Alphabet Spends $51 Billion and Burns Cash While Microsoft Prints It, as CAISO Approves Its Large-Load Rules
Thursday, October 29, 2026 · 10 min
Microsoft and Alphabet's quarter splits on free cash flow as AI capex climbs, CAISO's board sends its large-load proposal to FERC, and Batch Zero turns into litigation in Texas. Plus Latitude Media on cracking turbines in the onsite gas rush.
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Show notes
Microsoft and Alphabet's quarter splits on free cash flow as AI capex climbs, CAISO's board sends its large-load proposal to FERC, and Batch Zero turns into litigation in Texas. Plus Latitude Media on cracking turbines in the onsite gas rush.
In this episode
- Particle: Hyperscalers Report Soaring Cloud Sales as AI Capacity Strains Cash and Supply — Particle
“Microsoft and Alphabet reported on Wednesday that cloud revenue surged, with Azure at about $33.2 billion and Google Cloud at roughly $30.7 billion, reflecting rapidly rising enterprise spending on AI compute.”
- CAISO Board advances new procedures for connecting large loads quickly and reliably | California ISO — California ISO
“A key element of the Board-approved proposal, referred to as a “flexible interim load interconnection,” would enable large loads to interconnect quickly to the transmission system with enforceable flexibility determined by grid conditions and constraints until associated network…”
- Five Developers Have Now Appealed ERCOT's Batch Zero Rulings, and PUC Staff Expects Up to 20 More | Morning Briefing, Oct 28, 2026 — Morning Briefing, Oct 28, 2026
“Staff told the commission it "should expect between 12 and 20 additional such complaints in the coming weeks," and warned that, unless they're managed efficiently, "the available resources of ERCOT, Staff and the Commission will be overwhelmed."”
- The cracks in the AI race for onsite gas power — Latitude Media
“We’ve been hearing stories about large power providers and EPCs fielding a growing volume of calls from data center developers that are blowing gas-fired turbines, and need help fixing mechanical failures because they lack their own operations and maintenance expertise.”