American Electric Power beats profit estimates, expects minimal tariff impact

May 6 (Reuters) - American Electric Power AEP.O beat Wall Street estimates for first-quarter profit on Tuesday, benefiting from higher demand from commercial customers, and said it expects minimal direct impact on its long-term spending plan from tariffs.

Big Tech's massive investments into artificial intelligence technologies and related infrastructure have fueled a surge in demand for power, encouraging energy producers to ramp up investments.

In February, AEP said it would boost its record $54 billion five-year capital plan by $10 billion on demand for data centers in the electric utility's Midwest and southern service areas.

"Our capital investments are key to enhancing reliability and customer service and meeting the over 20 gigawatts of new power demand we expect by the end of the decade," CEO Bill Fehrman said in a statement.

"We have determined that the direct tariff exposure on our $54 billion capital plan is minimal at about 0.3%."

In April, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said U.S. power consumption will hit new record highs in 2025 and 2026, with demand rising to 4,201 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) this year.

AEP said commercial load grew 12.3% in the reported quarter.

Operating earnings at its vertically integrated utilities segment was $349.9 million, compared with $300.3 million a year earlier.

The transmission and distribution utilities segment reported operating earnings of $192.3 million, compared with $150.3 million.

AEP serves about 5.6 million customers in 11 states including Texas, Ohio and Kentucky. It possesses the largest electric transmission system in the U.S.

The utility reaffirmed its annual adjusted per share earnings forecast of $5.75 to $5.95.

The Colombus, Ohio-based company posted an adjusted profit of $1.54 per share for the three months ended March 31, beating analysts' average estimate of $1.40, according to data compiled by LSEG.