Electric Utilities

Fermi, a Texas-based company founded by the former U.S. Energy secretary Rick Perry, filed an initial public offering (IPO) in the United States on Monday, as companies race to capture investor interest for new issues. Terms of the offer were not disclosed. Wall Street's IPO Season is off to a good start after Labor Day. The IPO calendar features big names such as Swedish fintech Klarna, and the Winklevoss Twins' cryptocurrency exchange Gemini. StubHub, the ticket reseller, and Netskope, a cybersecurity company, both launched roadshows Monday. They aim to raise $851 million each and $813 millions. Fermi announced in June...

Oklo, a nuclear power company, announced on Thursday that it will design, build and operate a facility in Tennessee for recycling nuclear waste. This plant is the first phase of an entire nuclear fuel center, which could cost up to $1.6 billion. The fuel plant would be the United States' first of its type if it is approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The plant is expected to be operational by early 2030s, creating more than 800 new jobs. The initial investment - Oklo didn't specify the amount - will go towards the construction of an installation to recycle nuclear...

On Thursday, the U.S. Government filed two lawsuits against Southern California Edison, accusing the utility of causing wildfires such as the Eaton Fire, which damaged National Forest System land in January. The two complaints filed against Edison International in Los Angeles Federal Court seek damages due to negligence, trespassing by fire and violations of California Public Safety laws. Southern California Edison (SCE) had no immediate comments. The January wildfires that ravaged Southern California left at least 30 dead and damaged or destroyed more than 16,000 buildings. The Palisades Fire and the Eaton Fire, both in Altadena, caused the majority of...

A federal judge dismissed on Tuesday a negligence claim against Berkshire Hathaway’s PacifiCorp utility division in the U.S. Government's lawsuit, which sought more than $900,000,000 in damages stemming a wildfire that occurred in Oregon in 2020. The U.S. District Court Judge Karin Immergut of Portland found that the government had not specified how PacifiCorp’s alleged negligence in maintaining its powerlines caused the Archie Creek Fire, in southwest Oregon. This rendered its "negligence" per se claim moot. A defendant can be found guilty of negligence per se if they are presumed to have violated a duty of caution when breaking a...

On Monday, the Utah Office of Energy Development signed an agreement with TerraPower and Flagship Companies to explore possible sites for an energy storage facility and a nuclear reactor. This is in response to an escalating demand for electricity. The parties expect to present recommendations by the end the year. After decades of stagnation in the U.S., nuclear power is experiencing an resurgence. This is due to the record demand for data centers that are used by artificial intelligence technologies as well as electrification in industries like transportation and manufacturing. In a joint statement, the companies stated that the agreement...

Reliance Power & Reliance Infrastructure said that the criminal investigation of Indian industrialist Anil Ambani, and his company Reliance Communications, has no effect on their respective companies. The agency reported that the Central Bureau of Investigation in India (CBI), which is the nation's largest banking institution, State Bank of India, had complained about fraud. They conducted searches at Ambani’s home and offices of Reliance Communications, now insolvent, on Saturday. Ambani's spokesperson said that he strongly denied all allegations on Saturday and would defend himself against any charges. Statements from Reliance Power and Reliance Infrastructure said that the action taken by...

Entergy Louisiana's unit has received regulatory approval from the state to proceed with infrastructure investments related to Meta's global data center located in Richland Parish. Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, announced in December that it would invest $10 Billion in Louisiana's data center. This would make Louisiana the largest datacenter in the world. The U.S. datacenter power consumption is expected to triple by 2030, due to AI expansion. This has led tech companies to explore other energy sources including nuclear power. Meta, in December, sought proposals from developers of nuclear power to meet its AI objectives. Entergy...

Black Hills and NorthWestern Energy announced on Tuesday that they will merge. This merger creates a $15.4 billion regulated utility for electric and gas, better equipped to meet the rising demand in U.S. electricity. U.S. utilities race to increase their capacity as electricity consumption increases, driven by artificial intelligence data centers that consume a lot of energy and cryptocurrency data centres. Also, residential and commercial usage is increasing. Black Hills and NorthWestern have agreed to invest together more than $7 Billion between 2025-2029 in new natural gas and electric infrastructure. NorthWestern shareholders who hold Black Hills stock will receive 0.98...

Residents of the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos were bracing themselves for the first Atlantic hurricane of the season, Category 4 Erin. It had strengthened over the weekend as it swept through the Caribbean. Erin is yet to cause any significant damage or landfall. National Hurricane Center of the United States (NHC) stated that Erin would strengthen a bit on Monday, but will bypass northern Atlantic islands. The storm will probably remain a major hurricane until the middle of this week but avoid Bermuda and the U.S. coastline. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 225 kph (140 mph) on...

The company announced on Thursday that it has signed several deals for advanced nuclear energy, including power purchase agreement for fission and microreactors pre-ordered for its operations. The race by Big Tech to develop technologies such as generative artificial intelligence that require warehouse-like data centres and can use city-sized quantities of electricity on a single location is increasing global energy consumption, raising concerns about depleted supplies. Data centers have a voracious appetite for energy, which has prompted a growing number of power deals that will fuel them with advanced nuclear technology. The United States, which is the hub of the...

The U.S. Department of Energy announced on Tuesday that it had selected 11 companies to participate in a pilot project to build high-tech nuclear test reactors. At least three of these companies are expected to be operational within a year. Why it's important The U.S. wants to develop small reactors to meet the growing demand for power. They say that they will be cheaper per Megawatt than the large reactors of today because the components can be manufactured in factories. The move by the department comes after President Donald Trump's executive orders were issued in May, which sought to speed...

Utility Consolidated Edison beat Wall Street expectations for adjusted second-quarter profit on Thursday due to higher power rates, and strong performances in its electric and Gas segments. Rate cases are typically used by utilities to increase their rates. They base this on the investments or expenses they incur in providing services. Kirk Andrews, CFO of the company, said that the company received approval for $440 million to be invested in five projects designed to advance building and transportation electrification. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, power consumption will reach new records in 2025 and 2026. This is due to...

The Russian state nuclear company Rosatom is planning to issue bonds in yuan currency in China, a spokesperson for the company said on Monday. The spokesperson did not provide any further information. The announcement by Rosatom comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin visited China last week and called for a joint financial infrastructure between countries in the "Global South". Alexei Likhachev, Rosatom's chief executive officer On the sidelines the four-day trip, the Russian giant said that it was willing to help China surpass the United States when it comes to installed nuclear generation capacity. Likhachev stated that Russia has helped...

Kuwait has opened the bids for phase one of the Al Khairan water and power project. The project is a 1.8-gigawatt energy source that aims to alleviate Kuwait's power shortages. Kuwait Authority for Partnership Projects invited pre-qualified international consortiums to submit bids for Al Khairan Phase 1 independent water and power producer project. The project will also produce 125 millions imperial gallons per day of water. Kuwait, a member of OPEC and a major oil producer, is facing a severe electricity shortage because of rapid population growth, urbanization, rising temperatures, and maintenance delays in certain plants. The government has had...

The excitement over a possible U.S. rate cut in September waned on Monday. U.S. stock futures fell during pre-market trade as investors focused on the larger economic picture. As of 1258 BST, the S&P 500 was down 0.2% and Nasdaq Futures were down 0.3%. This indicates a lower Wall Street opening. Powell's change in stance has caused futures markets to price an 84% probability of a quarter point rate cut in September and at least 100 base points of easing up to 3.25-3.5% in the middle of next. The broadest MSCI index of world stocks rose by 0.1%, and remained...

The referendum on the reopening of Taiwan’s last nuclear power plant fell short of the legal threshold for validity, but the president stated that the island may return to this technology in the future as safety standards improve. The opposition-backed plebiscite asked if the Maanshan Power Plant should be reopened once it was "confirmed", that there were no safety concerns. The plant closed in May, as the government shifted to renewables and liquid natural gas. Taiwan's small Taiwan People's Party proposed the referendum in the beginning of this year. With the support of the larger Kuomintang, the KMT, passed the...

Residents along the Pacific coast of Japan rushed for higher ground as tsunami warnings were issued following a massive quake off Russia's Far East. The earthquake brought back painful memories from the 2011 nuclear disaster and earthquake. The television banners read "TSUNAMI!" EVACUATE!" As tsunami waves approached Japan, broadcasters issued similar warnings. They cut their regular programming and focused on evacuation orders. "Do not stare at the screen." Evacuate now!" A news presenter from the public broadcaster NHK yelled. The warnings brought back memories of the March 11th, 2011 earthquake. More than 15,000 died when a 9.0-magnitude earthquake triggered a...

Kansai Electric Power announced on Tuesday that it would begin the surveys to build a new reactor for its Mihama Nuclear Power Station in Fukui Prefecture, western Japan. The existing facility will be replaced. This is the first concrete step in building a nuclear reactor in Japan after the Great East Japan earthquake in 2011, which resulted in a meltdown of the reactor that forced Tokyo Electric Power to close its Fukushima Plant. As the country relies heavily on imports of fossil fuels, the government wants to see nuclear power contribute more to energy security. Kansai is Japan's largest nuclear...

The atomic energy agency of Kazakhstan announced on Saturday that Rosatom, Russia's nuclear state corporation, has been selected to lead a consortium for the construction of the first nuclear plant in Kazakhstan. The state-owned China National Nuclear Corporation as well as French or South Korean companies also submitted proposals. Kazakh Atomic Energy Agency, which was established in March this year, has said that it has reviewed and evaluated various reactor technologies based on criteria such as nuclear plant safety, training of personnel, and other factors. It said that "the agency determined that the most advantageous and optimal proposals for construction...

Chinese stocks listed on Hong Kong's stock exchange fell to a near-month-low on Monday, and the offshore yuan also dropped as tensions between China and the United States over tariffs continued to weigh on sentiment. The tensions between the U.S. and China over trade have risen again after a new spat about tariffs. China's Commerce Ministry has rebuked U.S. president Donald Trump's allegations that Beijing violated the Geneva consensus, calling them 'groundless' and vowing to take 'forceful measures' to protect its legitimate rights. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced over the weekend that U.S. president Donald Trump and Chinese president Xi...

NextDecade, a U.S. producer of liquefied gas, announced on Thursday that it had signed a deal for supplying Japan's largest power generator JERA 2 million tonnes of LNG per year from the fifth liquefaction plant in its Rio Grande Project. Early trading saw NextDecade shares up 5.5% to $8.11. The United States will be the largest LNG exporter in the world in 2024. It is expected to ship 11.9 billion cubic foot per day. This has been boosted by President Donald Trump lifting a moratorium in January on new export licenses. NextDecade’s deal with JERA - Japan's largest LNG buyer...

Nuclear technology company Oklo announced on Tuesday that it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the development of Oklo’s planned Aurora powerhouse with South Korea’s nuclear plant operator Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power. In morning trading, shares of Oklo rose 1.9% to $49.71. Oklo said that the MOU also outlines plans for collaboration on the development of advanced nuclear technology worldwide. The nuclear industry is in high demand because it's considered a cleaner fuel source and more reliable than solar or wind energy. The U.S. president Donald Trump signed Friday executive orders to jumpstart nuclear industry. These orders...

Origin Energy, Australia, downgraded its annual forecast on Monday due to the unseasonably warm temperatures in Britain during March and April, as well as one-off effects. This sent its shares to an almost one-month-low. The shares of the Sydney-based firm fell by around 4.4% at 0508 GMT after reaching their lowest level since the first of May earlier in the day. The benchmark ASX200 index was flat. Origin now expects to lose up to A$100m ($65.19m) on its annual earnings before taxes, interest and depreciation. Origin estimated that it could contribute up to A$100m, while the EBITDA was only A$55m...

Fidra Energy's plan to convert a 55-acre patch of countryside in northern England into Europe's biggest energy storage facility, a 1,45 gigawatt one once complete, was far from finalized when it acquired the land in 2023. Chris Elder, CEO of the Edinburgh-based firm, said, "We struggled to make economics work." The cost of the batteries used in this project has been roughly halved over the last 18 months. Fidra plans to begin installing battery units in its Thorpe Marsh 600-million-pound ($800 million) project next year. LFP batteries have fueled a boom in energy-storage projects, which - in terms of percentage...