The race to build AI data centers may not require as much new electricity generation as investors fear. Constellation Energy Corp. (NASDAQ:CEG) CEO Joseph Dominguez says the U.S. grid still has years of underused power capacity that could support new data centers — potentially buying the industry time before a much larger wave of new generation is needed.
“We could have probably another six or seven years’ worth of stranded capacity,” Dominguez said during the company’s third-quarter earnings call on Nov. 9. The CEO added that the available supply could help data centers come online, depending on how quickly developers build them.
Constellation reported third-quarter adjusted EPS of $5.06, beating the $3.85 estimate, on sales of $9.55 billion, above the $9.37 billion estimate. It also raised its 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $12.50 to $12.80 from $11.50 to $12.50, above the $12.15 estimate. The shares jumped 10.5% on Nov. 9.
America’s Grid Has More Idle Power Than Investors May Realize
The opportunity is not necessarily about building more power plants. It is about getting more out of the ones already operating.
Dominguez pointed to combined-cycle gas plants in Texas’ ERCOT market, saying many are operating well below their potential. While such facilities could reach utilization rates of 80% to 90%, some are running at roughly half those levels, leaving capacity that could support additional electricity demand if operators can move power where it is needed.
Dominguez also noted that many plants remain idle on the grid. The PJM region, which serves parts of the eastern U.S., is tighter, but utilization remains relatively light compared with historical levels.
“There remains a ton of available energy supply out there,” Dominguez said. The CEO suggested the current cushion could last until closer to 2035, while acknowledging that it will eventually run out.
Demand Response Could Stretch the Power Supply Further
The available generation capacity is only part of the equation. Dominguez said Constellation is also exploring how demand response could help accommodate data center growth.
Under these arrangements, electricity customers agree to reduce consumption when the grid comes under pressure. But businesses may need longer-term financial incentives before making physical changes at their facilities to support that flexibility.
Dominguez said Constellation’s commercial team is exploring whether payment commitments lasting five, 10 years or longer could encourage customers to participate. That could help free up additional electricity without requiring utilities to build generation solely to meet occasional spikes in demand.
The idea fits the CEO’s broader argument that the U.S. faces a peak-capacity challenge rather than an outright shortage of energy. In prepared remarks on the call, Dominguez said storage and demand response could help manage the relatively small number of hours when electricity demand is highest.
What It Means for the AI Power Trade
For investors, the distinction matters. If existing plants can serve more demand, the immediate opportunity may extend beyond companies building new power plants, nuclear reactors or grid infrastructure. Owners of underutilized generation assets could also benefit as data center developers compete for reliable electricity.
That does not eliminate the need for new generation or resolve regional transmission and grid constraints. Available capacity in one market cannot automatically serve a data center in another. But it challenges the assumption that America’s AI expansion must run into an immediate nationwide shortage of electricity.
Investors watching Constellation and the broader power trade should pay attention to how quickly data center demand materializes, whether idle capacity can be brought online and whether demand-response agreements become commercially viable.
The next phase of the AI power boom may depend as much on making better use of existing assets as on building new ones.
CEG Price Action: Constellation Energy shares were down 3.34% at $266.86 at the time of publication Tuesday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Photo: Andrey_Popov / Shutterstock
