I think most POWER readers are familiar with financial indexes such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and the S&P 500. These indices are widely reported on by news outlets and followed by many large and small investors. The DJIA includes 30 well-established “blue chip” companies that are considered leaders in their respective industries, while the S&P 500, as the name implies, has 500 companies in its much broader index. Regardless of the number of companies included, indexes such as these provide valuable insight into market health and direction.
Last fall, POWER developed a proprietary indicator designed to track the health of the power industry. We’re calling it the Power Industry Market Index. A group of 50 companies was selected to be part of the index, which we feel provides a representative sample of the hundreds or even thousands of companies that work within the global electric-power generation, transmission, and distribution sectors.
POWER chose a broad range of industry participants. The list includes both large and small companies, giving equal value to each rather than weighting the index based on the various companies’ market capitalization, which is a common practice in financial indexes. We do not intend for our index to be solely a stock-price performance indicator, but rather, an industry health evaluator for observers interested in a more encompassing overview.
Index Makeup
Power companies are well-represented in the index: Fifteen U.S. utilities and seven large international utilities are included. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), software and hardware suppliers, engineering firms, construction contractors, and companies catering to specific sectors such as solar, wind, nuclear, geothermal, and more, are also on the list. The index utilizes inputs such as company stock-price history, book values, assets, cash flows, capital expenditures, power generation sales, and more, to evaluate each company’s future prospects, which are then averaged and summated to give an output that ranges from 0 to 100.
While the number is not likely to ever reach the extremes on the scale, it’s relative performance from quarter to quarter is expected to provide insight and value. POWER does not offer financial or investing advice, and for that reason is not planning to release specific names of the companies included in the index or details on how the index is calculated. What observers choose to do with the information is up to them.
The Latest Findings
With that said, POWER has been tracking the index since October 2024. When the index originated, which was before the U.S. presidential election, the score was 59.4 out of 100. A lot has happened since that time. President Trump has signed several Executive Orders that directly affect the power industry, enacted (or proposed) various tariffs, and generally signaled support for fossil fuels over renewable energy resources. Interestingly, the Power Industry Market Index has risen as a result, and sat at 60.8 in early March.
As can be expected in any index with 50 companies being monitored, there were ups and downs throughout the list, which naturally balanced out many of the individual changes. However, it was notable that engineering firms, construction contractors, OEMs, and to a lesser extent, software and hardware suppliers, were among the companies making the most significant increases. While U.S. utilities saw some upward movement, international utilities slumped, generally leveling the effects. All other sub-sectors were either steady or down. Again, it should be noted that these fluctuations are based on much more than just stock-price changes, so may not reflect what observers are seeing in the financial markets.
Subscriber Benefits
The Power Industry Market Index is available to all POWER Megawatt and Gigawatt subscribers. Analysis and insights gleaned from the index will be delivered via email on a quarterly basis. Other benefits of membership at these levels include access to the POWER Plant ID platform.
POWER Plant ID includes data about U.S. power plants including complete locations for all fuel types. It has ownership breakdowns, equipment types, capacity information, past production statistics, emissions data, and details on planned, operating, and retiring units. The platform also contains additional data from POWER’s insights partner, Enverus, a trusted, energy-dedicated software-as-a-service (SaaS) company.
As an added bonus, Gigawatt subscribers receive a free full-conference pass to Experience POWER, while Megawatt subscribers get a 20% discount to the show. Experience POWER is an event that unites stakeholders from across the entire energy value chain. It delivers essential insights on emerging trends, such as decarbonization, distributed energy resources, the hydrogen economy, and grid digitization, while also addressing the fundamentals of power generation, transmission, distribution, and supply. It’s where industry leaders across sectors exchange ideas and gain valuable knowledge.
Experience POWER will be held this year at the Hyatt Regency Denver at Colorado Convention Center, Oct. 29–31. Leading into the event, POWER will host a new market-defining single-day summit called Data Center POWER eXchange (DPX) on Oct. 28 at the same venue.
The rapid expansion of data centers marks a defining moment for the power industry. DPX will bridge the gap between the energy sector and the rapidly growing data center industry. It will focus exclusively on the urgent power demands of data centers, serving as a high-impact precursor to Experience POWER’s broader agenda.
—Aaron Larson is POWER’s executive editor.
