WASHINGTON, D.C.: The US Government is preparing to lend Vistra Corp about US$4.2 billion to increase electricity generation from its nuclear plants as power demand rises across the country, a person familiar with the matter said.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright is expected to announce the loan on October 5 at Vistra's nuclear plant along Lake Erie in Ohio, according to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The financing would be used to increase, or "uprate," output at least three of Vistra's four nuclear power stations without requiring new licenses from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Neither the Department of Energy nor Vistra immediately responded to requests for comment.

Nuclear plants can increase their generating capacity by refueling with slightly more enriched uranium or a higher percentage of new fuel, or through major modifications such as replacing main turbines, according to the NRC.

US utilities have used uprates to generate more electricity from existing reactors since the 1970s. The NRC had approved more than 170 such increases as of 2022.

Vistra operates six reactors across four US nuclear plants that generate more than 6.5 gigawatts of electricity, enough to power about 3.25 million homes.

US electricity demand is growing for the first time in decades, fueled in part by the rapid expansion of AI data centers, the electrification of transportation, and cryptocurrency mining.

President Donald Trump has set a goal of quadrupling US nuclear power capacity by 2050. The Department of Energy has hundreds of billions of dollars in financing available through its loan office, and Wright has said the bulk of that capacity will support nuclear power plants.

Bloomberg first reported the planned Vistra loan.