New York, Jan 17, 2026, 16:59 EST — Market closed.
GE Vernova Inc shares closed up 6.1% on Friday at $681.55, as investors weighed a White House push for PJM Interconnection to run an “emergency” power auction aimed at speeding new generation onto the grid. The stock added $39.27 on the day, traded between $651.00 and $692.49, and saw about 5.0 million shares change hands, according to market data. 1
The policy focus matters now because electricity demand in PJM’s footprint is being driven by rapid data center construction, and state officials want to blunt rising power bills. Governors from states inside PJM were set to sign an agreement with the Trump administration that would include price caps for two years on future PJM auctions and put more of the grid-expansion cost on new data center operators, two sources told Reuters. 2
A U.S. Department of Energy fact sheet said the agreement urges PJM to provide 15-year revenue certainty for new power plants and to support building more than $15 billion of “baseload” generation, while limiting what existing plants can be paid in PJM’s capacity market. Capacity markets are auctions that pay generators to be available, not just for the electricity they sell, and the fact sheet also said data centers would be required to pay for new generation built on their behalf even if they don’t end up using it. 3
Jefferies analyst Julien Dumoulin-Smith called GE Vernova the “clearest winner” from an emergency PJM backstop plan, and flagged “net risk” to incumbent power players including Constellation Energy, Talen Energy and Vistra on the prospect of new supply and heavier market intervention. He also cited potential positives for companies such as NRG Energy and PPL Corp. 4
PJM, for its part, laid out its own response late Friday. The grid operator said it plans to require new large power users to bring their own generation or join a “connect and manage” framework that can include early curtailment, and it said it would file proposals with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). PJM CEO David Mills framed the trade-off bluntly: “How can we do this while keeping the lights on” while also recognizing the impact on consumers. 5
The next trading session for U.S. stocks will be Tuesday after markets close on Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. 6
There’s a risk the trade runs ahead of the plumbing. Auction design, price caps and cost-shifting can bog down in implementation, and new power plants don’t show up quickly; a longer gap between policy headlines and actual orders would test the optimism priced into turbine suppliers.
GE Vernova supplies turbines for gas-fired power plants, making it an obvious read-through on any plan that pushes utilities and developers toward new-build generation. But if PJM’s answer leans more on curtailment and “bring your own generation” compliance than on a near-term rush to build, the demand signal could look messier than Friday’s tape suggested. 7
The next hard catalyst is Jan. 28, when GE Vernova is scheduled to release fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results before the U.S. market open, followed by a 7:30 a.m. ET webcast led by CEO Scott Strazik and CFO Ken Parks. Investors will be listening for order commentary and any early read on whether Washington’s push around PJM can translate into tangible demand. 8
