Warren, Sanders, Blumenthal Press Blackstone, Blackrock on their Acquisitions of Public Utility Companies and Potential Energy Price Increases for Americans

Warren, Sanders, Blumenthal Press Blackstone, Blackrock on their Acquisitions of Public Utility Companies and Potential Energy Price Increases for Americans

Acquisitions come as household electricity costs are up 11% since President Trump took office

Letter to BlackRock | Letter to Blackstone

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, Bernie Sanders (D-VT), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) sent letters to BlackRock CEO Larry Fink and Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman raising concerns about the effects their acquisitions of publicly traded utility companies could have on electricity costs for American families.

The Senators wrote: "According to the International Energy Agency, data center electricity demand worldwide will increase by 130% by 2030. Bloomberg recently found that electricity now costs up to 267% more each month than it did in 2020 in areas located near large data centers. Since President Trump took office ten months ago, household electricity costs are already up 11%."

"Investors have typically viewed utility companies as reliable investments with a guaranteed rate of return," wrote the lawmakers. "But now, amidst rapidly rising energy use from AI data centers and other strains on the grid, Wall Street investors and private equity firms appear to be taking advantage of utilities' regulated-monopoly status to rake in excess profits."

The Senators highlighted concerns by communities regarding Blackstone's announcement to acquire publicly traded TXNM Energy, which provides electricity to about 800,000 households in New Mexico and Texas: "As community organizers have already noted, 'private equity's control of the state's power grid threatens affordability, accountability, and the state's transition to a clean energy future.' Additionally, the Center for Biological Diversity, a national conservation organization, noted in their opposition to the acquisition that Blackstone's FERC application fails to discuss the anti-competitive effects on customers as a result of the company owning both data centers and electric utility companies."

The lawmakers also cited the former Republican Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Mark Christie, who warned that "a public utility has public service obligations; it is not just another company seeking to maximize returns to its shareholders. Many have been granted monopoly franchises by state governments in return for serving the public within their territories. One threat is that asset managers, like BlackRock, will use their ownership of competing assets to exert market power in wholesale energy, capacity, and ancillary services markets."

The Senators concluded by requesting answers to their questions on the companies' acquisition of publicly traded utilities no later than December 18, 2025.

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