UK's National Grid Acquires $1.75 Billion Stake in U.S. AI Power Supply Company
N.R. Finch
National Grid is paying $1.75 billion for a 35% stake in Joulent LLC, a private U.S. power company building a dedicated gas-fired plant for Microsoft data centers in Texas — the British utility's biggest bet yet that AI electricity demand is the growth market of the decade.
What exactly is National Grid buying?
National Grid pays $1.75 billion for 35% of Joulent LLC, valuing the company at $5 billion.
Joulent is co-developing the "Kilby project" with Chevron — a 2.67 GW natural-gas power station in Texas, expected online by 2028.
The plant will supply electricity exclusively to Microsoft data centers, operating as a private power campus until it gains access to the public grid. This means → the station serves one customer only — Microsoft.
Why is a British grid operator heading to Texas?
National Grid's existing U.S. operations are in New York and Massachusetts. The Joulent stake is its first move into Texas.
CEO Zoe Yujnovich said plainly: "The demand around getting power to tech quickly is probably the biggest growth market you can find right now."
In plain terms = traditional grid growth has plateaued; AI data centers are the new mega-consumers of electricity, and National Grid is following the demand.
How big is $1.75 billion for National Grid?
The company's total investment plan runs to roughly £70 billion (about $93 billion). This deal is less than 2% of that.
Management confirmed the outlay fits within existing headroom — no new fundraising, no change to forward guidance.
This means → it is a "test with pocket money" move, with limited risk exposure. But the CEO signaled the company will push for larger stakes in future projects — Kilby is just the starting point.
Who is behind Joulent?
Joulent is backed by Engine No. 1 — an activist investor that buys stakes in companies to push for strategic change.
Engine No. 1 made headlines in 2021 by waging a climate-focused proxy fight against ExxonMobil.
This reflects a notable pivot: capital that once challenged oil majors on climate grounds is now funding natural-gas power plants — because AI electricity demand is too urgent to wait.
Where is the risk in this deal?
The core uncertainty: whether Texas data-center power demand can sustain the commercial returns needed to justify large-scale private power projects like this one.
Put simply = the AI buildout is red-hot and everyone is racing to build power stations; but if demand falls short in a few years, a plant dedicated to a single customer is hard to repurpose.
The deal was advised by JPMorgan Chase as lead financial adviser, with Evercore as financial adviser.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.