Michigan utility DTE Energy has upped its five-year utility investment plan by almost $10 billion, to approximately $44bn, citing data center demand as a crucial factor.

The utility reported the increase during its Q3 earnings call. Of the $44bn, DTE Electric accounts for $39bn of the total, including about $23bn for generation, 7.6GW of new solar and wind, 2.1GW of new combined-cycle gas, and 2.7GW of storage. CEO Joi Harris said during the call that the gas plants would replace the retiring Monroe coal plant. A further $12bn is earmarked for the electric distribution system.

“The additional equity relative to our previous plan supports significant utility investment growth, which has increased by nearly $10bn over the next five years, primarily to support data center load growth and the generation investments needed to serve that demand,” CFO David Ruud said.

DTE also announced that it had fully secured 2.4GW of data center load. Of this load, 1.4GW is tied to an Oracle project in Saline Township, Michigan, which is being developed in partnership with Related Digital and OpenAI. DTE CEO Harris said that construction at the site is “advancing as scheduled,” and that demand will ramp up in 2027 and 2028.

The remaining 1GW is tied to a Google campus in Buren Township, near Detroit. Google signed a deal with DTE to bring 2.7GW of new clean resources to the grid and says it will cover the electricity and infrastructure costs. The 20-year contract was approved last month, and Google committed to paying for 480MW of energy storage. The data center is expected to be fully energized in late 2028.

DTE also reported a pipeline of 5GW to 6GW of potential data center load, including about 2GW in advanced discussions. “We are encouraged by the continued level of customer interest and remain focused on securing an additional agreement by year-end,” Harris said. The number is around the same as it was reported in its Q2 earnings.

During the earnings call, the company said the contracts and its large load tariff filed earlier this year are designed to make data centers cover their own costs. Both of the contracts comprise long-term power supply deals, which include minimum monthly charges, termination fees, and credit and collateral requirements designed to shield existing customers from risk.

The utility subsequently argued that the new load will reduce costs for existing customers. “These projects will provide unprecedented customer bill benefits by spreading system fixed costs across a larger base of electric sales to help keep bills more affordable for existing customers,” Harris said.

The utility serves approximately 2.3 million residential and business customers throughout Michigan. It also has a state-regulated natural gas arm, which provides natural gas to 1.3 million residential, commercial, and industrial customers across Michigan.