the inspector general, along with others at different departments and agencies.
Other conservatives, like Michael Chamberlain, a Trump first-term veteran who now leads the conservative watchdog Protect the Public’s Trust, urged DOE officials to judge the loans based on how closely they align with the president’s agenda.
“They need to evaluate if these loans and the projects that they’re funding are consistent with the things they want to do,” Chamberlain said.