Editor’s note: Yesterday, my friend and colleague, Chris Graebe, held an extraordinary event: The Summer 2025 Private Investment Summit.
He shared news on his latest pre-IPO find. And it’s big.
It’s in a sector that is known for unbelievable gains — as much as 900% … 19,942% … and 53,423%!
But you didn’t miss out. You can still catch it here.
I urge you to watch that right away. Then come back here for another revolutionary play that is set to jump-start a decade-long investment wave.
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| By Sean Brodrick |
If you’re watching for signs of inflation, stop staring at the gas pump. Instead, start looking at your power bill.
Power bills are rising faster than inflation itself.
Electricity prices are quietly becoming one of the most explosive cost drivers in the U.S. economy.
Unlike oil, there’s no OPEC to blame. This is a structural shift.
In June, electricity inflation clocked in at 5.8%, more than double the 2.7% rise in the Consumer Price Index.
It’s the third straight month electricity has outpaced the CPI —and the price pressure is only getting started.
Here’s what that means for your wallet: In May, Americans spent 1.59% of their disposable income on gasoline and 1.15% on electricity — the narrowest gap in over four years.
Plug prices, not pump prices, are the ones flashing red.
Behind the surge is a perfect storm: AI-powered data centers, electrified factories, new manufacturing plants and a fragile grid that wasn’t built to handle any of it.
The Next Great American Gold Rush
What’s coming is nothing short of a power panic.
And it’s setting up one of the most underappreciated investment opportunities of the decade.
Electricity could be the next great American gold rush.
Natural gas prices, which set the wholesale electricity price in many regions, have rebounded from last year’s lows.
But the real driver of rising power bills isn’t the fuel …
It’s the infrastructure.
Grid investment is booming. Why? Because AI is here, and it’s ravenous for electricity.
Massive AI data centers, like the multibillion-dollar clusters, are being built in Central Pennsylvania, Northern Virginia and the areas around Phoenix and Dallas.
And these massive computation centers need electricity.
Winning the AI race isn’t just about chips. It’s about juice.
U.S. electricity demand, long stagnant, is surging again.
Consulting firm ICF projects a 25% jump from 2023 to 2030 — and a stunning 78% increase by 2050.
In the near term, it’s AI data centers, electrified oil fields and new domestic manufacturing driving the load.
While this growth is exciting, it’s also expensive.
Building new capacity — especially for hyperscalers like Amazon, Microsoft and Meta — requires not just generation, but high-reliability grid connections.
These are capital-intensive, long-lead-time projects. They don’t come cheap.
Meanwhile, existing grids are under growing strain.
The North American Electric Reliability Corporation says nearly half of the U.S. is at risk of blackouts during severe winter weather due to potential gas outages.
The result? A big spike in what you pay — whether or not you run a server farm.
Last summer, a capacity auction by PJM — a regional transmission organization that handles wholesale electricity in a large portion of the eastern United States — returned an eye-watering 833% price increase.
These costs get baked into utility rates across the board.
The Electric Gold Rush
If there’s one theme dominating utility boardrooms in 2025, it’s this: Demand from hyperscalers — large-scale cloud computing providers — is off the charts.
AI data centers don’t just need power — they need reliability, long-term contracts and massive scale.
- As of 2023, data centers accounted for an estimated 176 terawatt-hours (TWh), or roughly 4% of total U.S. electricity consumption.
- This year, U.S. data center energy demand is projected to reach 224 TWh, or about 5% of total U.S. power demand.
- By 2030, U.S. data center energy demand is projected to soar to 606 TWh.
Some states are fighting back.
Regulators are pushing special tariffs to force AI giants to pay their fair share of grid costs.
Utilities are demanding long-term contracts and exploring partnerships for new power plants, including next-gen nuclear.
However, none of that will come quickly or cheaply enough to halt the surge in rates.
Grid costs are sticky, and they’re going up.
There’s an easy way to play this megatrend.
The One-Click Play on the AI Grid Boom
The Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLU) is your one-stop ETF for the Electric Gold Rush.
It’s packed with the strongest utilities — companies with stable cash flow, inflation protection and growing capital bases.
Top holdings include:
- NextEra Energy (NEE): America’s clean energy giant with aggressive solar, wind and battery storage projects.
- Southern Company (SO): A major regulated player with exposure to nuclear power.
- Dominion Energy (D): At the forefront of powering the growing demand from hyperscale data centers.
Let’s look at a weekly chart of XLU …
You can see that the XLU was range-bound for months.
Now, it is breaking out to the upside. My price target on this breakout is $102 — a 21% move higher from recent prices.
XLU has an ultra-low expense ratio of just 0.08%, a solid 2.79% dividend yield and plenty of liquidity.
It’s rated “C” by Weiss Ratings, which reflects the capital-intensive nature of the utility business.
This is a sector where stable and growing cash flow beats razzle-dazzle.
Power Up for the Next Great Megatrend
Power prices are on the rise, grid spending is skyrocketing and hyperscalers are just getting started.
This isn’t a one-year trade. It’s a decade-long investment wave.
Owning utilities is a smart move as more investors recognize the magnitude of the AI energy transformation.
The grid is the new gold mine. It’s time to stake your claim.
And while you should definitely pick up shares of XLU, the right individual utilities can do even better.
That’s why I recently put together this presentation, complete with a handful of reports on what exactly is set to do the best in this boom.
Be sure to watch to the end to find out how to grab those reports.
All the best,
Sean
