PSEG plans to spend $15B on infrastructure, boosting its rate base

Public Service Enterprise Group said Monday that it plans to invest about $15 billion in the next five years to upgrade its energy infrastructure, including up to $13.8 billion in improvements to its New Jersey utility, PSE&G.

Ralph Izzo, PSEG's chief executive, told the company's annual investor conference in New York that a baseline investment program of $12.3 billion in  the utility's five-year capital program could be expanded to $13.8 billion. That would provide a 9 percent growth rate in the rate base, the amount that regulators use as the basis for setting consumer rates.

"By investing in energy efficiency while making improvements to our electric and gas infrastructure, we think utilities can help customers save on their monthly energy bills and still provide a stable rate of return for their investors," Izzo said.