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Williams Companies (WMB) shares have gained 23.4% year-to-date and 30.5% over the past 52 months, outpacing the Dow Jones Industrial Average's 11.1% and 17.1% returns over the same periods. However, over the past three months, WMB rose just 2.5%, trailing the Dow's 3.6% gain. The Tulsa-based energy infrastructure company, with a market capitalisation of $90.7 billion, operates midstream gathering and processing assets and interstate natural gas pipelines. The stock has benefited from surging US natural gas demand driven by AI data centres and Gulf Coast LNG exports. WMB trades 8.3% below its 52-week high of $80.08 reached on 20 May. In August, shares fell after the company reported second-quarter earnings that missed analyst expectations.

Williams closes $5.5bn Momentum deal to expand Haynesville footprint. The acquired Haynesville system serves more than 140 customers including ten LNG facilities, 26 power plants and 34 industrial end-users. Williams has completed its approximately $5.5bn acquisition of Momentum Midstream, expanding the natural gas company's gathering and transmission footprint in the US Haynesville Shale. The consideration consists of around $3.5bn in cash and debt, plus roughly $2bn of Williams equity. EnCap Flatrock Midstream, a financial sponsor of Momentum, entered into the definitive agreements for the sale with Williams in August 2026. The acquired platform brings more than 4,000 miles of pipe, in excess of one million dedicated acres, six billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) of gathering capacity, and multiple processing and treating facilities. It also includes three take-or-pay pipelines with a combined transportation capacity of 4.05bcf/d. Williams said the deal strengthens supply links in what it describes as the country's fastest-growing natural gas supply basin. The company added that the enlarged system creates opportunities for further expansions in addition to two already announced. Williams president and CEO Chad Zamarin said: "With the acquisition now complete, Williams has established a premier Haynesville position that strengthens our ability to serve rapidly growing LNG [liquefied natural gas], power and industrial demand along the Gulf Coast." Houston-headquartered Momentum moves gas to Gulf Coast markets via the Bethel, Carthage and Silsbee hubs in east Texas and the Gillis hub in south-west Louisiana. Its system, with a capacity of approximately 6bcf/d, serves more than 140 customers including 34 industrial end-users, 26 power plants, 16 city gates and ten LNG facilities. Zamarin said: "Momentum brings a high-quality customer base, durable take-or-pay contracts and complementary infrastructure that provides a growth platform to advance our natural gas-focused strategy. We are pleased to welcome Momentum employees to Williams and look forward to delivering safe, reliable service while creating long-term value for shareholders." Momentum acquired two Haynesville gathering and transmission assets in September 2022. It took a final investment decision on its New Generation Gas Gathering (NG3) project, a 255-mile system providing 1.75bcf/d of deliverability to Gillis, an aggregation and dispatch hub for US LNG demand. NG3 incorporates a carbon capture and sequestration programme, described as the first of its kind, and is able to handle up to 1.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year. In April 2025, Momentum closed its purchase of Clearfork Midstream, completing its transformation into a wellhead-to-market natural gas midstream platform. BofA Securities acted as lead financial adviser to Williams, with Truist Securities also advising on the transaction. Davis Polk & Wardwell served as legal counsel. Last month, Williams reported unaudited generally accepted accounting principles net income of $827m, or $0.68 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2026, up 51% year on year. Adjusted net income was $614m, or $0.50 per diluted share, an increase of 8%. Give your business an edge with our leading industry insights.

Socrates South shows the benefits of consumer-regulated electricity. Last week, Williams - a natural gas company - hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a power plant called Socrates South that just began operating in New Albany, Ohio. Notably, this natural gas plant is fully disconnected from the public power grid, supplying the data centers of a Meta affiliate, Sidecat, without affecting anyone else's electricity. Speed to Power The New Albany site is part of a growing trend of data centers acquiring electric service more rapidly than traditional timelines of six, eight, or even ten years. The Socrates South plant came online in just 17 months, with the first filings made with the Ohio Power Siting Board in March of 2025. This is a big victory for the local community, the developer Williams, and their customer Sidecat, but also the Ohio lawmakers behind the legislation that made it possible: last year's HB 15. That bill provided the regulatory certainty that a fully off-grid generation plant could avoid the long queue for grid connection and bring "speed to power" to customers who don't want to wait. It's aligned with a framework Cato has been advocating, called consumer-regulated electricity (CRE), which creates space for new, privately financed electric utilities to supply non-residential customers, such as data centers, without interconnecting with the existing grid. Breaking down the 17-month timeline further exposes the benefits of this route. The Ohio Power Siting Board filings show that the construction period lasted about 14 months, leaving the remaining 3 months for permitting. Meanwhile, the typical permitting timeline for natural gas projects in grid operator PJM is 7.4 years. No natural gas-fired power plant over 100 MW that entered the queue since 2018 has come online as of early 2026. Socrates South is currently delivering 200 MW in less than two years by using a parallel path. Benefits without Burdens The economic growth side of the debate has pulled together an interesting coalition, and job growth is a compelling angle. The Socrates South plant created more than 6,300 construction jobs and paid $640 million in wages and benefits. It's no wonder that many labor unions, especially the building trades, are strongly supportive of data centers. In a country filled with stagnating and declining small towns, data centers are providing the first new industry and jobs in decades. The tax revenue is especially significant, too. During construction, the plant generated $53 million in state and local tax revenue, and it, along with the data centers, will continue to generate revenue as long as they operate. Thanks to legislation including HB 15 and the off-grid route, these benefits are being enjoyed today, not a decade from now. Another major benefit of the off-grid route is consumer protection - insulating residential and commercial consumers from electricity rate increases by nearby data centers. While evidence that data centers raise rates is mixed and inconclusive, it is undeniable that electricity demand is rising at speeds not seen before in this century, and electricity supply is struggling to keep up. Any "introduction to economics" class will teach that this trend will increase prices. CRE allows communities to reap benefits without taking on huge risks. In the grid-connected model, data centers tap into the same grid that supplies all other customers. Some costs, such as transmission upgrades, are socialized by default and will spill over to residential ratepayers. In the off-grid model, all costs associated with generating and delivering electricity are borne by developers, investors, and data center owners such as Meta and Sidecat. Local communities receive benefits like new jobs and tax revenue from both models, but off-grid avoids potential costs and provides the benefits faster. Optionality Is Key Off-grid networks will not be the right solution for every new industrial customer, and it does not eliminate the need for environmental, safety, or local permitting. Its key advantage is that it aligns costs with responsibility and provides a new option. A hyperscaler that wants to expand quickly can finance the generation, fuel infrastructure, private wires, and reliability arrangements needed to serve its facilities. When private companies pay these costs themselves, communities can gain new investment and jobs without subsidizing additional electricity demand. Socrates South demonstrates that legislation such as HB 15, which facilitates consumer-regulated electricity and off-grid generation, can enable major projects. State lawmakers around the country should consider similar legislation for their own states as a response to hyperscalers seeking to rapidly build new data centers and residents concerned about electricity rates. The American Legislative Exchange Council's model bill provides a template for states seeking to establish this framework. In the spirit of optionality, state lawmakers can tailor this model bill to their specific needs. Conclusion Socrates South is more than a new power plant. It shows that electricity customers don't have to wait several years for a grid connection and that states can welcome economic development without shifting costs onto households. Ohio's HB 15 gave Williams and Meta a clear path to finance and build a private, islanded system, while Ohio gained jobs, wages, and tax revenue. Consumer-regulated electricity is a policy tool that any state could use to pursue the same balance. State policymakers no longer have to choose between welcoming new industry and protecting existing ratepayers.