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Utilities

All articles tagged with #utilities

Health Insurance and Utilities Propel 2025 Business-Cost Surge, With 2026 Slowdown Ahead
business1 month ago

Health Insurance and Utilities Propel 2025 Business-Cost Surge, With 2026 Slowdown Ahead

New York Fed’s Liberty Street Economics reports that in 2025, firms saw cost increases accelerate, led by employee health insurance (roughly 13–14%), utilities (~8%), and business insurance (~7–7.5%), with manufacturers facing about 8% costs for goods and materials. Tariffs contributed to input costs for some firms. Wages rose modestly (~3.4%) and rents ~2%. Firms expect costs to ease in 2026 to around 4.8% for manufacturers and 5.4% for service firms, and the series will further examine health-insurance effects on wages and pricing/inflation expectations.

via Liberty Street Economics|
#business#business-insurance#health-insurance
AES to go private in $10.7B deal with major investment funds
business1 month ago

AES to go private in $10.7B deal with major investment funds

AES plans to be sold to a consortium led by Global Infrastructure Partners and EQT Infrastructure VI, taking the utility company private. Shareholders will receive $15 per share (equity value around $10.7B; enterprise value about $33.4B). AES Indiana and AES Ohio would remain regulated, locally operated utilities, and the company says customer rates won’t be affected. The deal is expected to close in late 2026 or early 2027. Some Indiana lawmakers have voiced concerns about private ownership of essential services.

via WTHR|
#aes#business#eqt
DOE’s Record-Breaking $26.5B Loan Aims to Cut Power Bills for GA and AL
energy1 month ago

DOE’s Record-Breaking $26.5B Loan Aims to Cut Power Bills for GA and AL

The Energy Department closed a historic $26.5 billion loan package to fund Southern Company subsidiaries, delivering over $7 billion in electricity cost savings to millions of customers in Georgia and Alabama. The program will support about 16 GW of firm power, including new gas generation, nuclear uprates, hydropower modernization, battery storage, and transmission upgrades, while lowering the utility’s interest expenses by over $300 million per year and boosting jobs and grid reliability.

via Department of Energy (.gov)|
#alabama#energy#finance
Wisconsin Grassroots Battle Maps Blueprint to Push Back AI Data Centers
economy-and-labor1 month ago

Wisconsin Grassroots Battle Maps Blueprint to Push Back AI Data Centers

Wisconsin residents, led by DeForest organizers, blocked a Blackstone-backed QTS data center annexation, illustrating a growing nationwide grassroots playbook against private-equity–backed data-center expansion and its potential to raise energy costs and strain water resources, while urging stronger regulations on data centers and privatized utilities.

via Truthout|
#data-centers#economy-and-labor#grassroots-organizing
Winter heating bills near $1,000 push a fifth of Americans toward financial strain
personal-finance2 months ago

Winter heating bills near $1,000 push a fifth of Americans toward financial strain

NEADA projects the average winter heating cost nationwide near $995, with electric-heated homes topping $1,000. A massive upcoming winter storm could drive bills higher for over 200 million people, while about 16% of households were behind on utility payments last year (roughly $23 billion). Arrears could reach around $28 billion in 2026 as energy costs and inflation press household finances. Utilities are offering relief programs, but many families may still struggle to heat their homes this winter.

via MarketWatch|
#energy-prices#heating-costs#household-budget
Microsoft Pledges Greener Data Centers and Lower Electricity Burden on Consumers
business2 months ago

Microsoft Pledges Greener Data Centers and Lower Electricity Burden on Consumers

Microsoft unveiled a plan to curb water use at U.S. data centers and ensure power costs don’t fall on consumers by paying higher utility rates and working with utilities to expand supply. It will publish per-region water-use data, replenish more water than it uses, train local residents for data-center jobs, and include AI-literacy programs, with Wisconsin rate-structure changes also cited to prevent pass-through of data-center costs to residents.

via Reuters|
#business#data-centers#microsoft