Data Centers Devour Electricity. Private Equity Is Buying Utilities to Cash In.

"A critical turning point in this development occurred in October when Minnesota state regulators greenlit the acquisition of Allete by asset management behemoth BlackRock - set to become Allete's majority stakeholder - and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. Allete owns Minnesota Power, the main electric utility in northern Minnesota. The approval came against significant community opposition and, as Truthout previously reported, an administrative law judge's report that strongly recommended against the deal."

"With the acquisition, BlackRock will turn Allete from a publicly traded company into a private one. Moreover, BlackRock is now gunning for utility giant AES, which has utilities in Ohio and Indiana along with other extensive U.S. and international operations, while another private equity titan, Blackstone, is seeking approval to acquire TXNM Energy, with hundreds of thousands of customers in New Mexico and Texas."

Ratepayers across the U.S. face rising electric bills, a trend that could accelerate as Wall Street firms acquire electric utilities. Minnesota regulators approved BlackRock and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's acquisition of Allete, owner of Minnesota Power, despite community opposition and an administrative judge's recommendation against the deal. BlackRock plans to take Allete private and is targeting other utilities such as AES, while Blackstone pursues TXNM Energy. The push is driven by data-center electricity demand and utilities' guaranteed returns. Critics warn private equity ownership will impose opaque, extractive, profit-focused management over essential services, challenging regulators and communities.

Read at Truthout