Artificial intelligence (AI) is eating electricity faster than the grid can deliver it. Each new data center requires hundreds of megawatts of power and 24/7 clean energy that the current grid cannot fully provide. Demand projections show 60 to 120 gigawatts of new load by 2030 -- equivalent to adding Italy's entire power consumption to the U.S. grid at current levels.
What's key for investors to understand is that companies currently able to generate reliable nuclear power, expand transmission lines, or cool high-density servers are already landing multi-year contracts with the AI power players (pun intended). That's a potent tailwind for investors.
Image source: Getty Images.
These three energy companies are turning this record demand into cash flows and rising share prices.
1. Always-on atoms
Constellation Energy (CEG +0.23%) operates the largest nuclear fleet in the U.S., with 21 reactors across 12 sites producing about 22,000 megawatts of carbon-free power. The company's third-quarter 2025 results showed adjusted earnings per share of $3.04, up from $2.74 in the same quarter a year earlier, reflecting strong pricing and steady output. With large buyers such as Microsoft and Meta Platforms signing multi-year power purchase agreements, Constellation is gaining leverage as the primary provider of reliable clean energy to support AI and data center growth.
NASDAQ: CEG
Key Data Points
Major technology companies are also entering direct nuclear partnerships. Alphabet recently signed a 25-year agreement with NextEra Energy to restart the 615-megawatt Duane Arnold nuclear plant in Iowa by 2029. The deal demonstrates how hyperscalers are now competing for firm, carbon-free capacity that utilities cannot quickly supply. As the grid struggles to meet around-the-clock demand from AI infrastructure, Constellation's scale and long-term contracts position it to benefit from the power market's shift toward always-on atoms.
2. Volatility as a strategy
Vistra (VST +0.71%) combines 41 gigawatts of nuclear, gas, and utility-scale batteries across markets where AI load is increasing the fastest. That portfolio enables Vistra to serve both peak and firm demand while monetizing the wild price swings in Texas and mid-Atlantic power markets. Third-quarter ongoing operations adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) hit $1.58 billion. Management has narrowed its full-year 2025 guidance to $5.7 billion to $5.9 billion, while initiating 2026 targets of $6.8 billion to $7.6 billion.
NYSE: VST
Key Data Points
Vistra closed the acquisition of seven natural-gas plants totaling about 2,600 megawatts in October and approved two new Permian Basin units that will add 860 megawatts and triple that site's capacity by 2028. The expanding, fuel-diverse fleet is designed to meet record demand, even when timing is unpredictable, while positioning the company to benefit from volatility in the fast-growing Texas and mid-Atlantic power markets.
3. The lines that light the racks
Quanta Services (PWR 5.00%) builds the high-voltage transmission, substations, and grid hardening that everything else depends on. Third-quarter revenue reached $7.6 billion, with adjusted diluted earnings per share of $3.33. Backlog reached a record $39.2 billion, driven by accelerating demand. Management raised full-year revenue guidance to $27.8 billion to $28.2 billion and free cash flow to $1.5 billion at the midpoint.
NYSE: PWR
Key Data Points
Quanta also announced a joint venture with Zachry Group to deliver a roughly 3-gigawatt load center that includes combined-cycle gas turbines, battery storage, transmission, and substations, signaling deeper expansion into turnkey power solutions. The company also recently partnered with AEP for a project involving data center energy demand, adding to its backlog. Quanta's double-digit backlog growth is evidence that utilities are finally accelerating long-delayed grid upgrades to keep pace with the soaring power needs of AI and manufacturing.
The scarcity premium
Hyperscalers are discovering that securing 500 megawatts of firm power is harder than training a frontier model. That scarcity is driving premium pricing for nuclear baseload, flexible generation, transmission capacity, and advanced cooling. The race is not just to build AI but to power it at scale, and companies executing across the stack are locking in multi-year contracts while the grid plays catch-up. These three companies are at the forefront of this massive opportunity.
