New York, Jan 16, 2026, 17:27 EST — After-hours
- Shares of GE Vernova climbed roughly 6% in late trading, beating a jittery U.S. power sector.
- Washington is urging PJM to hold an emergency procurement auction and push the cost of new supply onto data centers.
- Traders are eyeing PJM’s reaction alongside GE Vernova’s earnings report due January 28.
Shares of GE Vernova Inc. jumped 6.1% to close at $681.55 in after-hours on Friday. The surge came as the company benefited from a U.S. initiative aimed at accelerating new power plant construction to meet booming data center needs. During the session, the stock fluctuated between $651.00 and $692.49, with roughly 4.9 million shares traded.
The Trump administration is pushing PJM Interconnection to make a temporary change to market rules and hold an emergency procurement auction. At the same time, it wants to rely on long-term contracts to bring new power plants online. “High electricity prices are a choice,” U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a Department of Energy statement laying out the plan. The Department of Energy’s Energy.gov
PJM, the biggest electric grid operator in the U.S., covers roughly 67 million customers across 13 states and D.C. It’s been grappling with adding supply fast enough as data centers boom. The White House is now pushing to cap earnings for existing power plants in PJM’s capacity market — the system that compensates generators for being ready to supply power later. They’re also proposing a “bring your own generation” plan, which would force data centers to fund new capacity even if they don’t use it. PJM said it’s reviewing these ideas but wasn’t invited to the White House meeting, a spokesperson told Reuters. Reuters
The push has been gaining momentum for days. Governors were set to meet at the White House to endorse two-year price caps on upcoming PJM auctions and to push new data center operators, including Amazon and Google, to cover more of the grid expansion costs, Reuters reported. Senator Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, argued that Americans “shouldn’t have to foot the bill” for the growth of big corporations’ data centers. Reuters
Friday’s policy announcement rattled the market. Constellation Energy tumbled 9.8% in late trading, Vistra dropped 7.4%, and Talen Energy plunged 11.3%, reflecting investor concerns over potential tougher market controls and limits on capacity payments that might pressure established generators.
Jefferies analyst Julien Dumoulin-Smith labeled GE Vernova the “clearest winner” in the emergency PJM “backstop” plan, flagging a “net risk” for incumbent power producers, according to a TheFly report shared by TipRanks. TipRanks
GE Vernova manufactures gas turbines and related power equipment, along with services for maintaining that fleet. Policies pushing faster construction of new generation and the infrastructure to connect it tend to put its order pipeline under the microscope.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s office issued a statement outlining key proposals under review. These include a special “backstop” capacity auction that could lock in commitments for up to 15 years, alongside an expedited interconnection process featuring a 150-day deadline for select projects. The statement also noted that PJM’s board is weighing updated rules for the 2028–29 capacity auction set for June. pa.gov
Still, questions remain. PJM isn’t obligated to follow the White House framework, and changes to market rules could face pushback from regulators and legal challenges. Plus, new power plants need time to get approved and constructed. A slowdown in data center development could also dampen the demand that’s been supporting parts of the sector.
Traders now turn their attention to PJM’s upcoming response, especially around the structure of long-term contracts and the question of who foots the bill. GE Vernova is set to release its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results on Jan. 28, before markets open.
