Dear Reader,
After signing more than 220 Executive Orders… more than any president in American history… Donald Trump is preparing for one final move.
On February 24th — I have every reason to believe he will sign his Final Executive Order.
When I say that it’s his FINAL executive order…
It’s not because he’s leaving office.
It’s not because he’s sick or having any health issues.
It’s not because he’ll be impeached for the Epstein files, or some dark, twisted scandal.
There’s another reason that, despite a long future in front of him, this will be Trump’s very last Executive Order…
Click here or below for this unbelievable story…
Regards,
Ian King
Chief Strategist, Strategic Fortunes
Frozen Assets: Winter Storm Fern Is Heating Up These 3 Energy Winners
Written by Jeffrey Neal Johnson. Publication Date: 1/28/2026.
At a Glance
- Nuclear power generation is proving its worth by providing stable electricity during weather events when other sources struggle to perform.
- Extensive pipeline networks are essential for balancing supply and demand across different regions during periods of high consumption and stress.
- The shift toward reliable firm power is accelerating as data center expansion and electrification increase the power grid's fundamental value.
Winter Storm Fern has slammed into the United States, encasing 34 states in ice and forcing millions of Americans to crank up their thermostats. While meteorologists track plunging temperatures and an incoming bomb cyclone that could bring blizzard conditions and more snow, Wall Street is watching a different metric: the spark spread.
As the Arctic blast strains the grid from the Midwest to Texas, financial thermometers are overheating. Natural Gas futures (NG=F) have surged 5.49% this week, and wholesale electricity prices in the Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland (PJM) region have spiked to levels rarely seen outside extreme events.
The biggest scam in the history of gold markets is unwinding (Ad)
There are 90 paper gold claims for every real ounce in COMEX vaults. Ninety promises, one ounce of metal. It's like musical chairs with 90 players and one chair. COMEX gold inventory dropped 25 percent last year alone as gold flows East to Shanghai, Mumbai, and Moscow. On March 31st, contract holders can demand delivery. When similar situations arose in the past, markets closed and rules changed. Paper holders got crushed while mining stock holders made fortunes. One stock sits at the center of this crisis.
Get the full story on this opportunity now.For the average consumer, that means anxiety about utility bills. For the watchful investor, it signals a specific opportunity. The storm is a real-time stress test that reinforces the structural value of reliable energy infrastructure. It is no longer just about the weather; it is about a reliability premium.
The Economics of a Deep Freeze
To evaluate the investment case, look beyond the snow and at the supply chain. Extreme cold creates a near-ideal storm for energy markets.
First, demand spikes as heating systems run continuously. Second, supply tightens: frigid temperatures can cause freeze-offs, where water vapor in natural gas freezes at the wellhead and blocks flow.
That imbalance creates scarcity. In the PJM Interconnection, spot electricity prices recently climbed above $600 per megawatt-hour (MWh).
In this environment, assets that provide firm power become extremely valuable. Firm power refers to energy sources available on demand, regardless of sun, wind, or temperature. The market is repricing these assets, acknowledging that in a volatile climate, reliability is essential.
Energy Transfer: The Pipeline Fortress
If the grid is the body, Energy Transfer LP (NYSE: ET) is the circulatory system. Headquartered in Dallas, the company moves roughly 30% of the United States' natural gas through its pipeline network.
When a storm like Fern disrupts flow, the spread (price difference) between geographic hubs widens. Energy Transfer profits by using its large storage facilities to shift gas from surplus areas to regions of high demand. This approach is often called the Uri playbook, a nod to the company's performance during Winter Storm Uri in 2021.
The bull case for Energy Transfer extends beyond a single storm week:
- The Insider Signal: Chairman Kelcy Warren put significant capital to work in late 2025, buying more than 2 million shares. A large insider purchase at market price (around $17.80 per share) signals confidence that the company is undervalued.
- Strategic Pivot: Management recently suspended the Lake Charles LNG export project. While that made headlines, stepping back from a costly, regulatory-heavy export effort lets the company focus capital on higher-return domestic pipelines and on reducing debt.
- Income Fortress: Energy Transfer offers a distribution yield of roughly 7.5%. For investors concerned about volatility, that yield provides an income buffer while waiting for potential price appreciation.
Vistra Corp: The Hybrid Powerhouse
Vistra Corp (NYSE: VST) occupies a unique market position. It is a hybrid utility operating a large fleet of quick-ramping natural gas plants alongside an expanding nuclear fleet.
The market has focused on Vistra's recent success in the PJM capacity auction. A capacity auction is essentially an insurance payment: grid operators pay generators to be available, whether or not they actually produce power.
For the projected 2027/2028 delivery year, capacity prices cleared at a record roughly $333 per megawatt-day. Vistra cleared about 10.5 gigawatts (GW) of capacity in this auction.
- Locked-In Revenue: The auction result locks in billions of dollars of future revenue for Vistra. The current storm illustrates why prices are so high: grid operators are desperate to incentivize reliability.
- Financial Strength: With a recent upgrade to investment-grade (BBB-) by S&P Global and a $1 billion share buyback program, Vistra has the balance sheet to weather storms and return cash to shareholders.
Constellation Energy: The Tech Essential
Constellation Energy (NASDAQ: CEG) is the premium play in the energy sector. While gas plants can struggle with fuel shortages during freeze-offs, Constellation's nuclear fleet operates near 100% capacity. Nuclear physics does not care about the wind chill.
This weather-proof reliability helps explain the company's rising valuation and why Big Tech is courting Constellation.
- The Logic: Data centers that run artificial intelligence require constant, massive amounts of electricity and cannot risk outages during a winter storm. Hyperscalers and other tech firms are willing to pay a premium for nuclear energy to ensure 24/7 uptime.
- Valuation Context: Constellation trades at a higher price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple than peers — near 32x — but that premium reflects its scarcity value. It is one of the few ways investors can access a clean, reliability-focused asset that is largely immune to both carbon taxes and freezing temperatures.
Beyond the Freeze: The Reliability Trade
Winter Storm Fern will eventually fade from the headlines. This winter's ice will melt, and spot prices will normalize. But the lesson for investors should remain: the U.S. power grid is undergoing a difficult transition, facing rising demand from AI and electrification while retiring older coal plants.
That structural tightness creates a long-term reliability trade that extends well beyond this week's weather map:
- Energy Transfer captures the value of moving fuel.
- Vistra Corp captures the value of balancing the grid.
- Constellation Energy captures the value of powering the digital economy.
The cold snap is a proof-of-concept. In a world of increasing weather volatility and rising electricity demand, the most boring assets — pipes and power plants — are turning into some of the most compelling growth stories.
This email is a paid sponsorship for Banyan Hill Publishing, a third-party advertiser of The Early Bird and MarketBeat.
If you would like to unsubscribe from receiving offers for Strategic Fortunes, please click here.
If you have questions about your subscription, please email our U.S. based support team at contact@marketbeat.com.
If you no longer wish to receive email from The Early Bird, you can unsubscribe.
Copyright 2006-2026 MarketBeat Media, LLC.
345 N Reid Pl., Suite 620, Sioux Falls, South Dakota 57103-7078. U.S.A..
No comments:
Post a Comment