Latest news with #utilities
Reuters
10 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
Centrica's first-half profit falls due to mild weather, lower energy prices
July 24 (Reuters) - British Gas owner Centrica (CNA.L), opens new tab posted a drop in first-half adjusted operating profit on Thursday, hit by mild weather, falling wholesale energy prices and weaker returns from gas storage. British utilities have been facing increasing challenges in recent months with mild weather hitting energy demand, low wind speeds impacting renewable output, and subdued wholesale prices squeezing margins. "There is still much more to do across the group, including improving our commercial performance in services & solutions," CEO Chris O'Shea said in a statement, as the division's customer base fell 2% in the first half of the year. Centrica, which disclosed a 15% stake in Britain's Sizewell C nuclear plant this week, reported an adjusted operating profit of 549 million pounds ($744.83 million) for the six months ended June 30, down from the 1.04 billion pounds reported a year earlier. ($1 = 0.7371 pounds)
Reuters
11 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
A mid-year check-up on global energy transition progress
LITTLETON, Colorado, July 24 (Reuters) - Global utilities generated a record amount of clean electricity while cutting output from fossil fuels during the opening half of 2025, thereby maintaining the momentum of international efforts to cut back on fossil fuel use in energy production. However, energy transition progress was more varied at a regional level, as Europe and the United States both recorded rare increases in fossil fuel use while China widened its lead in clean electricity production. Below is a breakdown of the key global and regional electricity generation milestones recorded so far in 2025. Global utilities generated a record 6,405 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity from clean power sources during January to June of 2025, data from energy think tank Ember showed. That output total was 6% more than during the same months in 2024, and means that worldwide clean electricity supply has increased every six months for the past three years. Clean power's share of global utility electricity supply was a record 43.2%, and compared to a 41.8% share during the first half of 2024. Hydro dams were the largest single source of clean electricity globally during January to June, accounting for 14% or 2,060 TWh of total electricity output. Wind and solar farms both generated around 9% of total electricity supply, which was a record for both power sources in terms of absolute electricity output and share of overall supply. Nuclear power stations have supplied an additional 9% of global electricity so far this year. Solar power output recorded the largest year-over-year increase of all power sources, jumping by 29% compared with the opening half of 2024 to 1,289 TWh. Globally, fossil fuel-powered electricity supply remained flat compared to a year earlier at 8,414 TWh for the first half of the year. Coal remained the largest source of fossil fuel power and has accounted for a third of global electricity production so far this year, generating around 4,909 TWh of electricity. However, the outright volume of global coal-fired generation was the smallest for a six-month window since the first half of 2023, and coal's share of the global generation mix was the smallest on record for a six-month span since at least 2019. Natural gas lost ground in terms of global electricity share so far this year, as a steep climb in gas prices in late 2024 and early 2025 sparked fuel switching to coal and other power sources in several key generation markets. Overall, natural gas plants supplied 21% of global electricity during the first half of 2025, down from a 22% share the year before and an average 23% share since 2019. Europe's electricity generation mix showed the largest year-over-year swings among major markets, due in part to sustained declines in wind and hydro power output which forced utilities to ramp up production from fossil fuels. Wind generation in Europe fell 8% from the opening half of 2024 while hydro output dropped 12%, resulting in a 3% contraction in total clean electricity supply in Europe during January to June compared to the same period in 2024. To compensate for the decline in clean power, gas-fired electricity output in Europe rose by 9% compared to the opening half of 2024, while coal-fired generated climbed 3%. In the United States, gas-fired generation fell 4% compared to January to June of 2024, while coal-fired output jumped by 17% as high gas prices sparked widespread fuel switching across U.S. power networks. In China, which is the top global electricity producer from fossil fuels, output from coal and gas plants both declined by 2% from the first half of 2024. A 14% increase in total clean electricity supply - to a record 2,007 TWh - alongside pockets of economic weakness has allowed Chinese utilities to trim power supply from fossil fuel plants so far this year. Elsewhere, clean electricity output rose 7% from the opening half of 2024 while fossil fuel generation held flat, indicating that a majority of economies continued to make energy transition progress even as Europe and the United States regressed. The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters. Enjoying this column? Check out Reuters Open Interest (ROI), your essential new source for global financial commentary. ROI delivers thought-provoking, data-driven analysis of everything from swap rates to soybeans. Markets are moving faster than ever. ROI can help you keep up. Follow ROI on LinkedIn, opens new tab and X, opens new tab.
Reuters
a day ago
- Business
- Reuters
Iberdrola hired Barclays to sell assets in Mexico for $4.70 billion, El Confidencial says
July 23 (Reuters) - Europe's largest utility Iberdrola ( opens new tab hired investment bank Barclays to sell 15 renewable power plants in Mexico to exit the country, Spanish news website El Confidencial reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed sources close to the operation. Iberdrola's assets are worth about 4 billion euros ($4.70 billion), El Confidencial said, adding that the utility seeks to sell on concerns about the legal and tax stability in the country. Iberdrola already sold 55% of its assets in the country to the Mexican government for $6 billion in 2024, which the Mexican government called at the time a "new nationalisation" of the electricity market. The deal was in large part designed to give Mexico's state-owned power company Comision Federal de Electricidad (CFE) majority control over the local power market. Iberdrola declined to comment, while Barclays did not immediately respond to a request for comment. ($1 = 0.8518 euros)
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
What You Need To Know Ahead of Ameren's Earnings Release
Saint Louis, Missouri-based Ameren Corporation (AEE) generates and distributes electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial, and wholesale end markets in Missouri and Illinois. With a market cap of $26.8 billion, Ameren operates through Ameren Missouri, Ameren Illinois Electric Distribution, Ameren Illinois Natural Gas, and Ameren Transmission segments. The utilities major is set to unveil its Q2 results after the market closes on Thursday, Jul. 31. Ahead of the event, analysts expect AEE to report a non-GAAP profit of $1.01 per share, 4.1% up from $0.97 per share reported in the year-ago quarter. While the company has surpassed Wall Street's earnings projections once over the past four quarters, it has missed the estimates on three other occasions. More News from Barchart Opendoor Stock Is Surging Higher in a Frenzied Retail Rally. How Should You Play OPEN Shares Here? Nvidia Stock Warning: This NVDA Challenger Just Scored a Major Customer Analysts Are Cutting Their Price Targets for UnitedHealth Stock Before Q2 Earnings. Is It Time to Ditch Shares? Our exclusive Barchart Brief newsletter is your FREE midday guide to what's moving stocks, sectors, and investor sentiment - delivered right when you need the info most. Subscribe today! For the full fiscal 2025, AEE is expected to deliver an EPS of $4.94, up 6.7% from $4.63 reported in fiscal 2024. In fiscal 2026, its earnings are expected to further grow 7.5% year-over-year to $5.31 per share. Ameren's stock prices have soared 33.3% over the past 52 weeks, significantly outperforming the S&P 500 Index's ($SPX) 13.4% returns and the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund's (XLU) 20.3% gains during the same time frame. Ameren's stock prices gained 1.4% in the trading session after the release of its mixed Q1 results on May 1. The company's operating revenues from electric sales soared 18.9% year-over-year to $1.6 billion, along with a notable uptick in natural gas sales to $475 million. This led to its overall revenues growing 15.5% year-over-year to $2.1 billion, surpassing the consensus estimates by 5.7%. However, Ameren's profitability didn't flare as expected, due to an increase in operating and interest expenses. Its non-GAAP EPS grew by a modest 4.9% compared to the year-ago quarter to $1.07, and missed the Street's expectations by 93 bps. Nevertheless, the stock maintains a consensus 'Moderate Buy' rating overall. Of the 15 analysts covering the AEE stock, opinions include nine 'Strong Buys' and six 'Holds.' Its mean price target of $105 suggests a modest 4% upside potential from current price levels. On the date of publication, Aditya Sarawgi did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on
Reuters
a day ago
- Business
- Reuters
Key US electricity price and output trends so far in 2025
LITTLETON, Colorado, July 23 (Reuters) - The first half of 2025 featured a slew of U.S. electricity and power milestones, with generation, demand and retail prices all scaling records during January to June. Below are key data points that track ongoing changes to the U.S. power and electricity sectors, which are being buffeted by historic swings in federal energy policies, rapid clean power deployment and surging consumer and business electricity demand. U.S. electricity production during January to June hit a record in 2025 as output from solar and wind farms scaled all-time highs. Total utility-supplied electricity production during January to June was 2,188 terawatt hours (TWh), which was the highest total on record for the January to June period and up 4% from the same months in 2024, data from Ember shows. A 32% year-over-year surge in solar output, along with record wind farm generation, helped drive clean-energy electricity supplies up 6% from a year ago to 989 TWh. Clean power sources secured a record 45.2% share of total electricity supplies during January to June, compared to a 44.2% share during the same months a year ago. Fossil fuels generated 1,199 TWh of electricity during January to June, or 54.8% of the total. Output from natural gas power plants, which are the largest single power source in the U.S., declined by 4% from the year before following a climb in gas prices early in 2025. To compensate for that drop in gas power, utilities bumped coal-fired power output up 17% during January to June from the same months in 2024. Coal accounted for 16% of power generation, the highest levels for the opening half of the year since 2022. U.S. retail electricity prices also scaled new highs this year, with the price across major U.S. cities averaging 18.2 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) during the opening half of the year, data from the U.S. Federal Reserve system shows. A combination of factors has been driving U.S. electricity costs steadily higher in recent years, including sustained electricity demand growth from data centers, AI applications, electric vehicles and air conditioners. The average electricity price in June 2025 was 6.7% above the rate in June 2024, which means that household electricity costs have climbed at more than twice the pace of overall U.S. consumer price inflation over that period. In addition to reflecting rising power demand, electricity costs have also climbed due to soaring spending by utilities to upgrade aging power grids which are struggling to accommodate the higher loads as well as growing volumes of renewable power. U.S. President Donald Trump has blamed the policies of previous president Joe Biden for fuelling much of the growth in electricity prices, arguing that the subsidized deployment of renewable power supplies has raised costs for utilities. Republican lawmakers have cited the high electricity prices in California - which has the country's most aggressive clean energy targets - as proof that clean energy goals raise consumer energy bills, and as justification for gutting clean energy support in the latest government budget. Yet electricity price trends so far in 2025 indicate that several states with above-average clean energy supply shares have seen prices fall from a year ago, while states with stout opposition to clean energy have seen prices rise. In California, which has the highest electricity prices of all states, electricity costs have averaged around 31.5 cents/kWh this year compared to just over 32 cents/kWh in 2024, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) shows. Electricity prices have also declined from a year ago in Iowa, Kansas and Nevada, which have all sharply lifted the supplies of clean power in electricity generation so far this decade. In contrast, states with energy systems that have stifled the growth of clean energy supplies have seen electricity costs rise by far more than the national average so far in 2025. Average prices in Florida - which has banned wind power generation and restricts state support for solar power - have risen by 5% so far this year, to around 14.94 cents/kWh from 14.25 cents/kWh in 2024. Indiana, Tennessee, South Carolina and Wisconsin have also seen electricity costs rise by more than the U.S. average so far this year, and have also posted much slower clean energy supply growth than California so far this decade. On average, electricity prices in those states continue to hold below the national average, which was around 16.75 cents/kWh so far this year. But with power demand rising in all states, all utilities will be on the hook to deliver much-needed grid upgrades over the coming years. Some states with large supplies of power from solar and wind farms may be able to avoid further steep electricity price increases over the near term, as generation costs from renewables can be far lower than from fossil fuel plants. But in areas with little to no clean power supplies, utilities may have no choice but to raise consumer electricity costs in order to fund the continued operations of their fossil power plants and make necessary system upgrades. Those utilities will also likely increase their exposure to fossil fuel prices going forward as federal support for clean energy supplies are scrapped and remaining policy measures funnel power expansion options towards fossil fuels. That means that any further increases in gas and coal costs due to rising power demand may also be passed on to consumers, and could further accelerate the rise in customer energy bills in areas that lack significant clean energy supplies. The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters. Enjoying this column? Check out Reuters Open Interest (ROI), your essential new source for global financial commentary. ROI delivers thought-provoking, data-driven analysis of everything from swap rates to soybeans. Markets are moving faster than ever. ROI can help you keep up. Follow ROI on LinkedIn, opens new tab and X, opens new tab.
