EnergyOnline
Services

RSS FEED

EnergyOnline.com rss

News

Faster-than-Expected Data Center Load Growth May Cause Increased Regional Short-term Fossil Fuel Generation and Wholesale Electricity Prices

LCG, March 18, 2026--The EIA released a new "In-depth Analysis" of the potential impact of faster-than-expected near-term growth in data center power demand on power generation and wholesale prices on March 12. The analysis models the lower 48 states through 2027 and compares results to its base case scenario. Key takeaway from this sensitivity analysis is the potential increase in fossil fuels in some regions and potentially a significant increase in wholesale prices in ERCOT.

Read more

Faster-than-Expected Data Center Load Growth May Cause Increased Regional Short-term Fossil Fuel Generation and Wholesale Electricity Prices

LCG, March 18, 2026--The EIA released a new "In-depth Analysis" of the potential impact of faster-than-expected near-term growth in data center power demand on power generation and wholesale prices on March 12. The analysis models the lower 48 states through 2027 and compares results to its base case scenario. Key takeaway from this sensitivity analysis is the potential increase in fossil fuels in some regions and potentially a significant increase in wholesale prices in ERCOT.

Read more

Industry News

Watkins' Letter Reveals Off-Balance Sheet Entities

LCG, Jan. 17, 2002--Enron Corp. depended on outside partnerships for hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue which never appeared on Enron's own income statements, according to a letter by an Enron vice-president, Sherron Watkins, to Ken Lay, Enron chairman.

Instead, the earnings from entities previously unknown to the public, called Condor and Raptor, may have been used to offset losses in other ventures. Raptor generated revenue through trading in the stock of public companies; some of the stocks were in companies of which Enron was a customer, such as the Enron subsidiary New Power Company, and Avici Systems, which deals in data networking equipment.

Analysts who have reviewed the substance of Watkins' letter say that $500 million generated by Raptor, as well as $800 million generated by Condor, may need to be deducted on Enron's income statements, and cause earnings to be revised downward by an additional $1.3 billion. In October, $1.2 billion was written off due to criticism that outside partnerships' activity was not explicitly included on Enron's own financial issuances.

Watkins expressed concern in her letter that when Condor produced revenue, the transaction between Condor and Enron should most likely have been characterized as an exchange of stock for cash, rather than increased cash flow. She wrote, "if Enron stock did well, the stock issuance to these entities would decline, and the transactions would be less noticeable. All has gone against us."

Copyright © 2026 LCG Consulting. All rights reserved. Terms and Copyright
UPLAN-NPM
The Locational Marginal Price Model (LMP) Network Power Model
Uniform Storage Model
A Battery Simulation Model
UPLAN-ACE
Day Ahead and Real Time Market Simulation
UPLAN-G
The Gas Procurement and Competitive Analysis System
PLATO
Database of Plants, Loads, Assets, Transmission...
CAISO CRR Auctions
Monthly Price and Congestion Forecasting Service