DOE Closes Massive $26 Billion Loan For Southern Co.
Here comes more of those “Hundreds of Billions”
So much capital coming to this space next 3 years https://t.co/ZwTB0C2CUU
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) November 18, 2025
The DOE announced Wednesday that its Office of Energy Dominance Financing (EDF) has closed a $26.54 billion loan package (the largest in the agency’s history) to two Southern Company subsidiaries.
Georgia Power will receive $22.4 billion and Alabama Power $4.1 billion. The roughly 30-year loans, drawable through September 2033, will finance more than 16.7 GW of reliable generation and transmission upgrades across the Southeast. This new loan dwarfs the previous billion dollar loan recently secured by Constellation for Three Mile Island.
The portfolio includes approximately 5.3 GW of new natural-gas capacity, 6.3 GW of nuclear improvements through uprates and license renewals at existing plants (including Vogtle), 1 GW of hydropower modernization, battery energy storage systems, and more than 1,300 miles of new transmission lines and grid enhancements.
DOE and Southern project the financing will deliver more than $7 billion in electricity cost savings to customers in Georgia and Alabama over the life of the loans. Once fully drawn, the lower, taxpayer-backed interest rate is expected to cut Southern’s annual interest expense by more than $300 million, costs that would otherwise be recovered from ratepayers.
Said another way, the burden for upgrading the grossly under-maintained grid will be passed from the local ratepayer to the federal taxpayer. Yay?
*TRUMP: TELLING BIG TECH THEY NEED TO PROVIDE THEIR OWN POWER
*TRUMP: NEGOTIATED NEW RATE PAYER PLEDGE ON DATA CENTER ENERGY
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) February 25, 2026
“These investments will support the extraordinary and transformative projected growth we're seeing across our company” Southern Chairman and CEO Chris Womack said. “These loans will help lower the cost of investments in our grid that will enhance reliability and resilience for the benefit of our customers”
Energy Secretary Chris Wright framed the deal as a direct fulfillment of the Trump administration’s energy policy. “Thanks to President Trump and the Working Families Tax Cut, the Energy Department is lowering energy costs and ensuring the American people have access to affordable, reliable, and secure energy for decades to come”.
The timing aligns with explosive load growth in the region. Georgia Power alone has secured roughly 7 GW of large-load commitments, largely from data centers and manufacturing, and is pursuing far more. Latitude notes the loans were restructured after the election to emphasize additional gas-fired resources alongside nuclear and transmission. It’s exactly the infrastructure needed to meet hyperscaler demand that utilities say private markets could not finance at comparable rates.
For taxpayers, the structure is debt, not a grant. In theory, the Treasury could break even or better versus Southern borrowing at higher private-market rates. DOE officials, including EDF Director Gregory Beard, stress that individual projects will undergo viability reviews to protect ratepayers and the public balance sheet.
Tyler Durden
Fri, 02/27/2026 – 15:00