US to Offer $4 Billion Loan to Vistra for Nuclear Plant Upgrades

The Trump administration plans to offer Vistra Corp. a roughly $4 billion loan package to upgrade three nuclear plants, according to people familiar with the matter. Energy Secretary Chris Wright is expected to announce the funding as soon as Monday, October 5, 2026, during a visit to the Perry nuclear complex northeast of Cleveland. The package would fund investments at Vistra's two Ohio plants and one in Pennsylvania. Neither the Energy Department nor Vistra immediately returned requests for comment. The funding supports President Trump's goal of quadrupling US nuclear capacity by 2050. Surging electricity demand from data centers is straining PJM Interconnection, the nation's largest grid, which serves about 67 million people. Upgrading existing reactors offers one of the few ways to add capacity relatively quickly, as building new plants is lengthy and expensive.