Public Service Enterprise tops profit estimates as winter storm boosts gas, power demand

May 5 (Reuters) - Public Service Enterprise Group PEG.N beat Wall Street estimates for first-quarter profit on Tuesday, as the U.S. electric and gas utility benefited from extreme winter weather that drove demand across its electric and gas businesses.

The worst winter storm in 30 years in the New Jersey-based utility's service area, along with single-digit temperatures, drove PSEG's highest gas send-out since 2019, CEO Ralph LaRossa said.

U.S. electricity demand hit record levels in 2025 and is expected to accelerate further as large technology firms ramp up power usage at fast-growing data centers, with some individual sites using as much energy as an entire city.

Households and businesses are also using more electricity as they shift away from fossil fuels for heating and transportation.

PSEG said electricity sales rose 4% in the quarter, while gas volumes sold and transported increased 7%.

Its nuclear unit generated about 8 terawatt hours of electricity in the quarter, supplying baseload power to New Jersey and the broader grid, PSEG added.

However, operating expenses for the January-March quarter rose to $2.77 billion, from $2.42 billion a year ago, while operating revenues rose 19.4% to $3.84 billion.

PSEG posted an adjusted profit of $1.55 per share for the three months ended March 31, compared with analysts' average estimate of $1.44 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.

The company provides electric and gas services to about 4.3 million customers across New Jersey and operates nuclear-generating assets through its PSEG Power segment.