Jefferies execs outline five trends reshaping power sector

Scott Beicke (Americas Head of Power, Utilities & Infrastructure) and Georges Arbache (Managing Director, Power, Utilities & Infrastructure) at Jefferies delivered observations on five structural trends in the power sector at the Jefferies Energy & Power Summit 2026.

• Main announcement/action: They outlined five trends driving U.S. power markets, including 2–2.5% CAGR in U.S. electricity demand (equivalent to 400–500 GW of new capacity, with 75–200 GW of that being firm capacity), the role of gas generation as a near-term bridge, and the emergence of an integrated IPP combining gas, renewables, storage and nuclear. The presentation named Texas, the Mid-Atlantic, and the Mid-Continent as active build zones.
• Background and details: The speakers cited construction costs for new combined-cycle plants at $2,500–$3,000 per kilowatt (two-and-a-half to three times costs five years ago) and noted comparable operating assets trading at ~50% of replacement costs; they identified accelerating M&A (naming Constellation, Vistra, Talen, Capital Power), a returning investor universe including infrastructure funds and private equity, and emphasized constraints of affordability and reliability with a multi-year need for transmission and storage deployment.