On Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, Alphabet (GOOGL) signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with Constellation Energy (CEG) to support 890 megawatts of new nuclear output from upgrades to 11 existing reactors, according to the company’s announcement.
Seeking Alpha called it the largest uprate deal ever between a nuclear provider and a tech company.
Constellation shares jumped 12.2% on the news, Seeking Alpha reported. The price pop is the least interesting part. Google signed before the region’s data center power rules are final, and that timing tells the actual story here.
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Uprates turn old reactors into new supply
An uprate swaps in newer, more efficient equipment so an already licensed, grid-connected reactor produces more electricity.
Seeking Alpha noted that the 890 MW addition is roughly equal to building a large new reactor. The difference is speed, since an uprate skips the site hunt and the grid connection queue.
Constellation will back the work with more than $4.3 billion in new investment. Google also signed a separate long-term deal for 2,700 MW from Constellation’s existing plants, Reuters reported, so roughly three-quarters of the 3,590 MW package pays for reactors already running.
For shareholders, that is locked-in revenue on today’s fleet, not just future growth.
Six days earlier, Constellation signed a 20-year deal with Amazon (AMZN) to support expanding its Calvert Cliffs plant in Maryland, Reuters reported.
Two hyperscaler deals in a single week suggest uprates have become a product Constellation can sell on repeat.
Google is buying its way around a grid rule fight
PJM Interconnection, the grid in question, has proposed that data centers on its 13-state system either bring their own power or face remote shutoffs during peak demand, according to Reuters. Google and Constellation said their agreement answers that proposal.
Constellation laid the groundwork months ago. In first-quarter materials filed with the SEC on Monday, May 11, 2026, the company argued that direct contracting lets large customers “contract for desired products quickly” and control their own cost allocation.
The same filing said Constellation had submitted 5,000 MW of new capacity to PJM, with nuclear uprates on the list.
KeyBanc analyst Sophie Karp sees the deal as proof that the strategy works. Constellation’s growth opportunity is “driven by its ability to strike commercial deals, not by political debates and outcomes,” she wrote in a note cited by Seeking Alpha.
Karp called it “high-quality, low-risk growth,” while conceding that market reforms remain “an overhang on the sector.”
Constellation stock still trades far below its record
Constellation sells electricity from a fleet anchored by nuclear plants. That makes its stock one of the most direct public bets on AI-driven power demand and among the most exposed to swings in grid policy.
Shares closed at $300.40 on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, after touching $309.80 intraday, according to StockAnalysis. Volume reached about 13.2 million shares, roughly three and a half times the 20-day average, the site’s data show.
Even so, the stock sits about 27% below its all-time high of $412.70, set on Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025, StockAnalysis confirmed. That record doubles as the 52-week high, while the 52-week low of $228.63 came on Wednesday, July 1, 2026, leaving shares about 31% above that trough.
Buyers near the all-time low of roughly $40 in early 2022, after the Exelon spinoff, remain up more than sevenfold, the site’s price history shows.
Wall Street remains constructive. Of 22 analysts tracked by StockAnalysis, 19 rate the stock a Buy or Strong Buy, and three rate it a Hold, with no Sells.
Their average price target of $341.53 implies about 14% upside, the site shows, well short of the 2025 peak. Scotiabank trimmed its target to $355 from $441 on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, while keeping a Buy rating, according to StockAnalysis.
Bulls are pricing in a recovery, not a return to peak valuations.
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Existing reactors are becoming the grid’s scarcest asset
The rally spread fast. Talen Energy (TLN) rose 12.4% and Vistra (VST) gained 10.7%, according to Seeking Alpha. Fuel supplier Centrus Energy (LEU) added 8.8%, the outlet reported. That makes sense, since uprated reactors burn more fuel.
The bigger shift is that tech companies now finance grid capacity directly instead of waiting for regulators to settle who pays. PJM’s final bring-your-own-power rule will show whether these private deals become the default route for data center supply.
Constellation’s next earnings report, expected on Friday, Nov. 6, 2026, should reveal how many uprate megawatts it still has to sell. America’s next big source of new power may be plants that already exist.
