Oct 22 (Reuters) – Utility FirstEnergy beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter profit on Wednesday, helped by higher electricity rates as well as commercial and residential demand. The U.S. power industry has been gearing up for a rapid surge in electricity consumption nationwide, driven by power-hungry data centers needed to support the boom in artificial intelligence usage. Akron, Ohio-based FirstEnergy narrowed its adjusted earnings forecast to between $2.50 and $2.56 per share for the ongoing quarter, which was still within the upper band of its prior view of $2.40 to $2.60 per share. The company said its quarterly performance was boosted by the impact of new base rates coming into effect in Pennsylvania, which were partially offset by higher operating expenses. Regulated utilities such as FirstEnergy use rate case proceedings to set customer charges based on investments made in their electric and transmission systems. The company expects total transmission investments to increase by 30% in the next five-year capital plan. The utility also increased its investment program by 10% to $5.5 billion for the current year. FirstEnergy's electric distribution companies serve 6 million customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and New York. The company reported adjusted profit of 83 cents per share for the quarter ended September 30, compared with analysts' average estimate of 77 cents, according to data compiled by LSEG. (Reporting by Vallari Srivastava and Sumit Saha in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas)
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