Major US electric utility Exelon increased its four-year capital investment plan by 10 per cent to $38 billion, with the bulk of the spending aimed at bolstering and building new transmission lines. This announcement comes just as many US power companies are revising capex plans over the past year as the proliferation of AI data centres and the electrification of industries like transportation, have led to increased power consumption.
Ageing grid and the lack of high-voltage power lines and electricity generation are expected to present a key challenge in meeting growing electricity demand, while storms and other climate-driven events batter the existing grid.
Since a variety of solutions are available, the Chicago-based company is engaged in discussions around dozens of proposed state legislations related to the country’s power industry. Exelon serves more than 10.5 million customers through six fully regulated transmission and distribution utilities and formed around 11 GW of likely data-centre demand.
To help fund infrastructure upgrades, utilities have also been seeking to raise power consumers’ bills. Exelon said several of its rate cases had been approved by regulators and came into effect earlier this year. Regulated utilities use rate case proceedings to determine the amount that customers need to pay for electricity and natural gas services.