Electric Utilities

On Monday, the 'governor' of Texas, a state that is one of the fastest-growing areas for artificial intelligence infrastructure, instructed'state regulators to penalize any data centers who fail to provide details regarding their water usage. Texas, which has halted new data center connections to the state's?electrical grid, pending an assessment of the facilities' water and power use, amongst other issues, re-examines its regulations for server warehouses. Governor Greg Abbott has directed the Texas Water Development Board to "impose legal consequences" to data centers and large water-using entities that fail to report their water usage. Abbott's office issued a statement saying...

NextEra Energy announced?on Tuesday that it had secured a U.S. Department of Energy Loan of up to $1.9 Billion to support the restart of the Duane Arnold Energy Centre in Iowa as the country sought to increase power generation capacity to satisfy rising demand. Google, owned by Alphabet, signed a 25-year contract last year with the nuclear plant to 'buy power. The surge in electricity demand from AI data centres is putting pressure on the U.S. power grids. It also spurs interest in extending existing nuclear plant life and bringing shut-down reactors online. Gregory Beard is the director of the...

Holtec, a nuclear technology company, said that it aims to achieve a valuation up to $10,2 billion for its U.S. initial IPO, which will take place as Wall Street begins 'its post Labor -Day dealmaking spree. The Camden-based New Jersey company wants to raise up to $900,000,000 by selling 50 million shares at a price between $15 and $18 each. As markets recover from the summer slowdown, fall is traditionally a busy time for new deals. Holtec's listing is the latest in a series of nuclear IPOs this year, as companies move away from blank-check deals and towards traditional IPOs....

TerraPower, a?U.S. The?Bill Gates-backed nuclear developer TerraPower expects that its Natrium reactors will begin to generate electricity in Britain by the year 2034. The UK has supported the development of small-modular reactors to increase energy security and achieve climate targets. An Advanced Nuclear Framework was launched this year to support privately-funded projects. Chris Levesque said that progress made on TerraPower's first Natrium nuclear reactor, which is due to be finished in 2031, shows that "2034 nuclear power in the UK from Natrium is very feasible". The technology is being evaluated under Britain's Generic Design Assessment process (GDA). Each Natrium sodium-cooled...

U.S. Energy Sec. Chris Wright stated that a deal between Venezuelan and U.S. energy equipment and services firm GE Vernova aims 'to help stabilize Venezuela's power?grid within six months to a year, and boost it over the coming years. Wright, speaking to reporters on Wednesday evening before flying back to Washington, said: "The plan immediately is to... within six to twelve months, focus on bringing existing assets back into working order and condition, stabilizing the grid, and extending the hours of service." GE Vernova is one of the companies who committed to?expanding their energy projects in Venezuela? during a ceremony...

According to Thursday's regulatory filings, shareholders of Dominion Energy & NextEra Energy have approved the $66.8 Billion merger. The two companies announced their merger plan in May. This is expected to result in one of the largest electric utilities around, with an expansion of data centers that use a lot of energy to support artificial intelligent. Dominion, a Virginia-based company, serves the world's largest concentration of data centres. After nearly two decades stagnant electricity consumption, a resurgence of electricity demand has led to a wave major utility mergers. The deal is pending regulatory approvals and will create the third largest...

Dominion Energy announced in a regulatory document on Thursday that its shareholders had approved the previously announced $66.8 billion merger with NextEra Energy. 671.32 millions votes were cast "in favor" of the 'deal. In May, the companies announced their merger plan. This is expected to result in one of the largest electric utilities in the world. Dominion, a Virginia-based company, serves the largest concentration of data centres in the world. After nearly two decades stagnant electricity consumption, a resurgence of electricity demand has led to a wave major utility mergers. The deal is subject to regulatory approval and will create...

PG&E, the utility, announced?on Tuesday that it would defer about $2 billion of 2027 expenditures, leaving a 'capital plan?of about $11.4 bn. It is launching a strategic review due to wildfire liability concerns. The review is coming at a time when PG&E is facing renewed uncertainty about liability costs. A Senate bill 'amendment' did little to reduce utilities exposure to expenses'related to the fires' or address the long term solvency 'of California's fund. The company planned to spend $13.4 billion by 2027. Patti Poppe, CEO of Patti Poppe, said that California's wildfire liability framework continues to create financing risks, which...

Vertiv Holdings announced on Wednesday that it would purchase Utility Innovation Group, a microgrid and advanced 'power control' company for $1.45 billion. An additional $1.15 billion could be paid if certain targets are met. Vertiv expects that the deal will add capabilities to its customers' data center projects, by securing energy through grid-connected sources and onsite power sources. Gio Albertazzi is the CEO of a power and cooling equipment manufacturer. Data center operators are increasingly interested in onsite power and microgrids as they seek to find alternatives to the?constrained utility?grids in light of an AI-driven surge in power demand. Data...

Greg Abel, Berkshire Hathaway's Chief Executive said on Wednesday that he saw significant opportunities for its energy business from the construction of a?AI data center. This comes after Berkshire had made Alphabet the third largest common stock holding. Abel, speaking on CNBC, said that he considered Google to be a "significant" player in AI. This was the reason he and Berkshire Chairman Warren Buffett authorized an additional $10 billion investment three months ago. Abel stated that "we are all feeling and seeing the impact" of AI. Buffett initiated Berkshire's investment into Alphabet last year. Abel, however, took credit for the...

SB Energy, a SoftBank-backed data center developer, disclosed on Tuesday that it had seen a 66.4% increase in revenue in the first half of 2026. This comes as AI infrastructure firms flock to public markets. The company reported a loss of $3.21billion on revenue of $138.7m in the six-month period ended June 30. This compares to a loss of $215.5m on revenue $83.3m a year ago. This year, companies involved in the AI buildout are increasingly turning to the IPO markets. Hyperscalers and tech firms have invested billions of dollars to expand data centers to keep up with the soaring...

California's electric utilities' shares fell'sharply' on Monday, after a Senate Bill amendment failed to do much to'reduce' their exposure to wildfire liabilities or address the 'long-term''solvency' of the state's Wildfire Fund. Sempra shares fell 3.4%, while PG&E's and Edison International's fell 19.7%, 21.3% and respectively. BMO Capital Markets lowered PG&E from "outperform" to "market perform". Mizuho Securities also downgraded the utilities. The amended Senate Bill creates fast-pay programs?for survivors of wildfires, expands efforts to prevent and prepare for wildfires and changes the rules that govern the Wildfire Fund's Continuation account. According to analysts at?Mizuho, the legislation does not provide a...

A filing on Tuesday showed that the SoftBank Group-backed Data 'centre developer SB Energy will sell up to $500 million worth of shares to Japanese investors as part a a U.S. public listing. The filing stated that the firm would issue new shares to the Japanese investors and the funds raised would be used for "general operating costs" for the development of data centres, "power generation", and other infrastructure projects. The filing did not disclose the size of the U.S. Initial Public Offering. SoftBank could be looking for a $50 billion valuation for SB Energy. SB Energy's investment prospectus from...

Shein, an online fast-fashion retailer, has seen its valuation drop by 70% since it peaked at a private market value of $100 billion four years ago. It now aims to raise HK$13.86 'billion ($1.77 bn) through its Hong Kong IPO that was launched on 'Monday. The filings show that Shein is selling 280,000,000 shares at HK$47.60 to HK$49.50 each, valuing the company at nearly $27 billion if the price range is at its highest. Shein's valuation has fallen dramatically from previous private fundraising rounds, which valued Shein at 98.2 Billion dollars in 2022. The company's valuation was $64 billion between...

Nvidia is investing $1.5 billion into a 'SoftBank-backed SB Energy, and will secure up to 8 gigawatts in AI computing capacity on a 'campus' being built by OpenAI. This is not the first time that Nvidia has financed the ecosystems that consume its chips. The strategy has fueled demand, but it also attracted scrutiny for the 'circular flow of funds' from the chipmaker towards its biggest customers. As they rush to secure the infrastructure required for increasingly power-hungry AI, leading tech firms are increasingly linking together chip, power and data center development. Nvidia, the chip giant, has acquired land and...

?Shares in CXMT Corp soared 470% at?their Shanghai debut?on Monday, in Asia's largest IPO of the year. This catapulted the chipmaker to China's top stock market by valuation despite a selloff of global tech stocks. Stocks began trading at 49.50 Yuan, compared to the 8.66 Yuan sale price per share. CXMT's market cap increased sharply in the first minutes, from $85.5 million during the IPO to 3.3 trillion yuan (487.31 billion). The shares briefly fell to 38.11 Yuan before quickly recovering and were trading at 49.51 Yuan by 0236 GMT. CXMT's explosive debut has made it the most valuable listed...

OVER 100 COMPANIES, INCLUDING UBER AND NESTLE?URGE GOVERNMENTS?TO MAKE ELECTRIFICATION CENTRAL IN ECONOMIC STRATEGY 'Nestle' and Ikea, among others, urged government officials to put electrification at the forefront of their economic strategies to reduce exposure to volatile fuel prices and boost energy security. They said that exposure to fossil fuel price shocks undermined their competitiveness. With combined revenues of $1.5 trillion annually, the group also included Iberdrola and Volvo Cars, Mahindra Group and Uber, Nikon Corporation and Levi Strauss. The statement was coordinated by the Global Renewables Alliance and the We Mean Business Coalition. It added that the ability to...

The National Stock Exchange of India filed draft papers to?along-delayed listing? that will be one of the two mega initial public offerings in India this year. Alongside billionaire Mukesh?Ambani's Reliance Jio. NSE's IPO will likely?be worth $3.3 billion based on a?pricing of its shares in the private market, and it comes?after...years of regulatory delay. As part of this issue, existing investors will sell 6% equity in the company. This will be an offer-for sale with no new equity raised. Ambani’s AI-to Telecoms arm Reliance Jio Platforms, is also preparing for an IPO that could be the largest ever in India....

NHK, the public broadcaster, reported that Japan aims to ensure a stable power supply by rebuilding between two and five nuclear reactors. The proposal, which will be presented by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry during a meeting about nuclear policy, reflects an increased reliance on atomic power to help "meet increasing energy demand and reduce expensive fuel imports." After the Fukushima disaster in 2011, Japan closed its?54 nuclear reactors due to public concern about safety standards. 15 of the 33 units which are still operational have been restarted. Tokyo revised its energy policy last year to maximize the...

SoftBank Group is working with?banks? to prepare its initial public offerings (IPOs) for its energy and technology developer SB Energy, and its autonomous robotics spin-off Roze. This comes as Masayoshi son ramps up his Japanese group's push for artificial intelligence infrastructure, amid strong investor interest in companies that support AI buildout. SoftBank has hired JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs Morgan Stanley Citi, Mizuho and Mizuho to handle SB Energy's IPO. The IPO could happen as soon as September, according to the sources. SB Energy may aim for a market valuation of over $50 billion, according to the sources. Sources say that...

Morgan Stanley analysts stated that advanced artificial intelligence tools can 'help reduce video game development costs by nearly half and unlock about $22 billion per year in profits for game makers around the world. In a note published on Tuesday, the brokerage stated that AI tools could be used to automate tasks such as creating game environments, generating dialog and testing software. This would help reduce production times and costs and increase margins. It added that gains will not be distributed equally across the gaming industry. Wall Street brokerage estimates that global consumer spending will reach $275 billion in video...

Karel Havilicek, Minister of Industry and Trade, said that the 'Czech Republic' will extend the life span of the four existing units at the Dukovany nuclear power plant by 20 years to 80 years and run them until 2065-2067. Dukovany was built by CEZ, a majority-owned state-owned company, in 1985-1987. Its Soviet-designed VVER nuclear reactors are capable of 2,000 megawatts. This decision follows other life extension decisions, particularly in France, as countries seek to ensure sufficient supplies following the gradual demise of fossil fuels. The 'decision' means that the old units will be running for a longer period alongside the...

On Thursday, France announced seven offshore wind projects totaling 10 gigawatts as well as smaller onshore and solar wind tenders. The country said it would favour domestic technologies as part of its quest to achieve energy independence. Due to the political gridlock regarding financing renewables, France is struggling with high debt. The two-year delay in tendering is due to this. Roland Lescure, Finance Minister, said that the projects will help France to further wean itself off of imported oil and natural gas. The Iran War continues to disrupt cargoes that are sailing through the Strait of Hormuz. This is expected...

Dan Lipman, the president of global business initiatives for 'Westinghouse', said that Japan and the United States have reached an agreement on their respective responsibilities in a possible?joint project between Westinghouse and Japanese manufacturers of nuclear power equipment. On Saturday, Dan Lipman, president of?global business initiatives at?Westinghouse's told? Sources told us this month that Japan and the U.S. were working together to include a nuclear project as part of a second tranche of deals in Japan's $550 billion investment package. The deal will involve Westinghouse. As nations seek to increase their domestic energy resources, the momentum for building nuclear facilities...