PPL reported a solid Q2 2026, reaffirming its full-year EPS guidance. Management highlighted strong execution in rate cases, continued growth in data center demand (especially in Pennsylvania and Kentucky), and significant progress in its NVIDIA Energy JV, which is expected to contribute to growth beyond the current plan period. Reaffirmed 2026 EPS guidance of $1.90-$1.98, expecting stronger 2H earnings from new rates in PA and RI.
PPL reported a solid Q2 2026, reaffirming its full-year EPS guidance. Management highlighted strong execution in rate cases, continued growth in data center demand (especially in Pennsylvania and Kentucky), and significant progress in its NVIDIA Energy JV, which is expected to contribute to growth beyond the current plan period. Reaffirmed 2026 EPS guidance of $1.90-$1.98, expecting stronger 2H earnings from new rates in PA and RI.
Signed data center agreements in Pennsylvania increased for the 10th consecutive quarter to ~32 GW, with over 6.5 GW under construction and two data centers starting service. Kentucky's development pipeline expanded to 13.7 GW, with probability-weighted new load expectations of…
Reaffirmed 2026 EPS guidance of $1.90-$1.98, expecting stronger 2H earnings from new rates in PA and RI.
Signed data center agreements in Pennsylvania increased for the 10th consecutive quarter to ~32 GW, with over 6.5 GW under construction and two data centers starting service. Kentucky's development pipeline expanded to 13.7 GW, with probability-weighted new load expectations of…
PPL reaffirmed a $23 billion capital investment plan through 2029, supporting average annual rate base growth over 10%, and expects to deploy approximately $5 billion in 2026. They highlighted potential incremental capital of $10-12 billion through 2032 from Kentucky generation…
Management discussed the NVIDIA Energy joint venture with Blackstone, which is progressing from concept to execution, with strategic land sites supporting 8-14 GW of new generation, over 5 GW of CCGT generation accepted in the PJM interconnection queue, and expectations for one or more commercial agreements by year-end. They expect earnings contributions from the JV to be material after 2030, with
Signed data center agreements in Pennsylvania increased for the 10th consecutive quarter to ~32 GW, with over 6.5 GW under construction and two data centers starting service. Kentucky's development pipeline expanded to 13.7 GW, with probability-weighted new load expectations of 3.7 GW by 2032, more than double the prior CPCN filing.
PPL reaffirmed a $23 billion capital investment plan through 2029, supporting average annual rate base growth over 10%, and expects to deploy approximately $5 billion in 2026. They highlighted potential incremental capital of $10-12 billion through 2032 from Kentucky generation and the NVIDIA Energy JV, including a potential CPCN for $3.5-4 billion of generation resources in Kentucky.
Management expressed confidence in executing the base plan and highlighted increasing visibility into upside from data center demand and the NVIDIA JV, while reaffirming guidance.
This could delay or complicate data center load additions and require additional generation investments.
“Ratepayer protection pledges and PJM's recent FERC proposal reinforce the need for new generation to serve large load customers.”
This could extend project timelines and increase uncertainty for data center grow and PPL's load growth.
“What we're seeing, Paul, is just at the local level with the support of their elected officials, just this move to slow down a little bit so that they can effectively review the projects, update their zoning requirements as needed”
“We have over 5 gigawatts of new CCGT generation that has been accepted in the PJM interconnection queue. We also have over 5 gigawatts of reservation agreements for combined cycle gas turbines.”
“Our updated probability weighted projections now indicate 3.7 gigawatts of expected new load by 2032, more than double the amount reflected in our 2025 CPCN filing. That demand is making it even more likely that we will need to file a CPCN…”
“Starting in 2027, Pennsylvania's large load customer class will contribute $11 million annually to low income assistance... Our existing Pennsylvania customers could also see about $25 a month come off the transmission component of their b…”
| 지표 | 기간 | 범위 | 중간값 | 상태 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EPS | FY2026 | $1.90–$1.98inline 컨센서스 대비 | $1.94 | MAINTAINED |
PJM's regulatory proposals are shaping the market for bilateral contracts and new generation development, aligning with PPL's JV strategy.
We've requested a decision from the KPSC by August 14th.
… for the 10th consecutive quarter to about 32 gigawatts, an increase of 3.5 gigawatts from last quarter. with over a gigawatt coming from signed electric services agreements or ESAs. We now have more than 11 gigawatts under ESAs, which carry meaningful financial commitments from the customer, which I'll cover in more detail in a few slides. We also continue to see these projects enter the construction phase with more than six and a half gigawatts now under construction. And during the quarter, two of these data centers began taking utility service. which are expected to ramp to about two gigawatts of load by 2031. This continued progression from agreement to construction to taking service is improving our line of sight into future infrastructure and generation needs, including from our NVIDIA Energy Joint Venture with Blackstone. Turning to slide seven, our NVIDIA Joint Venture continues to make progress across a number of critical paths. Ratepayer protection pledges and PJM's recent FERC proposal reinforce the need for new generation to serve large load customers. While strong data center activity in PPL electric utility service territory is expanding the opportunity for long-term energy supply services agreements or ESSAs. During the quarter, we continued to move the joint venture from concept to execution. We now have strategic land sites capable of supporting between 8 and 14 gigawatts of new generation, depending on the technology selected, and we are continuing to build our inventory of viable sites. We have over 5 gigawatts of new CCGT generation that has been accepted in the PJM interconnection queue. We also have over 5 gigawatts of reservation agreements for combined cycle gas turbines. Using the market consensus project cost of approximately $2,500 to $3,000 per KW, that 5 gigawatts represents between $12.5 and $15 billion of potential future investment through 2032, of which PPL share would be 51%. Collectively, these milestones give us increasing confidence that NVIDIA can support contracted growth and create incremental value for shareholders. While we do not expect the earnings contributions from the JV to be material through 2030, batteries or other shorter lead time technologies could begin contributing earnings in 2029 or 2030, which could enhance our projected EPS growth rate above the top end of our 6% to 8% range. We would expect more …
Blackstone is the financial partner in the NVIDIA Energy JV, helping fund a pipeline of new generation projects.
“Importantly, these targets exclude any contribution from NVIDIA Energy, our joint venture with Blackstone, which represents meaningful long term earnings and cash flow upside beyond the current plan.”
… Longer term, we continue to project $23 billion of capital investment needs through 2029, supporting average annual rate-based growth of over 10%. We also reaffirmed our long-term financial targets, including 6% to 8% annual EPS growth through at least 2029, with compound annual growth expected to be near the top end of that range. Four to six percent annual dividend growth and FFO to debt of 16 to 18 percent. Importantly, these targets exclude any contribution from NVIDIA Energy, our joint venture with Blackstone, which represents meaningful long term earnings and cash flow upside beyond the current plan. Turn to slide five for a more comprehensive regulatory update. Coming into 2026, we had base rate case proceedings underway in all three of our primary jurisdictions. These rate case filings were after significant periods of stay out, ranging from five years in Kentucky, eight years in Rhode Island, and over 10 years in Pennsylvania. We made excellent progress in these proceedings during the second quarter, continuing to achieve constructive outcomes that de-risk our plan. In Pennsylvania, PPL Electric's rate case settlement became effective July 1st with a positive …
The NVIDIA Energy JV has secured reservation agreements for over 5GW of CCGTs and sites capable of supporting 8-14GW, with 5GW accepted in PJM's interconnection queue, indicating significant progress and a competitive edge in the bilateral power market. — This de-risks the JV's development pipeline and signals a major build-out of gas-fired generation to meet data center demand, benefiting turbine suppliers like GE.
We've requested a decision from the KPSC by August 14th.
… load by 2031. This continued progression from agreement to construction to taking service is improving our line of sight into future infrastructure and generation needs, including from our NVIDIA Energy Joint Venture with Blackstone. Turning to slide seven, our NVIDIA Joint Venture continues to make progress across a number of critical paths. Ratepayer protection pledges and PJM's recent FERC proposal reinforce the need for new generation to serve large load customers. While strong data center activity in PPL electric utility service territory is expanding the opportunity for long-term energy supply services agreements or ESSAs. During the quarter, we continued to move the joint venture from concept to execution. We now have strategic land sites capable of supporting between 8 and 14 gigawatts of new generation, depending on the technology selected, and we are continuing to build our inventory of viable sites. We have over 5 gigawatts of new CCGT generation that has been accepted in the PJM interconnection queue. We also have over 5 gigawatts of reservation agreements for combined cycle gas turbines. Using the market consensus project cost of approximately $2,500 to $3,000 per KW, that 5 gigawatts represents between $12.5 and $15 billion of potential future investment through 2032, of which PPL share would be 51%. Collectively, these milestones give us increasing confidence that NVIDIA can support contracted growth and create incremental value for shareholders. While we do not expect the earnings contributions from the JV to be material through 2030, batteries or other shorter lead time technologies could begin contributing earnings in 2029 or 2030, which could enhance our projected EPS growth rate above the top end of our 6% to 8% range. We would expect more meaningful earnings and cash flows when the CCGTs come online, which could be as early as the 2031, 2032 timeframe. And as we've said, we will not move forward with construction or make material financial commitments until we have executed ESSAs with appropriate risk profiles in those contracts or have cost reimbursement agreements in place. Based on progress to date, we expect to have one or more commercial agreements by year end. Turning to slide eight, Kentucky also continues to see strong economic development activity. The current development pipeline has expanded to 13.7 gigawatts of potential …
Kentucky's probability-weighted expected new load by 2032 is now 3.7 GW, more than double the amount in the 2025 CPCN filing, which is likely to trigger a new CPCN filing by year-end for incremental generation resources. — This points to a multi-billion dollar investment in new generation (including pumped storage and batteries) in Kentucky, creating opportunities for equipment suppliers and EPC contractors.
“Our updated probability weighted projections now indicate 3.7 gigawatts of expected new load by 2032, more than double the amount reflected in our 2025 CPCN filing. That demand is making it even more likely that we will need to file a CPCN”
We've requested a decision from the KPSC by August 14th.
… which could be as early as the 2031, 2032 timeframe. And as we've said, we will not move forward with construction or make material financial commitments until we have executed ESSAs with appropriate risk profiles in those contracts or have cost reimbursement agreements in place. Based on progress to date, we expect to have one or more commercial agreements by year end. Turning to slide eight, Kentucky also continues to see strong economic development activity. The current development pipeline has expanded to 13.7 gigawatts of potential load growth with data center demand representing 11.6 gigawatts and manufacturing and other non-data center projects totaling 2.1 gigawatts. This is an increase of roughly 800 megawatts from last quarter. Of that pipeline, approximately 1.3 gigawatts is now supported by signed reimbursement agreements up from approximately 900 megawatts in the first quarter. Our updated probability weighted projections now indicate 3.7 gigawatts of expected new load by 2032, more than double the amount reflected in our 2025 CPCN filing. That demand is making it even more likely that we will need to file a CPCN for additional generation resources by year end. Potential resources for the CPCN include the 266 megawatt Lewis Ridge Pump Storage Project, the 400 megawatts of batteries that were deferred in the 2025 CPCN, and additional natural gas combined cycle generation. While we won't know the exact resource mix until we file the next CPCN, those projects represent an incremental $3.5 to $4 billion of potential investment to be incurred between 2027 and 2032. As you can see, Kentucky is emerging as a significant platform for incremental growth, which is why we've been so focused on large load tariff protections designed to preserve affordability for our existing customers. Let's turn to slide nine for a discussion on how those large load tariffs are protecting our customers. The tariffs approved in Pennsylvania and Kentucky are grounded in a simple principle. Large load customers pay their own way with enforceable provisions that protect existing customers from cost shifts. First, these tariffs require long contracts with a minimum term of 10 years in Pennsylvania and 15 years in Kentucky. Kentucky's term is longer because of the fully integrated business model with generation resources as well. Second, customers commit to guaranteed …