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American Electric Power beats earnings expectations as business need jumps

American Electric Power beat firstquarter revenue price quotes on Tuesday, with the Ohiobased electrical energy reporting a jump in power demand from data centers and other industrial consumers.

Power consumption from AEP rate payers grew 2.9% in the first quarter, consisting of a higher-than-expected industrial load growth of 10.5% from a year previously, which helped balance out the anticipated decline in electricity usage by domestic customers.

This is a trend we anticipate to continue over the next several years as the development of AI and other technologies improve the need for additional data storage and processing, AEP Chief Financial Officer Charles Zebula said on an earnings call.

Through the end of the decade, AEP stated it anticipates service requests to vary from 10 to 15 gigawatts, driven largely by the power requirements of the computer system storage facilities known as data centers.

The utility said it was establishing new tariffs, which consist of electrical power rates and regards to service, particularly targeted at assuring information centers end up needing the power they are requesting.

Last week, both Amazon Web Solutions and Google, which are amongst the most significant information center users, revealed strategies to build massive computer storage facilities in a part of Northern Indiana that an AEP subsidiary delivers power to.

Meanwhile, AEP faced milder weather in the quarter, which reduced property power expenses.

AEP, which delivers power to 5.6 million customers in 11 states, declared its 2024 operating profits forecast range of $ 5.53 to $5.73 per share.

The business reported an operating earnings of $1.27 per share, beating experts' price quotes of $1.25, according to LSEG data.

Furthermore, AEP said it was taking numerous steps consisting of a voluntary labor force reduction program, to help alleviate the impacts of inflation and rates of interest.

(source: Reuters)