--- title: "FirstEnergy nearly doubles contracted AI load in nine months to 7.9 GW, and Ohio votes on who pays" description: "FirstEnergy's contracted data-center load nearly doubled in nine months to 7.9 gigawatts, and management put numbers on the shareholders' share of the $36 billion buildout. Regulators in three states, starting with Tuesday's Ohio vote, decide whether the structure pays." publisher: "The Inference" section: "Power" published: 2026-10-30T15:14:28.315Z modified: 2026-10-30T15:14:28.315Z canonical: https://theinference.org/article/firstenergy-nearly-doubles-contracted-ai-load-in-nine-months-to-7-9-gw-and-ohio-votes-on-who-pays language: en keywords: "FirstEnergy, Utilities, Data Centers, Grid, Regulation" --- # FirstEnergy nearly doubles contracted AI load in nine months to 7.9 GW, and Ohio votes on who pays > FirstEnergy's contracted data-center load nearly doubled in nine months to 7.9 gigawatts, and management put numbers on the shareholders' share of the $36 billion buildout. Regulators in three states, starting with Tuesday's Ohio vote, decide whether the structure pays. [FirstEnergy](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/firstenergy), the Akron-based utility serving about 6 million customers in six states, is building a $36 billion grid on the back of artificial intelligence demand, and the open question is who funds it [1][3]. [On the October 28 earnings call](https://www.gurufocus.com/news/9151463/firstenergy-corp-fe-q3-2026-earnings-call-highlights-reaffirmed-guidance-surging-data-center-demand-and-a-36-billion-investment-plan), chief executive Brian Tierney reported contracts to supply data centers through 2036 reached 7.9 gigawatts at the end of the third quarter, [up 23% from 6.4 gigawatts at the end of June and 90% above the end-2025 level](https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/business/2026/10/28/firstenergy-ceo-expects-data-center-growth-well-beyond-end-of-decade-third-quarter-2026-finances/92482898007/), with another 4 gigawatts in active negotiation and a 26-gigawatt total pipeline [1][2][3]. *Chart: **Contracted load rose 23% in a quarter; the 26 GW pipeline looms behind it** Bar chart of FirstEnergy contracted data-center demand at Q2 2026 (6.4 GW) and Q3 2026 (7.9 GW), beside the Q3 total pipeline of 26 GW, which adds prospective load not yet under contract.* *Contracted data-center demand under contract through 2036, and the total pipeline including prospective load, in gigawatts, as reported for Q2 and Q3 2026. Sources: Utility Dive, Akron Beacon Journal, GuruFocus earnings-call highlights. [1][2][3]* ## Every contracted gigawatt adds a quarter-billion to the grid The buildout carries a price tag. Each contracted gigawatt requires roughly $250 million of transmission upgrades, so FirstEnergy expects its $19 billion transmission plan to grow by at least 25%, or $4.75 billion, inside that $36 billion five-year capital program [1][3]. Someone funds that. Management's answer: the data centers pay. In West Virginia, where Monongahela Power and Potomac Edison want to build [the $2.7 billion Maidsville gas plant](https://www.utilitydive.com/news/firstenergy-data-center-pipeline-maidsville/873149/), offtakers have signaled openness to fund much of it through a surcharge [1][3]. For shareholders, the cost is quantified: up to $2 billion of new equity through 2030 and up to 35% equity funding on incremental projects [3]. ## The money case is priced, and regulators hold the gates For investors, the demand fact is now priced against a payout that depends on regulators. FirstEnergy reaffirmed 2026 core earnings guidance of $2.62 to $2.82 a share and expects growth near the top of its 6% to 8% range through 2030 [3]. Analyst targets sit at $50, against a $46.83 close on October 29, so the stock trades on the buildout converting, not on demand appearing [3][5]. Three gates decide that. The West Virginia certificate for Maidsville, expected in the fourth quarter, unlocks the plant's contracts [1][3]. Pennsylvania's commission has already [rejected FirstEnergy's data-center billing plan 3-2](https://theinference.org/article/banks-50-targets-bet-on-firstenergy-s-4-3-gw-ai-load-pennsylvania-and-ohio-decide-who-pays), as reported when this covered the Q2 buildout [5]. And February's updated capital plan gives the transmission uplift and equity needs their first full numbers, after New Jersey's affordability review reaches resolution expected later this year or early next [3]. ## The politics that sets the mood votes Tuesday Then there is Ohio. On October 29, the Energy and Policy Institute [reported that super PACs backing Senator Jon Husted received $2 million this year](https://energyandpolicy.org/pro-husted-super-pacs-received-2-million-this-year-from-501c4-groups-once-secretly-funded-by-firstenergy/) from two 501(c)(4) groups FirstEnergy secretly funded in 2018, years before the company agreed to pay $275 million in refunds and fines over its bribery schemes [4]. A New Jersey review could reshape investment there too, with resolution expected this year or early next [3]. When this covered the Q2 buildout on October 26, banks' $50 targets were betting on 4.3 gigawatts and the politics was the caveat [5]. What is new since: the contracted load nearly doubled in nine months, the transmission uplift got its first number, the shareholders' equity share was quantified, and the dark-money report landed four days before Ohio votes [1][3][4]. The decision rule: 7.9 gigawatts is a demand fact, but the earnings are a regulatory variable, set in three states starting with Tuesday's ballot [1][3][4]. ## Takeaway 7.9 GW of contracted data-center demand is now a fact; whether it lifts earnings is a regulatory variable decided in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, starting with Tuesday's ballot. ## Sources 1. [Utility Dive, FirstEnergy data center pipeline increases to 26 GW in Q3, Oct. 29, 2026](https://www.utilitydive.com/news/firstenergy-data-center-pipeline-maidsville/873149/) 2. [Akron Beacon Journal, FirstEnergy's data center demand nearly doubles in less than year, Oct. 28, 2026](https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/business/2026/10/28/firstenergy-ceo-expects-data-center-growth-well-beyond-end-of-decade-third-quarter-2026-finances/92482898007/) 3. [GuruFocus, FirstEnergy Corp (FE) Q3 2026 Earnings Call Highlights, Oct. 29, 2026](https://www.gurufocus.com/news/9151463/firstenergy-corp-fe-q3-2026-earnings-call-highlights-reaffirmed-guidance-surging-data-center-demand-and-a-36-billion-investment-plan) 4. [Energy and Policy Institute, Pro-Husted Super PACs received $2 million this year from 501(c)(4) groups once secretly funded by FirstEnergy, Oct. 29, 2026](https://energyandpolicy.org/pro-husted-super-pacs-received-2-million-this-year-from-501c4-groups-once-secretly-funded-by-firstenergy/) 5. [The Inference, Banks' $50 targets bet on FirstEnergy's 4.3 GW AI load; Pennsylvania and Ohio decide who pays, Oct. 26, 2026](https://theinference.example/article/banks-50-targets-bet-on-firstenergy-s-4-3-gw-ai-load-pennsylvania-and-ohio-decide-who-pays) --- FirstEnergy nearly doubles contracted AI load in nine months to 7.9 GW, and Ohio votes on who pays — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/firstenergy-nearly-doubles-contracted-ai-load-in-nine-months-to-7-9-gw-and-ohio-votes-on-who-pays