Berkshire Hathaway to Power AI Data Centers Only If Existing Customers Face No Rate Increase

Key Points

• Greg Abel emphasized that any power‑supply agreements with hyperscalers must not raise rates for existing utility customers and must deliver a net benefit to them.
• Data centers currently consume roughly 8% of MidAmerican Energy’s load in Iowa, and Berkshire expects further growth in this segment.
• After‑tax earnings for Berkshire’s U.S. utilities climbed 38% year‑over‑year in the second quarter, reaching $597 million.

Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKA)(NYSE:BRKB) CEO Greg Abel joined CNBC’s “Squawk Box” from Tokyo on Wednesday. With a long track record overseeing Berkshire’s energy operations before becoming CEO in January, Abel discussed the company’s approach to powering artificial‑intelligence data centers.

His message came with a clear condition. Berkshire wants the hyperscalers’ business—the giant cloud companies building those data centers—but only on terms that leave its utilities’ other customers unharmed. The energy business is one of Berkshire’s better growers this year, earning about $2 billion in the first half. How much of that growth can be captured under those terms?

Image source: Getty Images.

Abel’s Conditions

Speaking with CNBC’s Becky Quick, Abel framed Berkshire’s role in the build‑out as supplying power and electricity, not owning the data centers themselves. He said the company has operated by the same basic principles from the start and has shared them with hyperscalers, governors, and state regulators.

“[W]e are interested in serving these hyperscalers … if there was no impact to the rates of our other customers,” Abel said. “And in fact, we’ve pretty much taken the approach. There has to be a net benefit to our customers.”

The other requirements focus on community impact. Projects must demonstrate minimal water use—a concern that has become more manageable as the industry limits consumption—and they must be welcomed by the host community.

Iowa Already Shows What a “Yes” Looks Like

Iowa, where Berkshire’s MidAmerican Energy utility operates, serves as a model. Data centers accounted for about 8% of the utility’s load there last year, Abel noted, and more growth is expected.

MidAmerican’s results reflect that demand. After‑tax earnings at Berkshire’s U.S. utilities rose 38% in the second quarter from a year earlier, to $597 million, and the segment grew 11% year‑over‑year in the first half of 2026. Retail volumes across the utilities were up about 3% through June, with MidAmerican leading at a 6% increase. Electric utility margin expanded 8% year‑over‑year in the quarter, helped by higher retail volumes. Berkshire Hathaway Energy’s earnings accelerated 27% year‑over‑year in the second quarter, reaching $891 million after a flat first quarter.

The growth requires capital. Of the company’s $10.6 billion in first‑half capital expenditures, $6.7 billion went to the energy business and BNSF Railroad. The two units forecast roughly $8.6 billion more over the remainder of 2026.

For a regulated utility, each approved data‑center project adds to the customer base that can be charged for the infrastructure, allowing the company to earn a regulated return on the invested capital.

Can the Growth Case Survive the Backlash?

Abel highlighted one risk: “There is a lot more pushback in the communities across the U.S.,” he said. While energy has historically been the main constraint on data‑center expansion, community opposition adds another layer of difficulty.

So far, however, the pushback has not cost Berkshire any energy‑infrastructure sites—none have been rejected to date, Abel said, and construction continues.

The conditions Abel set make the utilities less vulnerable to resistance. By guaranteeing that hyperscalers will not be subsidized by existing customers’ bills, Berkshire can present a clearer case to regulators and communities. In Iowa, property taxes paid by these projects provide a substantial source of funding for schools and local services.

A moratorium in an unfriendly state or a community that says no could still stall a project, and utilities will not grow 38% every quarter—the second‑quarter jump benefited from production tax credits and may be harder to repeat. Nonetheless, Abel’s rate condition is seen as a foundation rather than a limit, allowing Berkshire to qualify load that can be served for decades in states that welcome it, backed by billions in capital that regulators have little reason to oppose.

Data centers were about 8% of Berkshire’s Iowa load last year. On Abel’s terms, that share can continue to climb.

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