FirstEnergy Reaffirms Growth Strategy as Data Center Demand Reaches 6.4 GW – Yahoo! Finance Canada

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FirstEnergy Corp. reported higher second-quarter earnings on Tuesday, reaffirming its full-year 2026 earnings guidance and long-term growth targets while pointing to rapidly growing electricity demand from data centers as a key driver of future investment.
The utility posted second-quarter GAAP earnings of $288 million, or $0.50 per share, on $3.7 billion in revenue, compared with $268 million, or $0.46 per share, on $3.4 billion in revenue during the same period last year. Core (non-GAAP) earnings were $0.50 per share, compared with $0.52 a year earlier.
FirstEnergy maintained its 2026 core earnings guidance of $2.62 to $2.82 per share and reiterated its expectation for compound annual core earnings growth near the upper end of its 6% to 8% target through 2030. The company said the outlook is supported by $6 billion in planned capital investments this year, with $2.9 billion already deployed during the first half of 2026.
The company also highlighted accelerating electricity demand from hyperscale data centers. Since the first quarter, contracted and pipeline data center demand has increased 30%, with contracted demand reaching 6.4 gigawatts. In West Virginia alone, demand has risen 137% to 4.3 GW, reflecting growing interest from large-load customers.
FirstEnergy said those demand trends, along with broader economic development, could expand its long-term investment opportunities. The company is advancing the proposed Maidsville Energy Center in West Virginia while evaluating additional generation, transmission and distribution projects to support future load growth.
The utility continues to execute its $36 billion Energize365 capital investment program, a five-year initiative to modernize distribution infrastructure and expand transmission capacity. The investment plan is roughly 30% larger than its previous five-year program and is intended to improve grid reliability while supporting earnings growth.
By business segment, distribution earnings declined from the prior year due to higher planned maintenance expenses, integrated operations were broadly unchanged as higher transmission earnings offset maintenance costs, and the stand-alone transmission business benefited from continued capital investment and transmission rate base growth.
The results underscore a broader trend among regulated U.S. utilities, which are increasingly citing data center expansion and electrification as catalysts for higher grid investment and long-term earnings growth.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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