American Electric Power lifts forecast as AI fuels electricity surge

American Electric Power

30/07/2026 12:33

July 30 (Reuters) - American Electric Power AEP.O on Thursday raised its current-year operating earnings forecast, supported by robust electricity demand from data centers and other large customers.
The utility has benefited from surging power demand from data centers and other large customers as technology companies expand infrastructure to support artificial intelligence applications.
AEP now expects full-year operating earnings to be in between $6.25 to $6.55 per share from its previous guidance range of $6.15 to $6.45 per share.
The company said new large-load customers could help offset up to $16 billion of costs for residential customers across its vertically integrated utilities through fully executed take-or-pay agreements.
Earlier this month, AEP secured a loan of up to $3.26 billion from the U.S. Department of Energy to help boost electricity transmission on the Texas grid.
The company also expects about $1.4 billion in customer benefits from U.S. Department of Energy loans and grants.
During the second quarter, AEP secured three additional GW of gas-fired turbine capacity, bringing its total secured capacity to approximately 13 GW for potential deployment through 2031.
The company said it is also evaluating opportunities to obtain up to 10 GW of additional turbine capacity through 2035.
However, the utility reported lower operating earnings because of the 2025 transmission minority interest sale and the timing of tax-related items.
The Columbus, Ohio-based company reported operating earnings of $742 million, or $1.36 per share, compared with $766 million, or $1.43 per share, last year.

 (Reporting by Dharna Bafna in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)
 ((Dharna.Bafna@thomsonreuters.com))