Oracle volunteers to absorb a $300 million nuclear bill in Wisconsin
Oracle will buy 125 to 250 megawatts of Point Beach, Wisconsin's only nuclear plant, and says taking that bill onto itself spares other customers $300 million through 2033. Every decision that matters now sits with one state commission, and the terms are still unwritten.
Vincent Jiang · 3 min read
A hockey stick finds a volunteer
Since 2007, Wisconsin households have paid an escalating price for a nuclear plant their utility sold 41. On 30 September a buyer volunteered: Oracle said it will purchase 125 to 250 megawatts of Point Beach, roughly 10 to 20 percent of the demand of the $15 billion, 1.3-gigawatt campus it is building with OpenAI and Vantage Data Centers at Port Washington 1. Oracle sizes the relief at $300 million in fuel costs for more than 1 million customers between 2027 and 2033, pending approval by the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin 123. The clock starts before any campus load: Aterio's base case has partial grid power around December 2027 and full capacity around October 2028, and the announcement does not say what Oracle does with megawatts it cannot yet use 5.
The escalator Oracle steps in front of
NextEra Energy Resources bought Point Beach, two 625-megawatt reactors, from We Energies in 2007 and sells the output back under a contract whose price per megawatt-hour will have doubled between 2009 and 2027, rising 6 to 8 percent a year through 2033 41. NextEra collects that escalator today and, with licenses renewed to the early 2050s last year, would keep collecting that far if the commission approves the extension We Energies seeks 14.
The contract drives 20 percent of We Energies' proposed $176 million electric increase for 2027 and most of a $59 million fuel rise next year, per public filings 1. The utility says an extension could bring more reasonable terms; it has revealed none, and the proposal reaches the commission this fall 1.
Paying retail beats waiting
Oracle's motive is scarcity, not charity. The campus cannot take load until a new American Transmission Company line clears the same commission, a review reset in August, with the completeness ruling due about 19 October 5. "It's available now. It's a burden on the ratepayers. We need the power. We're going to take it," Oracle's Julia Robin said 1.
Oracle's $300 million pledge is about 1 percent of one quarter's capex
Data
| Oracle capex | |
|---|---|
| Q1 '24 | $1.67B |
| Q2 '24 | $2.8B |
| Q3 '24 | $2.3B |
| Q4 '24 | $3.97B |
| Q1 '25 | $5.86B |
| Q2 '25 | $9.08B |
| Q3 '25 | $8.5B |
| Q4 '25 | $12.03B |
| Q1 '26 | $18.64B |
| Q2 '26 | $16.49B |
| Q3 '26 | $28.5B |
For Oracle the money is loose change: capital spending ran $28.5 billion in the quarter ended 31 August, roughly 95 times the seven-year pledge 6.
Baby steps, and a stacked calendar
Tom Content of the Citizens Utility Board likened the contract to "a hockey stick that keeps hitting customers year after year" and calls Oracle's move "a step in the right direction," but wants terms: "Until we see more details, it's very hard to know if customers are seeing a big win or baby steps" 1. Patience is thin: 74 percent of Wisconsin voters told Marquette's September poll that data centers cost more than they give 17.
Washington just failed to answer that. The House passed the Ratepayer Protection Act 417 to 3 on 16 September; Senate Democrats blocked it 57 to 43 on 30 September, calling its protections optional 18.
A year-end pile-up at the commission
By year-end the same three-member commission rules on We Energies' proposed 9.25 and 5.5 percent residential increases for 2027 and 2028, a decision unlikely to reflect Oracle's deal because the campus does not fully launch until 2028 91. Oracle files its Point Beach plan by year-end. "There's not a lot to take to the bank," Content said 1.
The escalator that has hit Wisconsin bills since 2007 finally found a customer that wants it.
Deepdive
AI-generated from this story and its cited sources. Not investment advice.
