Sempra CEO says investing in electricity is ‘the critical success factor’ to keep U.S. ahead on tech innovation

In a Wednesday interview with CNCB’s Jim Cramer, Sempra CEO Jeffrey Martin described why he thinks the U.S.’s energy production capabilities are essential for the country to sustain an edge in technological advances.

“I believe today that America has a long term competitive advantage in technology and innovation. But the question in front of us … is can we keep it and maintain it as a country?” Martin said. “The critical success factor is, are we prepared to invest the capital to ramp up electricity production and expand and modernize the grid?”

Martin stressed that data centers, hyper scalers and artificial intelligence are “intensive” when it comes to energy consumption and said Sempra is going to significantly raise its capital campaign program. While he said he’s bullish on utilities in general, the present moment is different because the sector is in a “super cycle,” and he expects earnings growth rates to outpace previous rates.

According to Martin, Sempra is well-positioned because of its market share in states like California and Texas. He also mentioned Sempra’s business in energy infrastructure including liquified natural gas. He said the company has a large LNG export facility and two more currently under construction. President Joe Biden in January paused approval for new LNG export projects, but the oil and gas industry largely expects President-elect Donald Trump to greenlight such efforts.

“We have a backlog of very large development projects in the queue that will benefit from improved regulatory certainty from the new administration,” Martin said.