Electric Utilities

Evergy Inc missed Wall Street expectations for the first-quarter profits on Wednesday. The utility was hurt due to higher costs and lower demands as a result of an unplanned shutdown by a major customer. Interest rates that are higher for longer raise the borrowing costs of power companies. These companies need to borrow more money for maintenance and upgrades of grid infrastructure. Interest expenses for the company increased by 14.5%, to $152.5 millions in the third quarter. Total operating expenses also increased to $1.08 Billion. Evergy said that its industrial demand also decreased due to an unnamed large client having...

The U.S. Energy Information Administration announced on Wednesday that they estimate that the average number oil wells completed within 50 feet from each other simultaneously in the Lower 48 States has more than doubled since the last decade. The agency stated that the number of wells completed simultaneously per location has increased from 1 1/2 wells per location in December 2014 to over three wells per location in June 2024. This will allow operators to "accelerate production timelines and reduce costs per well." The EIA defines wells that are drilled within a 50-foot radius of each other as being at...

Vistra Corp reported a loss for the first quarter of the year on Wednesday. The independent power producer suffered from setbacks with its hedging and increased costs. Its shares fell nearly 6% at the opening of trading. The company stated that the quarter's deficit was mainly due to unrealized losses on derivative positions, as energy prices rose in advance periods. The utility was impacted by the continued high interest rates for a longer period of time, as this made the cost to invest in critical infrastructure like electrical grids and construction more expensive. Vistra's interest expenses rose by nearly 88%,...

The Malaysian data centre company Equinix announced on Wednesday that it was looking into alternative sources of energy, as it anticipates an increase in domestic electricity rates to raise its costs. The Malaysian government announced previously that it would increase electricity rates by 14.2% this July. Equinix Malaysia's managing director Cheam Tat Inn said that the company was looking into a variety of renewable energy service providers during a tour of the completed second phase of their data center in Cyberjaya. Cheam didn't specify the renewable sources used or a time frame. Equinix Malaysia operates two data centers, Cyberjaya, and...

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory, a research division of U.S. Department of Energy, which focuses on renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, announced on Tuesday it had laid off 114 workers due to federal budget reductions, stop work orders, and new directives. Why it's important The reduction in staff at NREL in Golden, Colorado, reflects a broader trend of cuts to the Department of Energy's workforce under President Donald Trump. According to NREL's website, the staff reduction is about 3% of its 3,675 employees. KEY QUOTE "NREL's Mission continues to be crucial for achieving an affordable and secured...

Duke Energy beat Wall Street's expectations on Tuesday for revenue and profit in the first quarter, thanks to higher electricity prices, increased retail sales, and a colder Winter. U.S. utilities are arguing for higher electricity bills, as the power consumption surges due to the growth of AI data centers and increased manufacturing in the United States. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the U.S. power demand is expected to reach record levels in 2025 and in 2026. This will be largely due to the expansion of Big Tech's data centers. After years of stagnation, the U.S. Nuclear industry...

Constellation Energy, the largest U.S. energy company, missed Wall Street's expectations on first-quarter profits. The major U.S. utility was hit by rising costs for building and operating its electricity infrastructure. Interest rates that are higher for longer can increase the cost of utilities and make it more costly to invest in electrical grid infrastructure. The net income of the company fell by around 87% compared to a year ago, and was $118 million for the quarter reported. Constellation Energy reported that interest expenses increased by nearly 15% compared to a year ago, to $146 millions in the quarter January-March. Total...

WEC Energy announced a 16.4% increase in its first-quarter profits on Tuesday, thanks to increased electricity consumption from residential, commercial and industrial customers. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, power consumption will reach new highs by 2025 and 26. This is due to AI, data centers, and residential and commercial consumers. WEC Energy’s natural gas deliveries to Wisconsin, excluding the natgas for power generation, increased by 15.5% during the first quarter. We Power and Wisconsin Public Service are the company's natural gas units. WEC Energy reported that residential power consumption increased by 5.5%, and retail sales rose by almost...

Constellation Energy, a U.S. utility, missed Wall Street's expectations for the first quarter profit on Tuesday. Higher operating and interest costs pushed its shares lower by nearly 5% during premarket trading. The net income of the company fell by around 87% compared to a year ago, and was $118 million for the quarter reported. The higher interest rates for longer can be a burden on utilities, as they make it more expensive to invest in critical infrastructure like electrical grids. Constellation Energy reported that interest expenses increased nearly 15% compared to a year ago, to $146 millions in the quarter...

American Electric Power, which has benefited from increased demand from commercial clients, beat Wall Street expectations for its first-quarter profits on Tuesday. It also said that tariffs will have a minimal impact on the long-term plan of spending. Massive investments by Big Tech in artificial intelligence and infrastructure related to it have led to a surge of demand for electricity, which has encouraged energy producers' investments. AEP announced in February that it would increase its $54 billion capital plan to $10 billion due to the demand for data centres in the Midwest and Southern service areas of AEP. Bill Fehrman,...

Duke Energy beat Wall Street's expectations on Tuesday for revenue and profit in the first quarter, thanks to higher electricity prices, increased retail sales, and a colder Winter. U.S. utilities are arguing for higher electricity bills, as the power consumption surges due to the growth of AI data centers and increased manufacturing in the United States. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the U.S. power demand is expected to reach record levels in 2025 and 26. After years of stagnation, the U.S. nuclear sector has also become popular as businesses look for cleaner energy to power data centers. The...

Apple plans to offer four tranches of bonds on Monday. It will be its first bond offering in two years. Proceeds from the sale will be used for repurchasing stock and paying off outstanding debt, as well as other purposes. CreditSights analysts believe that the offering will raise between $5 and $6 billion. Apple's debt is $8 billion due in May to November. A total of approximately $35 billion in new debt is expected to be issued by eight other investment grade primary market issuers. Comcast, DTE Electric Co. and General Motors are among the issuers. Credit spreads or the...

Warren Buffett, perhaps the most famous investor in the world, is retiring at the end 2025. He will hand over Berkshire Hathaway's reins to vice chairman Greg Abel. This move marks the end of an era at Berkshire following Buffett's 60-year reign, during which he became a household brand, a multibillionaire, and an American success. Buffett, who is 94 years old, stated on Saturday that "I believe the time has come where Greg will be the CEO of the company by year's end." He wrapped up Berkshire Annual Meeting in Omaha Abel would have the final word, he said. He...

India's market regulator alleges that Pranav Adani, the director of several Adani Group companies and the grandson of the billionaire founder of the group, has shared sensitive price information and violated regulations designed to prevent insider trading. Adani, nephew of Gautam Adani was sent a warning by the Securities and Exchange Board of India last year. The notice alleged that he had shared information with his brother-in law about the 2021 acquisition of SoftBank's SB Energy Holdings by Adani Green before the deal announcement, according to the document and a source. This matter was not previously reported. In an email...

Five trading and industry insiders have confirmed that QatarEnergy is in negotiations with Japanese companies for a long term deal to supply LNG through its North Field Expansion Project. Four sources confirmed that under the agreement, Qatar would supply gas to a group of Japanese importers. A volume of 3 million metric tonnes per year would be divided between the consortium. If the agreement is reached, it will help confirm Doha’s decades-old dominant position on the Japanese market as the competition from the United States, and neighbouring Gulf suppliers United Arab Emirates and Oman that offer more flexible contractual terms,...

Taiwan won't raise electricity prices at this time due to global uncertainty about the impact of trade policies and geopolitical risk. However, the government will ask parliament for funds to help the state-run energy firm stem losses worth nearly $13 billion. In order to limit inflation, the government has heavily subsidised energy. However, it did increase power prices between September and April last year. After a meeting with its committee to review electricity prices on Friday, Taiwan's Economy Ministry said that the members "carefully examined the impact of electricity bill on prices and decided that electricity prices will not be...

According to a filing with the Securities Commission, Engie Brasil announced on Friday that it had signed a deal to purchase two hydropower plants in northern Brazil. The price was estimated at 3 billion reais (532 million dollars). Engie Brasil has acquired the entities that hold concessions for the Cachoeira Caldeirao Plant, located in Amapa State, and the Santo Antonio do Jari Plant, which is on the border between Amapa and Para States. The concessions expire in 2048 and respectively 2045. Together, the assets being sold by EDP Energias do Brasil, China Three Gorges Energia and others have 612 Megawatts...

The Environment Ministry announced on Tuesday that China is seeking public opinion regarding rules for the importation of leftovers from the recycling spent lithium-ion batterys, as well recycled steel materials. The deadline for comments was set at March 20, in accordance with China's desire to speed up recycling efforts. This is reflected in the establishment of the China Resources Recycling Group, a group that focuses on recycling in the city of Tianjin, located in the north of the country. According to the proposal of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, black mass, which is a mixture of nickel and cobalt...

Two sources claim that HSBC has reduced the number of employees at Pinnacle, its China digital wealth unit, by almost half or 900 people. This is a dramatic reversal from the bank's original plans for the unit, as part of their expansion plans in the country. Pinnacle, launched in 2020, sells fund and insurance products via a digital platform. According to calculations based off of company disclosures and official business records, it employed around 2,100 people in two of its major units at the end of last June. This reversal highlights the challenges that the Asia-focused banks face to boost...

Two sources claim that HSBC has reduced the number of employees at Pinnacle, its China digital wealth unit, by almost half or 900 people. This is a dramatic reversal from the bank's original plans for the unit, as part of their expansion plans in the country. Pinnacle, launched in 2020, sells fund and insurance products via a digital platform. According to calculations based off of company disclosures and official business records, it employed around 2,100 people in two of its major units at the end of last June. This reversal highlights the challenges that the Asia-focused banks face to boost...

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel opened the first of 92 Solar Parks on Friday, as part of an initiative backed by China to reduce the number of blackouts that can last for hours in the Caribbean Island nation. The park in Havana is one of 55 that are expected to be online by this year. It will generate 1,200 megawatts. Last year, the outdated power grid of this Communist-run nation collapsed multiple times. A severe fuel shortage made it impossible for smaller clusters to operate diesel-powered generators which typically backup the system. Blackouts that lasted for years have weakened the economy,...

Kojiro Higachi, the president of Tohoku Electric Power in Japan, said that Tohoku Electric Power should review its LNG procurement strategy if it is to stop buying from Russia. Under a contract that runs for 20 years, the utility will import 420,000 metric tonnes of LNG per year from Russia's Sakhalin-2 Project. Higuchi stated that this accounted for approximately 10% of the LNG produced by his company. He said at a press conference that "we must think about (our future procurement plans) assuming we will eventually stop purchasing from Russia." Later, the company stated that no decision had been made...

Japan's agricultural, forest and fishery exports rose by 3.7% in 2024 to reach a new record, despite China banning seafood imports after the Fukushima nuclear plant water discharge. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said that exports in 2018 totaled 1.507 trillion yen, up from 1.454 billion yen by 2023. Kazuyoshi Nakasugi, deputy head of MAFF’s export policy planning department, noted that it was the 12th consecutive year of growth and a new record. He also pointed out that exports from China and Hong Kong were down, but exports in other parts of Asia and the United States increased....

Kansai Electric Power Co, Japan's largest nuclear power company, has raised its profit forecast by 40% for the fiscal year that ends in March to 365 billion Japanese yen ($2.4billion) due to higher nuclear power runs as well as stronger earnings from its transmission and distribution businesses. Kansai Electric has five nuclear reactors with a combined power of 4.6 gigawatts. This was the case as of December 31. The company increased its nuclear capacity factor forecast, an indicator of nuclear power load to 85% on Friday from the previous expected 80%. Kansai Electric expects its profit in the transmission and...