12:48 PM EST, 12/18/2024 (MT Newswires) -- RBC Capital Markets on Wednesday said it expects Alberta electricity producers and utilities to profit if the province's government can carry through on plans to attract AI data centers to the province.

Alberta Technology Minister Nate Glubish earlier this month said he wants to see $100 billion worth of the power-hungry data centers built in the province over the next five years, though interest remains light.

While RBC is awaiting the first investment, it noted data centers require significant amounts of electricity and grid upgrades.

"Should data centers be meaningfully developed in the province, undoubtedly there are likely to be substantial increases in power generation and transmission infrastructure, which in our view would benefit the Alberta Power stocks (TransAlta and Capital Power ( CPXWF )), and stocks with regulated utility/utility-like infrastructure in the province (e.g., Canadian Utilities ( CDUTF )/ATCO, Fortis ( FTS ), TC Energy ( TRP ))," the investment bank noted.

Price: 64.17, Change: +0.85, Percent Change: +1.34