UPDATE 1-PG&E backs 2007 earnings outlook, gives 2008 view

(Adds details on outlook)

SAN FRANCISCO, March 20 (Reuters) - PG&E Corp. (PCG.N) on Tuesday reaffirmed its per-share earnings outlook for 2007 at $2.70 to $2.80 per share and said its outlook for 2008 earnings is $2.90 to $3.00 per share.

PG&E, parent of Pacific Gas & Electric Co., California's biggest utility, also said it is targeting average annual growth in per-share earnings from operations of 8 percent for the years 2007-2011, with dividends expected to grow at about the same rate in those years.

Analysts expect 2007 earnings at $2.73 per share, and 2008 at $2.91 per share, according to Reuters Estimates.

Capital spending, including putting in 10 million new high-tech "smart" meters at homes and businesses, will average $2.8 billion a year from 2007 to 2011, producing an 8 percent average annual growth in the utility's rate base, PG&E said in a news release.

The company spent $2.4 billion on capital projects last year, up from $1.9 billion in 2005.

PG&E also forecast yearly pre-tax expense reductions, beginning in 2008, in a range of $175 million to $275 million in 2011 and annual savings on capital spending of about $175 million to $325 million in 2011.

The company will discuss its outlook at an analysts' meeting April 4 in New York.