Energy and Oil Sector

Centrus Energy signed a definitive contract to supply low-enriched and high-assay low-enriched uranium to reactor developer X-energy, securing customer prepayments to expand its domestic enrichment capacity. Under the agreement, Centrus will produce fuel at its Piketon, Ohio centrifuge plant and send it to X-energy's TRISO-X facility in Tennessee to support initial deployments across X-energy's commercial pipeline. The deal gives Centrus non-dilutive, non-debt capital directly from an off-taker. Centrus is layering these prepayments onto a $900 million Department of Energy award and a $3 billion contingent backlog, of which $2.4 billion is definitized. Securing domestic enrichment resolves a critical supply chain bottleneck for advanced nuclear projects backed by buyers such as Amazon and Dow. Centrus will scale its uranium production in phases as X-energy rolls out its Xe-100 small modular reactors.

US residential electricity prices jumped 7% in 2025, pushing utility bills to the top of the agenda for the upcoming midterm elections, according to oilprice.com. Ratepayers in 46 states faced year-over-year rate hikes, with 12 states and Washington, D.C., enduring double-digit percentage increases. In the first quarter of 2026, Hawaii paid 43.91 cents per kilowatt-hour, while California and New York reached 36.15 and 32.63 cents, respectively, well above the national average of 18.70 cents. High power prices—driven by infrastructure upgrades, extreme weather, and energy-intensive data center expansions—are stripping environmental messaging out of Democratic platforms. In California, 60% of voters say they are unwilling to pay more for renewables, prompting gubernatorial candidates to abandon commitments to phase out gasoline cars by 2035. Gasoline costs are adding to consumer strain, running nearly $1 per gallon higher nationwide than a year ago and topping $4.27 a gallon in Alaska on July 28. Voters are blaming power-hungry tech infrastructure, driving 55% of Texas voters to oppose data centers and leading two Maryland counties to halt construction with formal moratoriums.

NV Energy sued data center developer Tract Capital Management to stop private arbitration and force state regulators to decide who covers $1 billion in grid upgrades for two planned Reno campuses. According to reporting from cbsnews.com, Tract's proposed developments would draw more than 2 gigawatts of electricity, representing nearly a third of NV Energy's total generating capacity. Nevada law mandates that utilities serve all territory applicants, but state rules require massive power users to fund their own infrastructure expansions to prevent cost shifting onto average utility bills. NV Energy argues that private arbitration sidesteps the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada, leaving retail customers vulnerable to rate hikes if infrastructure obligations fall short. Tract, which has already invested $127 million in local projects, claims NV Energy failed to plan for promised power capacity and is using regulatory jurisdiction to dodge contractual obligations. The clash threatens the low-rate environment that attracted 22 active and 20 planned data centers to Nevada. If utilities successfully force developers to shoulder the full capital costs of grid upgrades, tech firms face higher upfront capital expenditure for new AI capacity.