THE GRID
The Fed Just Made the Grid Buildout a Lot More Expensive
Kevin Warsh stood at the podium. His first press conference as Fed Chair. And one number told the whole story.
3.6%.
That's the Fed's new inflation forecast for 2026. Back in March, it was 2.7%. In one meeting, they raised it by nearly a full point.
Nine of 18 Fed officials now see a rate hike this year. The median rate projection jumped to 3.8% — up from 3.4% in March. Rates held steady at 3.5%–3.75%. But the message was clear: higher for longer is back.
Markets didn't like it. The S&P 500 fell 1.21%. The Nasdaq dropped 1.34%. Oil slipped too — Brent crude sits near $79, down 29% in a month as the Iran deal eases Hormuz fears.
But I'm watching a different corner of the market. The one that has to borrow more money than anyone else.
Exxon and Chevron Have an Unlikely New Competitor
Energy giants like Exxon and Chevron have been buying up land in America’s lithium hotspot. Now they’ve got a new neighbor. EnergyX just acquired 35,000 gross acres of high-grade lithium resources in the Smackover Formation, right next to Exxon and Chevron’s projects.
What’s really turning heads about this move is that EnergyX isn’t just competing for lithium-rich land. Their patented technology can extract up to 3X more lithium than traditional methods. That combination positions EnergyX to be one of the biggest lithium producers in America. Plus, General Motors has already invested along with other global leaders like Eni and POSCO.
Great timing too, because the demand for lithium is projected to grow 5X by 2040. You can claim a stake in the lithium boom too.
U.S. utilities plan to spend $1.4 trillion on capital projects through 2030. That's a 21% jump from the prior five-year plan. A lot of that money has to be borrowed.
Higher rates mean higher debt costs. Higher debt costs get passed to customers. And customers are already paying 8.6% more for power than a year ago.
The average U.S. home pays 18.56 cents per kWh. In Maine, rates shot up 22.6%. In Idaho, 15.3%.
Goldman Sachs says U.S. data center power demand will hit 41 GW this year. By 2027 — 66 GW. That's 8.5% of total U.S. peak summer power demand. The grid has to grow fast to keep up.
But growing fast costs more when money is expensive. PJM capacity prices tell the story. Two years ago: $29 per MW-day. This year: $329. That's more than a 10x jump.
"The 'two' is the left of the decimal point. For now, 'zero' is to the right."
Warsh says 2% is still the goal. But we're at 3.6%. And the grid needs trillions.
Every new substation, every mile of wire, every transformer — all of it just got more costly to finance. The utilities that can lock in cheap debt now will win. The ones that can't will pass the pain to your power bill.
The AI power buildout was already the trade of the decade. Now it has a price tag problem. Watch utility debt issuance and rate case filings. That's where this story shows up next.
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BLACKOUT WATCH
Three Cracks in the Grid No One's Pricing
The bull case for energy stocks is loud. But there are quiet risks that could slow the whole trade down.
The 2,060 GW traffic jam. That's the total backlog in the U.S. power interconnection queue. Over 2,000 GW of generation and storage, waiting. Wait times now stretch past four years. You can build a data center in 18 months. You can't connect it to the grid for 60. Goldman sees demand hitting 66 GW by 2027. Good luck getting it all wired up.
Half the 2026 pipeline is stuck. Sightline Climate says 30% to 50% of large data centers set to come online this year will be delayed or canceled. Power constraints and gear shortages are the main culprits. Of the 16 GW of total planned capacity, up to half is at risk. That's not a rounding error — that's a full year of growth.
MISO's risk meter is climbing. The grid watchdog NERC rates MISO at "Normal Risk" this summer. But by 2027, it moves to "Elevated." By 2028: "High Risk." MISO's all-time peak demand hit 127 GW back in 2011, and system surplus has shrunk to just 2.6 GW. The Midwest grid is running out of margin before the big loads even arrive.
RESISTANCE
FERC Votes Today on Who Pays for Data Center Power
Right now, at FERC headquarters in Washington, five commissioners are deciding a question worth billions: should data centers pay for their own grid upgrades?
The June 18 open meeting has one item that towers over the rest. It's the large-load interconnection docket — a rule that would set how Big Tech connects to the grid and who picks up the tab.
FirstEnergy fired the first shot on June 5. The utility asked FERC to force data centers to pay for the new transmission lines they need.
Their model: treat it like a gas pipeline. You want the pipe? You pay for the pipe.
The pressure isn't just from regulators. It's from voters.
In Q1 2026, opposition groups blocked or delayed 75 data center projects worth $130 billion. That roughly matches the total for all of 2025. Fourteen states introduced moratorium bills. Sixty-nine local governments have enacted outright bans.
Seattle — home to Amazon and Microsoft — passed a one-year data center pause on June 9. Unanimous vote. In Ohio, activists are collecting signatures for a ballot measure to ban any data center over 25 megawatts.
The era of cheap, easy data center siting is ending. The political cost of power is now as real as the price on the meter.
*Disclaimer: Energy Exploration Technologies, Inc. (“EnergyX”) has engaged [Capital Current] to publish this communication in connection with EnergyX’s ongoing Regulation A offering. [Capital Current] has been paid $250 per lead___ in cash and may receive additional compensation. [Capital Current] and/or its affiliates do not currently hold securities of EnergyX.
This compensation and any current or future ownership interest could create a conflict of interest. Please consider this disclosure alongside EnergyX’s offering materials. EnergyX’s Regulation A offering has been qualified by the SEC. Offers and sales may be made only by means of the qualified offering circular. Before investing, carefully review the offering circular, including the risk factors. The offering circular is available at invest.energyx.com/. Comparisons to other companies are for informational purposes only and should not imply similar results.
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