Kentucky PSC Approves 482 MW Power Agreement for TeraWulf’s Justified Data Campus
Rhea-AI Summary
TeraWulf (Nasdaq: WULF) announced that the Kentucky Public Service Commission approved a Retail Electric Service Agreement supporting up to 482 MW of electric service for its Justified Data Campus in Hancock County, Kentucky. The August 21, 2026 order authorizes Big Rivers Electric Corporation and Kenergy Corp. to implement the RESA.
Under the structure, TeraWulf is responsible for market, transmission, delivery and customer-specific infrastructure costs, as well as substantial credit-support obligations, while negotiated demand adders and customer charges provide incremental contributions to Big Rivers and Kenergy. The project repurposes the former Century Aluminum Hawesville site, with approximately 482 MW of existing transmission capability.
Based on expected development costs of $10–$12 million per MW of critical IT load, TeraWulf currently estimates $4.0–$4.5 billion of investment in site development and initial data halls, alongside anticipated employment and local tax base expansion.
Positive
- PSC approval of RESA for up to 482 MW at Justified Data Campus
- Estimated $4.0–$4.5 billion investment in site development and initial data halls
- Reuse of former Century Aluminum Hawesville site with about 482 MW of existing transmission capability
- Incremental demand adders and customer charges benefiting Big Rivers and Kenergy
- PSC found RESA rates fair, just and reasonable with adequate and reliable service
Negative
- TeraWulf bears market, transmission, delivery and other costs attributable to its load
- Company assumes customer-specific infrastructure costs and substantial credit-support obligations under the RESA
Key Figures
Historical Context
| Date | Event | Sentiment | 24h Move | Catalyst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 05 | Earnings report | Positive | -4.3% | Q2 results included HPC lease growth and major Justified-related developments. |
| Jul 22 | Earnings scheduling | Neutral | -1.9% | Company scheduled its Q2 2026 results conference call and webcast. |
| Jul 06 | Anthropic partnership | Positive | +4.9% | Twenty-year Anthropic lease announced alongside Abernathy stake sale. |
| May 26 | Campus acquisition | Positive | +10.3% | Company acquired a 1+ GW Eastern Kentucky HPC development campus. |
24h Move is the share-price change in the day after each event; other market factors may also have contributed.
WULF's two recent strategic infrastructure announcements aligned with positive price reactions, while its latest earnings-related announcement diverged negatively.
Key Terms
retail electric service agreement regulatory
credit-support obligations financial
AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
PSC order validates a responsible large-load development model that protects existing customers, assigns project-specific costs and risks to TeraWulf, and creates incremental value for utilities and communities
EASTON, Md., Aug. 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TeraWulf Inc. (Nasdaq: WULF) (“TeraWulf” or the “Company”), a vertically integrated owner, developer and operator of large-scale digital infrastructure, today announced that the Kentucky Public Service Commission (“PSC”) has approved the Retail Electric Service Agreement (“RESA”) supporting up to 482 megawatts (“MW”) of electric service for TeraWulf’s Justified Data Campus in Hancock County, Kentucky.
The approval represents an important milestone for Justified and, in TeraWulf’s view, validates a strong model for responsible large-scale data center development: securing substantial power capacity while ensuring that project-specific costs and risks are borne by the large-load customer, protecting existing ratepayers and creating incremental value for utilities and local communities.
In its August 21, 2026 order, the Commission concluded:
“After consideration of the entire record, the Commission finds that the proposed RESA contains adequate protections for existing customers, appropriately allocates financial and operational risks, establishes rates that are fair, just and reasonable, and provides for adequate and reliable service.”
Under the approved structure, TeraWulf is responsible for the market, transmission, delivery and other costs attributable to serving its load, together with customer-specific infrastructure costs and substantial credit-support obligations. The agreement also includes negotiated demand adders and customer charges that provide incremental contributions to Big Rivers Electric Corporation (“Big Rivers”) and Kenergy Corp. (“Kenergy”).
The Commission specifically found that the direct pass-through of market and delivery costs ensures that TeraWulf bears the costs attributable to its service and that the customer-specific terms do not provide TeraWulf an unreasonable preference or advantage or subject other customers to an unreasonable prejudice or disadvantage.
“Power is the gating factor for AI infrastructure, but how you bring that power to market matters,” said Paul Prager, Chief Executive Officer of TeraWulf. “At Justified, we’re taking a former industrial site with existing transmission infrastructure and putting it back to productive use at scale. We’re paying the costs associated with our load, protecting existing ratepayers, and making a significant long-term investment in Kentucky. We believe that’s the right model for responsible data center development, and the Commission’s decision is an important validation of that approach.”
The Justified Data Campus is being developed at the former Century Aluminum Hawesville facility, where approximately 482 MW of existing transmission capability remains available following the closure of the aluminum smelter. Reusing existing industrial infrastructure allows TeraWulf to pair large-scale power availability with redevelopment of a previously industrialized site.
The PSC also recognized the economic benefits associated with the project, including anticipated capital investment, employment and expansion of the local tax base. Based on current expected development costs of approximately
The Commission stated that “the proposed reuse of an existing industrial site, anticipated capital investment, employment, and additional tax base provide further support for the public-interest benefits asserted in the record.”
The Commission further found that the RESA’s rate structure, credit protections, cost allocation and operational provisions provide adequate safeguards for system reliability and existing utility customers.
The PSC’s approval authorizes Big Rivers and Kenergy to implement the RESA in accordance with its terms.
A Scalable Framework for Responsible Digital Infrastructure
TeraWulf believes the Justified structure demonstrates several principles that can support responsible development of large-scale digital infrastructure:
- Leverage existing infrastructure: Justified repurposes an established industrial site with substantial existing transmission capacity.
- Protect existing customers: Project-specific market, delivery and infrastructure costs are borne by TeraWulf rather than shifted to other utility customers.
- Align risk with the large-load customer: TeraWulf assumes market-price, load and customer-specific infrastructure risks and maintains significant credit support.
- Create incremental utility value: Negotiated demand charges and customer fees provide contributions to Big Rivers and Kenergy beyond reimbursement of the direct costs of serving TeraWulf.
- Drive durable local investment: The project is expected to bring billions of dollars of investment, new jobs and an expanded tax base to Hancock County and the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
TeraWulf believes this combination of power availability, contractual risk allocation, existing infrastructure reuse and local economic benefits can serve as a replicable framework for meeting rapidly growing demand for AI and high-performance computing infrastructure.
About TeraWulf
TeraWulf develops, owns and operates large-scale, power-backed digital infrastructure in the United States, purpose-built for high-performance computing and artificial intelligence workloads. The Company combines long-term control of land, power and interconnection infrastructure with deep in-house expertise in energy markets, infrastructure development and data center operations. TeraWulf operates the Lake Mariner Data Campus in New York and is developing and pursuing additional large-scale campuses in Kentucky, New York and Maryland. The Company also operates existing bitcoin-mining infrastructure at Lake Mariner, portions of which are being repurposed to support contracted HPC development.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Such forward-looking statements include statements concerning anticipated future events and expectations that are not historical facts. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements. In addition, forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as “plan,” “believe,” “goal,” “target,” “aim,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “outlook,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “project,” “seek,” “continue,” “could,” “may,” “might,” “possible,” “potential,” “strategy,” “opportunity,” “predict,” “should,” “would” and other similar words and expressions, although the absence of these words or expressions does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements are based on the current expectations and beliefs of TeraWulf’s management and are inherently subject to a number of factors, risks, uncertainties and assumptions and their potential effects. There can be no assurance that future developments will be those that have been anticipated. Actual results may vary materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements based on a number of factors, risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including, among others: (1) TeraWulf’s ability to attract additional customers to lease its HPC data centers; (2) TeraWulf’s ability to complete its data center campuses and future strategic growth initiatives in a timely manner or within anticipated cost estimates; (3) operational risks associated with its data centers and TeraWulf’s ability to perform under its existing data center lease agreements; (4) changes in applicable laws, regulations and/or permits affecting TeraWulf’s operations or the industries in which it operates; (5) failure to obtain adequate financing on a timely basis and/or on acceptable terms with regard to expansion or existing operations; (6) adverse geopolitical or economic conditions, including a high inflationary environment, the implementation of new tariffs and more restrictive trade regulations; (7) the potential of cybercrime, money-laundering, malware infections and phishing and/or loss and interference as a result of equipment malfunction or break-down, physical disaster, data security breach, computer malfunction or sabotage (and the costs associated with any of the foregoing); (8) the availability and cost of power as well as electrical infrastructure equipment necessary to maintain and grow the business and operations of TeraWulf; and (9) other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in TeraWulf’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Potential investors, stockholders and other readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they were made. TeraWulf does not assume any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement after it was made, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law or regulation. Investors are referred to the full discussion of risks and uncertainties associated with forward-looking statements and the discussion of risk factors contained in the Company’s filings with the SEC, which are available at www.sec.gov.
Investors:
Investors@terawulf.com
Media:
media@terawulf.com
