U.S. Energy Department finalizes $3.3B loan to Texas utility

(The Center Square) - The U.S. Department of Energy Wednesday announced it has finalized a $3.26 billion loan to utility AEP Texas, a subsidiary of American Electric Power, or AEP, to fund the deployment of 2,800 miles of high-capacity transmission lines across the Lone Star State as part of a broader effort to fuel domestic industrial growth and assure national energy security.

The loan, awarded by the Office of Energy Dominance Financing, will finance the addition of the transmission lines in key industrial corridors in south central and west Texas, where data centers, advanced manufacturing industries, and the electrification of oil and gas operations are driving rapid increases in power demand.