• THE GRID
The Biggest Utility Deal in History Just Cleared Its First Hurdle
$66.8 billion. Nearly all stock, plus a $360 million cash payment.
That's the price NextEra Energy is paying for Dominion Energy. And on September 3, shareholders at both companies voted yes.
The new firm would be the largest electric utility on the planet. A combined market cap near $249 billion. An enterprise value of $420 billion. About 10 million customer accounts across Florida, Virginia, the Carolinas, and beyond.
Deal Value
$66.8B
| Enterprise Value
$420B
|
Combined Market Cap
~$249B
| Large-Load Pipeline
130 GW
|
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But the shareholder vote was the easy part.
Earlier this week, Virginia's State Corporation Commission ordered three in-person public hearings on the deal. That's rare. It tells you regulators feel the heat. Arlington County and Richmond have both voted to intervene. And Governor Spanberger became the first Virginia governor in history to formally intervene in an SCC case, citing concerns about electricity costs.
The SCC's initial 60-day review window expired yesterday — September 13. It now has until January 2027 to issue a ruling. FERC's review could stretch 12 to 18 months beyond that.
Why does this deal exist? One word: load. The combined company would hold a 130-gigawatt pipeline of large-load customers — mostly data centers — looking to come online by 2032. Dominion serves Loudoun County, the world's biggest data center market. NextEra is the largest renewables developer in the country. Together, they argue they can build the grid fast enough to match demand.
"The country needs more energy infrastructure built faster, more efficiently, and more affordably than ever before. Combining two great American companies can better achieve the speed and scale this moment demands."
To sweeten the deal for regulators, NextEra has pledged $2.25 billion in bill credits for Dominion customers in Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
NEE shares sit near $82. That's well off their 52-week high of about $99. The market isn't sure this gets done.
I think the market is right to be cautious. A deal this big, in a state this wary of utility power, with a governor this involved — that's a long road. But the fact that it's being tried tells you everything about where the money is going. The grid is no longer a sleepy utility business. It's the most important asset class in America.
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• VOLTAGE
Texas Is Building Its Own Power Grid — Just for Data Centers
Seventy-four gas-fired power plants. Each over 100 megawatts. All planned to serve one customer: data centers.
That's the national count from a Texas Tribune analysis in July. And 32 of those plants — nearly half — are in Texas.
These aren't grid-connected plants. Most would sit right next to the data center. Behind the meter. Off the grid. A private power supply for a private customer.
One developer near Amarillo — Fermi America — applied for air permits for 6 gigawatts of gas generation. That's the size of a mid-tier utility. For one campus.
Chevron is building its first-ever power plant to serve this market. The oil major has never been in the power business — until now.
This is the trend I keep coming back to. Data centers can't wait for the grid. The grid is too slow. So they're building their own.
Gas is winning the data center race by default. Not because it's clean. Because it's fast.
• WIRED IN
Signals From the Wire
Copper hit a new all-time high above $14,600 per metric ton on the London Metal Exchange in early September. That's up 15% this year alone. Data center buildouts, grid upgrades, and tariff fears are all piling into the same trade. A single 300 MW data center can use 6,000 to 9,000 tonnes of copper — the annual output of a small mine.
Vistra priced $1.5 billion in junior subordinated notes on September 10 — $850 million in Series A at 7.00% and $650 million in Series B at 7.25%, both due 2057. That's long-dated, high-coupon debt from an IPP that knows its plants will be running hard for decades. The stock trades near $152, with about 43% upside to its consensus target.
Hubbell raised its full-year data center growth guidance to about 50% on its Q2 call. Organic growth guidance went up to 9–11%. Demand for balance-of-system gear — breakers, bus bars, distribution skids — is surging as campuses race to power up. The company you've never heard of is quietly winning the picks-and-shovels trade.
GE Vernova named Claire McDonough as its next CFO, effective January 1, 2027, replacing Kenneth Parks who will retire in April. GEV bought back $2.3 billion in shares last quarter at an average price above $700. The stock has pulled back — but the company is putting its own money where its mouth is.
Copper, long-dated debt, electrical components, and $2.3 billion in buybacks — every signal points the same direction: the people closest to the grid are betting it stays hot for years.
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