Grid, Transmission & Power Equipment

Quanta Services raised its full-year 2026 free cash flow outlook to $2-$2.5 billion, alongside operating cash flow expectations of $2.9-$3.4 billion, after a strong first half. In the second quarter, Quanta generated operating cash flow of $1.10 billion and free cash flow of $886 million, bringing first-half free cash flow to $1.07 billion, sharply higher than $288 million in the comparable 2025 period. Management attributed the second-quarter strength partly to favorable working-capital dynamics, particularly from large-load and renewable projects, while days sales outstanding improved to 57 days. The outlook is underpinned by a record $53.4 billion backlog, expanding project activity and rising investment in electric grids, power generation, data centers and other mission-critical infrastructure. Quanta still expects roughly $900 million of net capital expenditures in 2026, and cash generation could fluctuate with project timing, working-capital requirements, acquisitions, weather, permitting, supply-chain issues, inflation and project execution. Quanta competes with MasTec and EMCOR Group across power, electrical and mission-critical infrastructure markets; MasTec reported negative $59 million of free cash flow in the second quarter, while EMCOR posted record remaining performance obligations of $17.14 billion.

Several brokers have issued research notes recommending a buy on Gunkul Engineering, or GUNKUL, after it signed a partnership agreement with Gulf Development, or GULF, to set up a joint venture for renewable energy projects. Bualuang Securities said GUNKUL signed power purchase agreements, or PPAs, for an additional 261.8 megawatts in phase 2 renewable energy projects, and sold a 50 percent stake in seven project companies, or SPVs, with total capacity of 673.4 megawatts to GULF for 467 million baht. The deal helps keep 26 billion baht of project debt off GUNKUL's balance sheet and opens the door to EPC backlog not yet included in estimates. It maintained its buy rating with a target price of 6.50 baht. Krungsri Securities upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral with a 2027 target price of 6.30 baht per share based on a sum-of-the-parts method, split into 4.05 baht per share for the power business and 2.24 baht per share for the EPC and trading business. It also raised its 2026 to 2028 profit forecasts by an average of 8 percent, putting profit at 2.1 billion, 2.1 billion and 3.3 billion baht, an average growth rate of about 25 percent a year, with clear growth expected in 2028 after commercial operation, or COD, of large renewable energy projects in the Philippines. Asia Plus Securities kept its estimates and 2027 fair value at 6.40 baht per share, saying the restructuring does not significantly affect long-term project returns, and recommended gradually accumulating the stock for the long term. GUNKUL shares closed the morning session at 5.15 baht, up 0.10 baht or 1.98 percent.

Kasikorn Research Center reports that the world is entering an era in which electricity is at the center of the economic system, the Age of Electricity. The international energy organization IEA indicates that since 2019 global electricity demand has grown more than twice as fast as overall energy use, driven by electric vehicles, air conditioners, the industrial sector, and data centers. In the latest data for 2025, electricity accounted for about 23% of global final energy consumption, while economic activity dependent on electricity generated nearly half of global GDP, or 45%, and it is estimated that electricity's share of global final energy consumption will rise to 35% in 2035. Thailand is entering the Age of Electricity just as the world is, which changes the challenge for the energy system from simply having enough electricity to having electricity that is sufficient, clean, stable, and competitively priced. Clean electricity will become even more important to competitiveness, because Thailand's power generation sector still emits about 87 million tons of CO2 per year. The challenge therefore is not only increasing clean power generation capacity, but also investing in the grid and BESS to create flexibility in time for new demand, while also monitoring related energy policies such as PDP2026, Direct PPA, and the use of loans under the emergency decree for loans of 200 billion baht for the energy transition.

CIBC raised its price target on Enerflex to CA$30 from CA$27.50 after updating its model for a 450 MW behind-the-meter power generation award tied to a North American data center developer, while keeping a Neutral rating on the stock. The firm had already lifted its target to CA$30 in July 2026, and it cited strong Engineered Systems bookings and a modest EBITDA beat in the second quarter as positives supporting execution on the core business. CIBC noted that earlier weakness in the shares followed a lack of secured data center power generation bookings, which it believes pushed potential catalysts into later quarters. On the updated assumptions, Simply Wall St's fair value for Enerflex rose to CA$46.94 from CA$44.50, with revenue growth now 6.72% versus 3.39% previously, net profit margin at 8.64% versus 9.01%, a future P/E of 18.29x versus 17.87x, and a discount rate of 6.83% versus 6.68%.

Interlink Telecom Public Company Limited, or ITEL, is preparing to join the bidding for smart grid power network projects after Thailand's Power Development Plan, or PDP 2026, opened the way for increased investment in the power grid. Dr. Nattanai Anantaramporn, the company's Chief Executive Officer, said the company already has expertise in communications network systems and expects business direction in the third quarter of 2026 to hold steady near the level of the second quarter of 2026, with its current backlog at 3.9 billion baht. It is maintaining its full-year 2026 revenue target of 3.6 billion baht and plans to bid for new work from government agencies and other sources continuously through the remainder of the year. Meanwhile, the Secretary-General of the Federation of Thai Industries, or FTI, estimates that investment in grid and power systems to support renewable energy, energy storage, electricity, electric vehicles and data centers could total around 500 billion baht within five years. Krungsri Securities Public Company Limited expects profit in 2027 to grow outstandingly from 2026, at around 65 million baht, driven by recognition of revenue from SI projects through its 80 percent stake in a joint venture with THCOM and TKC. It therefore sets a target price for ITEL shares at around 2.00 baht and gives a buy recommendation.

KB Securities analyst Wooje Chun named Hanwha Solutions and DL Holdings as top solar stock picks, arguing that surging electricity prices more than offset higher module costs and interest rates. Module prices are expected to climb from $0.30-0.33 per watt to $0.38-0.437 per watt, a 32% increase, but because modules account for only 31% of costs for utility-scale systems and 11% for residential installations, the overall impact on total investment costs stays modest at 3-10%. The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield rose from 4.42% in the second quarter of 2026 to 5.24% as of September 28, while three-year PJM power futures jumped to $89.5 per megawatt-hour on September 28, up 37% year-over-year and 20% from the second quarter of 2026, with MISO up 14% and ISO-NE up 15%. KB Securities calculates that a 14% rise in power purchase agreement prices would lift revenue by $36.1 million for a typical 100-megawatt utility-scale solar plant, while higher interest rates would add only $3.3 million in interest expense, and even a 16% increase in total investment costs would be offset by a 5.6% hike in PPA prices. Hanwha Solutions is favored for its EPC and third-party ownership businesses and its module business, which produces 80% of its output in the United States, while DL Holdings benefits from two U.S. gas-fired power plants in the PJM market totaling 2.1 gigawatts, held at 25% and 30% ownership stakes, as power purchase prices rise without matching increases in Henry Hub natural gas prices.

Bualuang Securities is warning investors to watch for the risk of a new round of flooding that could prove more severe than expected, potentially repeating the pattern of 2011 and pressuring the Thai stock market into a correction. The brokerage said the seasonal flood risk could inundate low-lying areas and key economic zones such as Bangkok, Rayong, Chonburi and Kanchanaburi, disrupting transport systems and industrial estate areas. Factors to monitor are the volume of rainfall still to come during the monsoon and water management at major dams. Bhumibol Dam is currently at 65.37% of capacity and Sirikit Dam at 80.27%, while high sea tides are also a concern. If water management fails, damage similar to 2011 could occur, and this is the most heavily weighted issue pushing the Thai stock market lower over the next one to two weeks. The research team recommends caution over further share price declines and says it will issue an immediate signal to cut portfolio exposure if panic selling occurs or the flood situation becomes untrustworthy. Today's recommended stock is BGRIM, based on the theme of accelerating the expansion of grid interconnection bottlenecks and the free electricity market, or smart grid, and the unlocking of power sales in basic energy segments such as gas to support direct and cross-area electricity purchases from producers. This is expected to directly support the power plant business and electricity sales to data centers. Support is at 18.3 baht, resistance at 19.0 baht, and stop loss at 18.0 baht.

Maybank Securities (Thailand) released an analysis summarising key issues in Thailand's energy and power sector after holding a special meeting with Energy Minister Ekkanat Prompan, attended by 24 institutional investors and major clients. Maybank holds a slightly negative view, as new capacity from large power plants, or IPPs, for the private sector is limited, and returns from future IPP PPA extensions tend to be relatively low. On the positive side, it sees opportunities from the opening of the electricity market through Direct PPAs and Thailand's still-strong ability to attract data centre investment. The draft PDP 2026, expected to take effect officially by October 2026, sets out the principle of balancing three goals: clean energy, energy security, and fairness. The government is developing a Smart Grid system with investment of more than 100 billion baht, and the National Energy Policy Council is opening the electricity market through Direct PPAs that allow all industrial electricity users to participate without a capacity quota limit. However, the structure of the wheeling charge for using the transmission network is still under consideration by the Energy Regulatory Commission, with the rate expected to be appropriate and competitive at slightly above 1 baht per unit. In the first phase of the draft PDP 2026, new capacity from combined-cycle gas turbine plants, or CCGTs, totals 9.1 gigawatts, of which roughly 6 gigawatts is likely to be developed by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, limiting new opportunities for the private sector, while renewable energy projects and battery energy storage systems, or BESS, remain open to private players. In the oil and gas group, the government is coordinating with the Myanmar government to secure the new gas concession Block 46, which can supply Thailand with natural gas of up to 250 million cubic feet per day, or about 6% of current demand, and will open a new round of petroleum concessions in Andaman blocks. Deepwater drilling development costs stand at 10 to 11 US dollars per million BTU, higher than 6 to 7 US dollars per million BTU on the Gulf of Thailand side, but still far cheaper than the current spot LNG price of 25 US dollars per million BTU. The government is also pushing to raise the share of long-term LNG contracts from about 30% of Thailand's natural gas supply, of which only 50% is currently under long-term contracts, to 80%, and is considering alternative LNG import sources such as Russia, as well as restructuring the gas pool price so that data centre users pay according to the marginal cost of LNG imports instead of the pooled gas price. For the oil group, the Energy Minister believes Thailand still has room to double the mandatory ethanol blending ratio from the current 10%, since raw materials from sugarcane molasses and cassava are readily available and ethanol production capacity is in surplus. Ethanol costs 20 to 21 baht per litre, compared with gasoline at 30 baht per litre. Biodiesel blending may face constraints because the price of crude palm oil, the main raw material, is relatively high compared with the price of petroleum diesel.

FirstEnergy Corp. plans to invest $6 billion in 2026 and $36 billion through 2030 under its Energize365 program, including more than $19 billion in transmission investments, while targeting a 10% compound annual growth rate in its rate base. The utility serves more than 6 million customers across six states, with transmission subsidiaries operating more than 24,000 miles of transmission lines and regulated distribution companies managing more than 269,000 miles of distribution lines. FirstEnergy's contracted and pipeline data-center demand reached 24.8 gigawatts in the second quarter of 2026, nearly 30% higher than in the first quarter of 2026, while contracted demand increased 50% to 6.4 GW. In the second quarter of 2026, the transmission rate base rose 22% in Integrated and 11% in Stand-Alone Transmission, lifting Core Earnings by 4 cents per share for the latter, and the company expects Core Earnings to grow near the upper end of its 6-8% annual target through 2030. For comparison, Eversource Energy plans to invest $26.5 billion through 2030, including about $7.24 billion in transmission and $11.24 billion in electric distribution, while PPL Corporation plans $23 billion of capital investment through 2029, including $8.0 billion for transmission and $7.2 billion for distribution.

MYR Group Inc.'s Transmission & Distribution segment posted a 10% year-over-year revenue increase to $1.06 billion in the first half of 2026, driven by higher activity under unit-price and time-and-equipment contracts, partly offset by lower fixed-price contract revenues. The segment accounted for 51.1% of MYR Group's total first-half revenues, down from 55.8% a year earlier, while T&D operating income rose 32.6% to $101.7 million and operating margin expanded to 9.6% from 7.9%. On a trailing-12-month basis through June 30, 2026, the segment generated $2.1 billion in revenues, reflecting an 11.2% compound annual growth rate since 2021, and its backlog stood at $1.27 billion at the end of June. MYR Group, one of the largest U.S. contractors serving the electric utility industry's T&D sector, performs about 65% of its business under Master Service Agreements. Peers are seeing similar demand: Quanta Services reported second-quarter 2026 Electric segment revenues of $7.84 billion, up 43.6% year over year, with first-half electric revenues of $14.3 billion and backlog of $43.8 billion, while MasTec's Power Delivery segment generated $1.25 billion in second-quarter 2026 revenues, up 19.2%, and $2.29 billion in first-half revenues, up 17.8%.

Prime Minister Burnham said in a speech at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool in the Midlands on the 29th that the government will accelerate government-led infrastructure development for power and water. A public body will be established to rapidly build out the transmission grid. Reversing the ban on public ownership of water and sewerage companies introduced under the Thatcher government, the aim is to strengthen public involvement and thereby ease the burden on households and businesses. UK energy prices have been a challenge due to a mechanism that adds the cost of introducing renewable energy such as wind and solar power to electricity and gas bills, causing prices to soar.

Pakpoom Srichamni, Chief Executive Officer of Stecon Group Public Company Limited, or STECON, disclosed that the company expects total revenue in 2026 to exceed its target of 35 billion baht, after total revenue in the first half of 2026 already reached 16.787 billion baht, or about 48% of the full-year target. It currently still holds construction work in hand from transportation projects, including the Purple Line electric train and the M6 and M81 motorways, while also tracking opportunities from the M82 project and continuing to bid for new work. The company places importance on data center projects, especially investment by major service providers, or hyperscalers, and is in the process of extending its business from a construction contracting base into the development of and investment in infrastructure, including water, utilities, and energy, in order to increase the share of recurring revenue. Kasikorn Securities stated that STECON currently has work in hand of about 113 billion baht, with management aiming to add approximately 69 billion baht more to its backlog during the remainder of 2026, divided into three data center projects worth a combined 49.8 billion baht, power plant projects worth 16 billion baht, and airport projects worth 3 billion baht. If it wins the work as planned, revenue in 2027 could be 50 billion to 60 billion baht, compared with the research department's current estimate of 37 billion baht, while gross profit margin will be above 7%. Initially, it forecasts normal profit in 2026 at 1.497 billion baht, up 63% year on year, and maintains a Buy recommendation with a fair value of 22.28 baht, selecting the stock as a top pick in the large contractor group.

Stéfane Marion, Chief Economist and Strategist at National Bank of Canada, said he is the most optimistic he has been on Canada's growth prospects in over a decade, pointing to new federal legislation including bills C5, C69 and C39 that he said are designed to foster more business investment in Canada. Speaking with Bloomberg's Erik Hertzberg at the 2026 Bloomberg Canadian Finance Conference, Marion said the policies were only deployed a few months ago, alongside a plan announced in May to double Canada's electricity grid by 2050. He said building more electricity capacity in Newfoundland, Quebec and Ontario is massive, with 14,000 megawatts to be added, and argued Canada can exploit a comparative advantage in cheap electricity that no other G7 country can match. Marion said the key reason he expects the Bank of Canada to raise rates next year is not second- or third-round effects of the energy shock but the deployment of fiscal policy that may prove more inflationary than assumed, citing the LNG 2 announcement at $30 billion, Port Churchill at $30 billion, and electricity grid construction in Quebec and Ontario running into many billions of dollars. He said the missing ingredient for sustainable growth remains muted business investment, and that the holy grail is attracting durable foreign direct investment, which he expects to turn positive in the next few quarters.

Andy Burnham, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, is set to address the public today, September 29, on his approach to tackling the country's deep-seated problems, including the social care system and bringing public utilities under public control. It will be his first speech to the Labour Party conference as Prime Minister. In this speech, Prime Minister Burnham will unveil plans to reduce energy costs by announcing the creation of a new state body called Great British Grid, aimed at speeding up grid connections for businesses and helping drive the country's industrial revival. Burnham, a former mayor who rose to the premiership in July, replacing Keir Starmer, is under pressure to set out clearer, more concrete government plans. Businesses say that while the government has taken some emergency measures, such as capping bus fares and exempting electricity from value-added tax, its long-term strategy still lacks clear detail, whether on resolving the social care crisis, bringing some public utilities back under state management, or creating additional jobs. On Sunday, September 27, Prime Minister Burnham adjusted the timetable for fixing the social care system, saying he would present the reform plan at the next general election, scheduled for the middle of 2029. Prime Minister Burnham may also be open to proposals from groups calling for an end to the triple lock pension guarantee, so that the money can support social care reform in the future. The triple lock is a mechanism that guarantees the state pension rises each year by the rate of inflation, the rate of wage growth, or a minimum of 2.5%, whichever is highest.

NKT reaffirmed its Charging Forward strategic direction and medium-term financial ambitions at its Investor Day 2026 in Karlskrona, Sweden, while presenting four capital allocation priorities to guide long-term value creation. The company said its EUR 2bn investment programme remains central to the strategy, and that its expansion in Karlskrona will make the site the world's largest offshore power cable factory, with commercial operation now expected to commence in Q2 2027, slightly ahead of the original plan. Under the capital allocation framework, NKT will maintain a robust balance sheet with financial leverage, measured as net interest-bearing debt to operational EBITDA, below 0x, allocate capital to value-enhancing organic growth initiatives and strategically aligned, value-accretive acquisitions, pay dividends with a minimum annual distribution of 20% of adjusted net profit and an ambition to keep a stable dividend per share, and return excess cash to shareholders through share buybacks or extraordinary dividends when appropriate. CEO Claes Westerlind said the fundamentals supporting the electrification of societies remain strong and that rising cash generation provides a clear framework for balancing growth investments, financial strength and shareholder distribution. NKT said the medium-term financial ambitions communicated in Company Announcement No. 25 of 19 November 2025 and the financial outlook for 2026 communicated in Company Announcement No. 11 of 13 August 2026 both remain unchanged.

Yuanta Securities said today's Cabinet meeting has three interesting issues to watch. The first is the allocation of central budget funds for flood relief worth 2 billion baht. The second is infrastructure investment to build flood drainage channels that bypass the inner city, worth 160 to 200 billion baht, which is expected to be positive for the construction contractor, construction materials, and TEAMG groups. The third is a household solar project covering 1 million households, plus Smart Grid and Smart Meter, worth 70 billion baht under the 200 billion baht emergency loan decree to restructure energy. The research team views these issues as positive for GUNKUL, SSP, TRT, AKR, FORTH, and SAMART, among others.

Samsung Electronics and five affiliated companies will invest a combined $1 billion in Helix Digital Infrastructure, an artificial intelligence infrastructure company established by KKR, as the Samsung group expands from semiconductors into data centers, power systems and connectivity networks. Samsung Electronics will invest $500 million, while the remaining $500 million will come from Samsung C&T, Samsung SDS, Samsung SDI, Samsung Life Insurance and Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, which are investing together. Helix launched in June with plans to develop infrastructure across the entire AI chain, from large-scale data centers and power generation to power transmission and distribution and fiber-optic networks, and is led by Adam Selipsky, former CEO of Amazon Web Services. The company says power availability is one of the key bottlenecks in AI infrastructure, and it plans to secure electricity through direct investment and partnerships with power project developers, including Vistra, a US energy company. KKR, the Kuwait Investment Authority, Nvidia and Vistra are also founding investors in Helix. The investment also opens the way for Samsung's various businesses to combine their expertise: Samsung Electronics supplies semiconductor solutions, while the Device eXperience business provides cooling equipment for data centers through FläktGroup, which Samsung acquired in 2025. Samsung C&T takes on data center and energy projects as an engineering, procurement and construction contractor, Samsung SDS designs and operates data centers and has entered the GPU-as-a-service market, and Samsung SDI provides uninterruptible power supply systems and backup battery systems for data centers, with plans to explore further business opportunities in the sector.

Wells Fargo analyst Stephen Tusa initiated coverage of Vertiv Holdings Co on September 25 with an Overweight rating and a $340 price target, calling it the best sales growth story in multi-industry. The call follows a run of acquisitions that push Vertiv deeper into power and cooling for AI data centers, most notably the September 2 agreement to buy Utility Innovation Group for about $1.45 billion in cash plus up to $1.15 billion more if earnings targets are met, potentially taking total consideration to $2.6 billion. On September 24, Vertiv also agreed to acquire King Environmental Services, an Irish fluid management and commissioning firm, for undisclosed terms not expected to be material, and on September 21 its 2.3 MW coolant distribution unit qualified under NVIDIA's DSX Ready program. In the second quarter, net sales rose 24% to $3.274 billion, adjusted operating margin expanded 410 basis points to 22.6%, adjusted EPS climbed 60% to $1.52, and adjusted free cash flow reached $925 million, while management raised 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $6.65 to $6.75 from $6.30 to $6.40 and guided third-quarter organic growth of 34% to 36%. Shares trade at 27.78 times forward earnings as of September 28, after a five-year gain of almost 900%, and the October 22 earnings report must show delayed projects converted into sales near the $3.65 billion to $3.85 billion third-quarter guide.

Eaton Corporation plc has agreed to acquire Italy-based COL Group from Oaktree's Power Opportunities strategy for an enterprise value of €810 million. COL Group specializes in medium-voltage electrical power distribution solutions, including SF6-free switchgear, grid automation technologies, and modular power systems, and operates four Italian manufacturing facilities with roughly 400 employees. The company forecasts 2027 sales of €250 million, and the deal is expected to close in Q1 2027, subject to regulatory approvals. The transaction expands Eaton's European manufacturing footprint and accelerates its capacity to capture global demand across utility grid modernization and data center end markets.

Guggenheim initiated coverage of Curtiss-Wright Corporation with a Buy rating and a $786 price target, representing 41% upside potential at the time of its September 15 update, citing rising global defense spending and elevated power generation demand as a compelling one-two punch. The call rests on businesses Curtiss-Wright already operates: Aerospace & Defense market sales rose 6% year over year in the second quarter on higher naval defense revenue and stronger electromechanical actuation sales, while commercial market sales rose 5%, with Power & Process growth driven mainly by commercial nuclear solutions. Total company orders increased 8% to $1.1 billion in the quarter, with record demand for defense electronics, and backlog ended at $4.5 billion, 10% higher than at the end of 2025. In July the company announced an $80 million multi-year expansion of its Cheswick, Pennsylvania operations serving naval defense and commercial nuclear customers. For the quarter, sales rose 5% to $924 million, adjusted diluted EPS increased 15% to $3.72, and adjusted operating margin improved 110 basis points to 19.4%, prompting management to raise its full-year outlook to 2026 adjusted sales growth of 8% to 9% and adjusted diluted EPS of $15.10 to $15.40, growth of 14% to 16%.

Baker Hughes reported accelerating growth in its Industrial & Energy Technology business, with first-half 2026 IET bookings surging 79% to nearly $12 billion as part of total company orders of $18.66 billion, up 38% from $13.49 billion a year earlier. IET revenues rose 7% year over year to $6.64 billion in the six months ended June 2026, while segment EBITDA climbed 25% to $1.36 billion, and the company's remaining performance obligations reached a record $40.1 billion, including $37.1 billion from IET. Management raised full-year 2026 IET order guidance to $17.5-$19.5 billion and said it expects Horizon 2 orders to exceed $45 billion. Second-quarter adjusted EBITDA margin hit a record 18.3%, up from 17.6% in the first quarter, and free cash flow rose to $1.11 billion from $210 million, while management guided to 2026 revenues of $27.35 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $4.85 billion. The July 2026 Chart acquisition expands Baker Hughes into thermal management, air and gas handling, carbon capture and lifecycle services, with management targeting $325 million of annualized cost synergies by year three.

PPL Corporation is targeting 6-8% annual earnings growth through 2029, with growth expected to trend toward the upper end, as it leans on operating efficiency to control costs while expanding its infrastructure investment program. In the second quarter of 2026, other operations and maintenance expenses fell 6.84%, reflecting lower underlying costs across its regulated utility operations, and Rhode Island Energy also benefited from lower operating expenses during the quarter. On Sept. 24, 2026, PPL Electric secured up to $71.5 million in U.S. Department of Energy funding to modernize 29.3 miles of transmission infrastructure using advanced technologies to increase capacity and improve reliability. The company's $23 billion capital investment plan through 2029 focuses on modernizing infrastructure and deploying advanced technology, which is expected to improve operational efficiency and reduce maintenance requirements. The Zacks Consensus Estimate points to 2026 and 2027 EPS rising 7.73% and 8.35% year over year, respectively, while PPL's debt-to-capital stands at 57.46% versus the electric power industry's 62.33%.

Schneider Electric has unveiled the world's first fully Software-Defined Medium Voltage switchgear, announced at YOTTA 2026 in Las Vegas. The architecture delivers up to 3× faster ordering and manufacturing, up to 2× faster commissioning, zero-downtime upgrades, and a simplified footprint with less wiring and fewer components, according to Schneider Electric studies and estimations. The next-generation Software Defined MV Equipment has already been deployed in the field through a pilot with Equinix in a live colocation data center environment. Schneider Electric will extend the Software Defined MV architecture across its medium voltage portfolio and, progressively, the rest of the powertrain, including PremSet and the AirSeT range comprising GM AirSeT, RM AirSeT, and SM AirSeT, with pilot programs continuing through 2027 and broader availability to follow in 2028. Melton Chang, Executive Vice President of Schneider Electric's Power Systems Division, said the switchgear brings the logic of software to medium voltage equipment so customers can deploy in a fraction of the time, standardize across regions, and add new capabilities with zero downtime.

Gunkul Engineering Public Company Limited, or GUNKUL, has signed a new power purchase agreement with EGAT under the RE Biglot Phase 2.1 renewable energy programme, with total contracted capacity of 261.8 megawatts. The deal comprises three wind power projects with combined capacity of 242.4 megawatts and one solar power project with capacity of 19.4 megawatts, with commercial operation scheduled from 2027 onward. Combined with three earlier projects totalling 57.2 megawatts, the company has now signed power purchase agreements for every project under RE Biglot Phase 2.1, for total contracted capacity of 319.0 megawatts. Chief Executive Officer Naruechon Damrongpiyawut said the company also adjusted its shareholding in the power plants into joint ventures with Gulf Development Public Company Limited, or GULF, across 12 projects, representing total equity capacity of 336.7 megawatts, for consideration of 467 million baht. Following the transaction, the company has a renewable energy portfolio with equity capacity of 2,101.2 megawatts, reaching its 2,000-megawatt target ahead of its 2027 schedule, and has set a new goal of adding more than 50% in capacity to 3,000 megawatts by 2030. This aligns with the PDP2026 plan, which targets raising the renewable energy share to between 65% and 89% of total generating capacity, and is expected to draw additional investment of 360 billion to 700 billion baht to upgrade the grid into a smart grid.

QTC Energy Public Company Limited, or QTC, a manufacturer and distributor of made-to-order transformers, said its new solar-cell equipment distribution business will benefit from government policy promoting rooftop solar installation among households. The Ministry of Finance has a policy for the energy transition through rooftop solar for 1 to 1.5 million households, with registration expected to open in mid-October 2026, which will support long-term expansion of the new business group. At present, its subsidiary QTC RE Company Limited is a distributor and retailer of solar system equipment, importing solar panels from 3 to 4 leading global brands, including LONGi, the world's number one, and is a distributor of Huawei-brand inverters and energy storage systems. Meanwhile, QTC ESS Company Limited provides integrated energy solutions for large industrial customers. As for the business outlook for the third quarter of 2026, it is expected to improve continuously from the second quarter of 2026 on rising demand for transformers both domestically and abroad, with the latest backlog of more than 800 million baht, most of which is expected to be delivered and recognized as revenue within this year. The company maintains its 2026 revenue target of 2 billion baht, up from 1.8 billion baht in 2025, after first-half revenue of about 1.202 billion baht, and is awaiting the results of a bid submission for a domestic transformer production contract worth a total of about 200 million baht, with clarity expected in the fourth quarter of 2026.

Microsoft plans to expand its global data center capacity to more than 38 gigawatts by 2032, more than tripling its current roughly 12-gigawatt footprint, according to Bloomberg News reporting cited by Reuters and attributed to people familiar with the plans. Only about 2 gigawatts of Microsoft's current capacity is dedicated to AI-specific chips, a share the company expects to grow to roughly one-third of the much larger 38-gigawatt total by 2032, though Microsoft has not confirmed the target in any public filing or statement. The reported roadmap rests on strong cloud demand: Azure and other cloud services revenue rose 43% year over year in fiscal Q4, Microsoft Cloud revenue reached $59.3 billion for the quarter and $214.4 billion for fiscal 2026, and commercial remaining performance obligations climbed 84% year over year to $678 billion, with roughly 30% expected to be recognized as revenue over the next 12 months. Funding the buildout will be costly, with Microsoft expecting more than $50 billion of capital expenditures in fiscal Q1 2027 and about $175 billion during calendar 2026 under its broader capex definition, after roughly $145 billion in fiscal 2026. Power and political hurdles could slow the plan, as Texas temporarily halted approvals for new data center grid connections and New York imposed a moratorium on large new data centers, even as Microsoft signed a 20-year agreement with Constellation Energy tied to the restart of the 835-megawatt Three Mile Island Unit 1.