The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has offered up to $4.2 billion in conditional financing to upgrade existing nuclear plants and add 433 megawatts of generating capacity in Pennsylvania and Ohio.

The financing would support uprates and modernization across Vistra’s Beaver Valley plant in Pennsylvania and its Davis-Besse and Perry plants in Ohio. Uprating involves modifying an existing reactor so it can safely generate more electricity without building an entirely new nuclear plant.

The projects are also expected to preserve nearly 4 gigawatts of existing nuclear capacity, which the DOE says is enough to power more than 3 million homes. The additional 433 MW would help meet growing electricity demand across PJM Interconnection, the nation’s largest power grid, which serves more than 67 million people across 13 states, including Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Jersey, Virginia and Maryland, as well as Washington, D.C, and the District of Columbia.

The DOE’s Office of Energy Dominance Financing announced the conditional loan commitment on Monday. Vistra must still meet technical, legal, environmental and financial requirements before the agency signs definitive financing agreements or provides any funds.

Vistra, a Texas-based power producer that operates the second-largest competitive nuclear fleet in the U.S., plans to increase electricity production at Beaver Valley, Davis-Besse and Perry without adding new transmission corridors or building equivalent new generating facilities, according to the DOE.

The investments would also support operation of the plants for an additional 20 years beyond their existing licenses. The financing package includes an option for potential future uprates at Vistra’s Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant in Texas.

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