PPL misses quarterly profit estimates on higher operating costs

July 31 (Reuters) - Utility PPL PPL.N missed Wall Street estimates for second-quarter profit on Thursday, hurt by higher operating costs and interest expenses.

More than 450,000 people in Pennsylvania were without power in April, after a storm system brought on severe weather to the central U.S., increasing costs for utilities like PPL and FirstEnergy FE.N which operate in the state.

The company's quarterly operating expenses were up about 9% at $1.62 billion from a year earlier.

Its quarterly interest expenses were also up about 9% at $199 million from a year earlier. Higher-for-longer interest rates can weigh on utilities as it makes investing in construction and maintenance of critical infrastructure such as electrical grids more expensive.

The utility also said its earnings were impacted by milder weather conditions in the reported quarter, which were favorable in the year earlier.

PPL Corp generates and delivers electricity to nearly 3.6 million customers across Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Rhode Islands.

The company posted an adjusted profit of 32 cents per share for the quarter ended June 30, compared with analysts' average estimate of 38 cents per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.