The Williams Companies (WMB) is investing an additional $3.1 billion in gas-fired power projects, expanding its power innovation backlog to $5 billion, to capitalize on an anticipated 31% surge in U.S. electricity demand by 2030, driven by AI data centers and electric vehicles. This strategic pivot leverages WMB's gas infrastructure expertise into direct power generation, backed by long-term power purchase agreements, and is expected to fuel substantial earnings and dividend growth. This move reflects a broader industry trend, with peers also heavily investing in gas-related infrastructure to meet escalating power needs.
Key PointsThe Williams Companies plans to invest another $3.1 billion to build additional gas-fired power projects. The gas infrastructure giant continues to capitalize on growing gas demand. It should have lots of fuel to grow its earnings and dividends in the coming years. - 10 stocks we like better than Williams Companies › The Williams Companies plans to invest another $3.1 billion to build additional gas-fired power projects. The gas infrastructure giant continues to capitalize on growing gas demand. It should have lots of fuel to grow its earnings and dividends in the coming years. The U.S. is on the cusp of an unprecedented surge in power demand. Forecasters expect the country's electricity needs to soar 31% by 2030, driven by AI data centers and electric vehicles. That's a dramatic acceleration from the 5% overall increase in U.S. power demand over the last 15 years. The coming surge in power demand will be difficult to supply. However, it presents companies with a significant opportunity to expand their power generation capabilities. The Williams Companies (NYSE: WMB) is emerging as an early leader in seizing this opportunity. The gas infrastructure company has recently agreed to invest $3.1 billion in building additional natural gas-fired power capacity. That will further fuel its earnings and dividend growth engines. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now, when you join Stock Advisor. See the stocks » Capitalizing on surging power demand Williams is one of the country's largest natural gas infrastructure companies. It primarily gathers, processes, transports, and stores natural gas through its vast network of pipelines and related infrastructure. The company handles a third of the nation's gas supplies. The company has begun to leverage its expertise in operating gas infrastructure by expanding its platform to include power projects, supporting the surging electricity demand of data centers. The company currently has $1.6 billion worth of projects under construction, which will deliver 400 megawatts (MW) of power to customers. Williams has since added more power innovation projects to its backlog, recently agreeing to spend $3.1 billion on two more projects. The energy infrastructure company has signed a 10-year, primarily fixed-price power purchase agreement with a large, financially strong customer to back the projects. Williams expects to complete these power projects by the first half of 2027. These additions have expanded its power innovation backlog to $5 billion in projects. Williams isn't the only energy midstream company investing in gas-fired power generation. Energy Transfer (NYSE: ET) is building eight 10-MW gas-fired electric generation facilities. However, the difference is that Williams is building large-scale projects to support customer demand, while Energy Transfer is building smaller-scale power plants, which will help support its operations in Texas and reduce its reliance on the grid. More growth ahead Williams sees tremendous additional opportunities to build more power innovation projects. It's evaluating partnerships and commercial agreements totaling more than 6 gigawatts of potential power innovation projects. In addition to building power plants, Williams is also expanding several natural gas pipelines to support growing gas demand. The company has projects in the backlog on track to enter commercial service all the way through the third quarter of 2030. This large backlog provides the company with a clear line of sight into its earnings growth through the early part of the next decade. They'll also provide the company with more fuel to grow its 3%-yielding dividend, which it has been increasing at a mid-single-digit annual rate in recent years. Meanwhile, Williams has many more projects under development to support the growth in gas demand from power facilities and liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals. The company is evaluating over $14 billion of expansion project opportunities on its three large-scale gas transmission pipelines (Transco, MountainWest, and Northwest Pipeline) that could enter service in the 2027 through 2033 time frame. Williams isn't alone in seeing a massive opportunity to build out additional gas pipeline infrastructure in the coming years. Energy Transfer is building two large-scale gas pipelines (Hugh Brinson at $2.7 billion and Desert Southwest Expansion Project at $5.3 billion) to support growing power demand by utilities. Energy Transfer is also evaluating over 200 requests by data centers and more than 60 from power plants to connect these facilities to its pipeline system. Gas pipeline giant Kinder Morgan has also been a big beneficiary of the expected surge in gas demand. The company has $8.6 billion of gas-related infrastructure projects currently in its backlog, a $6.4 billion increase since the end of 2023. Kinder Morgan is building several new large-scale gas pipeline projects, with in-service dates through 2030. A good choice for investors Williams is leveraging its leadership in gas infrastructure to develop a new business that provides gas-fired power directly to customers. With another $3.1 billion in projects recently added, its backlog now stands at $5 billion. It also has exciting growth ahead for its gas pipeline operations. This growth supports Williams' ongoing dividend increases, making it an attractive choice for investors seeking income and high total return potential. Should you invest $1,000 in Williams Companies right now? Before you buy stock in Williams Companies, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Williams Companies wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $621,976! Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,150,085! Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,058% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 191% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. Stock Advisor returns as of September 29, 2025 Matt DiLallo has positions in Energy Transfer and Kinder Morgan. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Kinder Morgan. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. The Williams Companies (WMB) is undertaking a significant strategic expansion into direct power generation, committing an additional $3.1 billion to gas-fired power projects and bringing its total power innovation backlog to $5 billion. This initiative is a direct response to the forecasted 31% surge in U.S. electricity demand by 2030, a dramatic acceleration driven by the power requirements of AI data centers and electric vehicles. By leveraging its extensive natural gas infrastructure, which handles one-third of the nation's supply, WMB is positioning itself to capture growth in an adjacent market. The investment is significantly de-risked by a 10-year, primarily fixed-price power purchase agreement with a large, financially strong customer for the new projects, which are slated for completion by the first half of 2027. This visible growth pipeline, which includes an additional $14 billion in potential projects through 2033, is expected to fuel earnings and support continued mid-single-digit annual growth for its 3% yielding dividend. While competitors like Energy Transfer and Kinder Morgan are also expanding to meet rising gas demand, WMB's strategy of building large-scale power plants directly for customer offtake appears distinct from ET's smaller, self-support projects and positions it as a key direct beneficiary of the electrification trend.
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