By James Burkhamer

Chronicle Contributor

Let’s imagine a ridiculously enormous corporation (A) that then buys another huge corporation (B). Corporation B is a huge investor in data center operating companies, and then corporation A turns around and buys your local power utility.

Please take a breath now and your head might stop spinning.

In spring 2026, $24 billion private-equity company BlackRock announced a $33 billion deal to buy AES, through its subsidiary Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP).

This would create an enormous conflict of interest, as the parent company of AES would also own a huge portfolio of data centers.

The proposed buyout of AES would include BlackRock, EQT (Sweden), and the Qatar Investment Authority.

AES is desperate for an influx of capital to upgrade power transmission infrastructure, while the company shareholders would enjoy a nice payout. AES claims it needs $2 billion by 2030 just to keep up with demand, primarily driven by data centers.

Meanwhile, BlackRock desperately needs utility companies to reliably power the data centers in its portfolio. This isn’t the first rodeo for BlackRock and GIP, as they purchased Minnesota Power in 2025 for $6.2 billion.

GIP is one of the largest investors in data center operators in America – and now has AES in its crosshairs.

But what’s in it for the Swedes and Qataris? The EQT Group out of Sweden has a massive collection of data centers throughout the world and is looking to expand.

The Qatar Investment Authority is investing billions of dollars into U.S. digital infrastructure – as fertile American land is preferable to the desert for building more AI capacity. The new investors in AES (domestic and foreign) have much to gain from the acquisition, as does AES itself.

What exactly is private equity anyway?

“The objectives of private equity investing are straightforward: buy, improve and sell at a higher valuation,” according to Blackrock.com.

While BlackRock and AES promise lower rates for consumers, advocacy groups aren’t buying it.

“Private equity companies are notorious for trying to squeeze as much profit as possible out of the companies they own,” Nichole Heil, a researcher with the Private Equity Stakeholder Project, told Cleveland.com.

The large concern with private equity companies is the aspect of “private” – they are not nearly as transparent as public companies.

More alarm bells have been sounded by regional power grid PJM.

Would there be any safeguards in place that would prevent AES (owned by BlackRock) from diverting power from residential and business consumers to data centers (owned by BlackRock)?

People are already unhappy with AES because of its latest round of delivery rate increases.

Less transparency from a private company owned by a data-center investor is “sketchy”

at best, as pointed out by Case Western professor Joshua Basseches. Putting the fox in charge of the henhouse doesn’t usually turn out very well for the hens.

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) will likely approve the BlackRock-AES deal in late 2026 or early 2027.

PUCO and the state legislature will look out for the average person – right? Unfortunately, Ohio does not have the best track record when it comes to utility regulation.

First Energy was caught red-handed bribing the Ohio Speaker of the House five years ago. Besides, Big Tech is increasingly becoming “too big to fail.” In the end, government loves big data more than its citizens.

BlackRock controls a staggering $6.7 trillion in assets. Besides the benefits to its subsidiary GIP, BlackRock has an enormous incentive to gobble up more power utilities in the United States.

BlackRock has massive equity positions in the following companies: Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, and Meta, to name a few.

The average reader might see a common thread emerging here. Big Tech and power infrastructure in the U.S. are slowly merging into a nameless entity with many heads – that serves many masters.

As our lives become increasingly dependent on big data and AI every day, one question lurks in the background. Will we wake up one day and wonder who’s REALLY in charge?

James Burkhamer is the owner of Miami Valley Power and Gas, a local energy consultant dedicated to helping small businesses and nonprofits reduce their risk and spending. Learn more at www.mvpg.org. ■