Oracle Stock Jumps: What's Going On?

Oracle Corp. (NYSE:ORCL) shares are rising Wednesday. The company is saying utilities using its Opower software set a record for cutting peak electricity demand. Here’s what you should know.

• Oracle stock is among today’s top performers. Why is ORCL stock surging?

Oracle Stock Rises After Opower Demand Reduction Record

Electric utilities use Oracle’s Opower software to coax customers into cutting or shifting power use when demand peaks, relying on AI and behavioral science. Oracle said Wednesday that utilities running the programs trimmed a combined 1 gigawatt during 73 events over the winter and summer seasons, a North American record. The event count is roughly 50% higher than the 49 in 2025.

Two methods drive the results. Behavioral demand response asks customers to curb use at peak times, while peak time rebates pay them for doing it. Oracle says the programs open virtual power plants, which are pools of flexible demand that support the grid, to homes lacking connected gadgets as well as those that have them.

Each event saved about 16,592 kilowatts on average, close to the peak demand of 4,150 homes by Oracle’s count, which relies on ERCOT data. Roughly 4.3 million customers joined, a 30% jump from 3.3 million in 2025.

Utilities Report Record Results With Oracle Opower

Puget Sound Energy, based in Washington state, reported peak load cuts as large as 16.6 megawatts per event across three seasons of its Flex Events program. The utility added a 50 cents per kilowatt-hour bill credit this year. San Antonio’s CPS Energy said over a third of its nearly one million customers joined events, and a dozen summer events reached nearly 19 megawatts in August.

Utilities can now also run the programs in winter, even around storms, and tailor messages by customer segment, Oracle said. Matt O’Keefe, who heads Opower at Oracle, said “behavioral demand response and peak time rebates are growing pillars of demand reduction.”

ORCL Shares Are Popping

ORCL Price Action: Oracle shares were up 7.04% at $126.30 at the time of publication on Wednesday, according to Benzinga Pro.

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