Utility PPL beats profit estimate, stays bullish on data-center demand growth

April 30 (Reuters) - Electric and gas utility PPL PPL.N has signed several energy supply agreements in Pennsylvania, it said on Wednesday, betting on robust power demand from data centers despite a recent pullback in artificial intelligence spending by U.S. tech firms.

U.S. electric utilities have been fielding massive requests for new power capacity as Big Tech scours the country for viable locations for data centers that can support complex tasks.

PPL said it has nearly 11 gigawatts of data-center projects in advanced stages of planning in Pennsylvania, up from nearly 9 GW in the preceding quarter.

"We don't really control the timing of when the data centers want to make those announcements. (But) We've got to the point where we signed agreements, so it'll just be a matter of time before those counterparties make their's public," a senior company executive said during a post-earnings call.

The company has the authorization to start spending money to connect these data centers to the grids and expects potential capital investment of $700 million to $850 million.

Some of these projects have progressed to fully executed contracts and PPL said it has structured agreements to include minimum load commitments for the data centers to reduce the risk to its other power customers.

PPL also reported better-than-expected results for the first quarter, helped by favorable weather conditions and higher transmission supply rates in Pennsylvania and Kentucky.

The company posted an adjusted profit of 60 cents per share during the quarter, compared with analysts' average estimate of 54 cents, according to data compiled by LSEG.

It expects minimal tariff impact on its earnings but foresees potential effects on its capital investments.