Constellation CEO Joseph Dominguez Talks Gas, Power Prices and Data Center | Bloomberg Talks

Joseph Dominguez, CEO of Constellation Energy, spoke with Bloomberg’s Julie Fine at CERAWeek in Houston, addressing the current energy landscape and the burgeoning data economy. Dominguez noted that the war in Iran has not directly impacted U.S. natural gas prices, as domestic production is already maximized. However, he sees international instability as an opportunity for more data centers to be built in the U.S. instead of the Middle East or Europe, driving increased demand for electricity. Constellation plans to capitalize on this by investing in its existing nuclear fleet, aiming to increase output equivalent to six or seven new nuclear plants through upgrades and extensions, in addition to exploring new small modular and large reactors. Dominguez also discussed the challenge of balancing data center power needs with consumer bills and grid reliability. He acknowledged the "not in my backyard" sentiment and the initial perception that data centers drive up energy costs due to peak demand. He explained that the President's executive order and industry agreements are promoting flexibility during peak hours, enabling data centers to reduce demand or provide their own capacity. Dominguez argued that better utilization of the grid by data centers during off-peak hours could actually reduce overall electricity costs. Constellation is working with industrial customers for voluntary demand reduction, exploring more effective use of data center backup generators and batteries, and considering new gas-fired generation in the longer term. He concluded that sustained capital expenditures by data center companies are the strongest indicator of continued demand growth.