Corp News
Constellation CEO: Existing power plants are the 'cornerstone' for powering data centers
Constellation Energy CEO Joseph Dominguez stated on an earnings call that existing generation assets are the 'cornerstone' for powering data centers in the early stages of development, noting that the grid faces a peak capacity issue rather than an energy shortage. The company also disclosed the impact of the suspension of data center interconnection in Texas and the progress of the Brazos Valley power plant sale.
Oncor assesses impact of Texas data center approval freeze on nearly 300GW of load reserves
Oncor executives said during a Thursday earnings call that approximately 44GW of large load projects in its service area have qualified for ERCOT's newly launched 'Batch Zero' large load interconnection process. However, Texas Governor Greg Abbott's order to suspend new data center interconnection approvals for a statewide audit has made the timeline for this process uncertain. Oncor's load service requests have increased from 289GW at the end of the first quarter to 298GW this quarter.
Duke Energy Plans $10 Billion Stock Issuance, Betting on Gas Power Growth Opportunities
Duke Energy announced on its Tuesday earnings call that it will issue $10 billion in common stock between 2027 and 2030 to support its $103 billion capital plan and gas power expansion. The company has signed 7.8 gigawatts of data center load and plans to add 15 gigawatts of new generation capacity. However, rate disputes in North Carolina and Indiana, as well as criticism from advocacy groups, continue.
PSEG plans to participate in PJM bilateral contract process to provide power supply solutions for large loads
PSEG's unregulated generation unit is exploring supplying power to data centers through PJM Interconnection's backup reliability program and has submitted multiple supply proposals during the bilateral contract phase. PJM intends to meet large load demand through a one-time capacity auction and a bilateral contract matching process, with the first batch of bilateral agreements potentially announced in August.
Eversource second-quarter profit plunges, dragged by transmission ROE refund and offshore wind impairment
Eversource Energy's second-quarter net income fell 85% year-over-year to $53.7 million, with earnings per share dropping from 96 cents to 14 cents. The company recognized multiple one-time charges, including $111.4 million related to the Aquarion sale, $62 million for transmission ROE refunds, and a $164 million increase in Revolution Wind project liabilities. Management reaffirmed full-year earnings guidance and disclosed several capital expenditure plans and regulatory developments.
Southern Company's contracted large load capacity rises to 17 GW
Southern Company disclosed on its second-quarter 2026 earnings call that contracted large load capacity in its service area has increased to 17 GW, up 6 GW from the first quarter. CEO Chris Womack stated that the 3.2 GW, 25-year data center contract between Georgia Power and OpenAI will push the company approximately 1 GW beyond its approved capacity and includes, for the first time, a 1 GW flexible demand response provision. The company also revealed that an additional 8 GW of projects are in advanced negotiations, with 3 GW expected to be finalized in the near term.
AEP locks in 13 GW of gas turbine capacity, power generation business becomes core growth driver
American Electric Power (AEP) CEO Bill Fehrman said on the quarterly earnings call that the company secured 3 GW of gas turbine capacity in the second quarter, bringing total available supply deployable by 2031 to approximately 13 GW, and has locked in options for an additional 10 GW of turbines by 2035. Suppliers are GE Vernova and Mitsubishi. AEP Ohio also reached an agreement to acquire the 710 MW coal-fired Longview plant in West Virginia and purchased permits to build a 1.2 GW gas-fired plant at the same site. The company plans to execute a $78 billion capital plan from 2026 to 2030, with power generation investments viewed as the core of long-term growth.
DTE links rate stability to data center projects, large load pipeline steady
DTE Energy reported second-quarter earnings on July 28, proposing not to file for rate increases until 2028 if the 1.4GW Oracle data center comes online as planned by the end of 2027 and other regulatory approvals are obtained. The company also disclosed that a contract to power Google's 1GW data center has been submitted for Michigan regulatory approval, with the overall data center pipeline remaining steady at 8.4GW.
Edison CEO warns: California utilities may face credit rating downgrade without wildfire reforms
Edison International CEO Pedro Pizarro warned during Thursday's second-quarter earnings call that if the California legislature takes no action before its session ends on August 31, investor-owned utilities in the state could face credit rating downgrades. He noted that no legislative draft addressing soaring wildfire costs has yet been seen, and emphasized that SCE's S&P rating is already at the lowest investment-grade tier (BBB-), and a further downgrade would push it into non-investment grade. The company also disclosed ongoing financial pressures related to the 2025 Eaton fire, including a committed $1.6 billion settlement cost and over 2,000 lawsuits.
Xcel Energy executives: 3% retail electricity growth target for 2026 expected to be achieved
Xcel Energy executives said on the second quarter earnings call that the company's 2026-2030 base capital investment plan is approximately $60 billion, with the potential to add $10 billion for new transmission and generation resources to support data center demand growth. The company expects weather-adjusted retail electricity sales to grow by 3% for the full year and reaffirmed its 2026 ongoing earnings guidance of $4.04-$4.16 per share.