By Sumit Saha and Laila Kearney
July 31 (Reuters) – Dominion Energy, the U.S. electric utility covering the world’s biggest data center territory, reported better-than-expected second-quarter profit and revenue on Friday as demand from server warehouses grew beyond 50 gigawatts and offset rising operating expenses.
Adjusted operating earnings from Dominion’s Virginia segment rose 22% to $670 million during the quarter, while overall operating expenses surged to $4.15 billion from $2.71 billion last year, as utilities continued to spend more on fuel, grid upgrades and maintenance to support growing electricity demand.
Here are more details:
• U.S. electric utilities are racing to capture record electricity demand, led by the power-hungry data centers needed to expand artificial intelligence, with Dominion’s service territory covering the biggest global hub of server warehouses in Northern Virginia.
• Dominion’s quarterly revenue rose to $4.48 billion, from $3.81 billion a year ago, beating analysts’ average estimate of $4.04 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
• Adjusted operating earnings from its South Carolina segment fell about 3.7% to $105 million in the quarter ended June 30.
• The Richmond, Virginia-based company posted adjusted earnings of 79 cents per share, topping expectations of 68 cents per share.
• Dominion said its Virginia segment had contracted nearly 53.8 gigawatts (GW) of data center capacity as of July, up 5.3 GW from December.
• In May, Dominion and NextEra Energy announced a $66.8 billion merger deal that will form one of the world’s largest electric utilities. The companies will now face a series of regulatory hurdles to close the deal.
• Dominion has filed various state and federal regulatory applications, with some key evidentiary hearings beginning on November 17, the company said.
• Dominion supplies electricity to 3.6 million customers across Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina, and natural gas to 500,000 customers in South Carolina.
(Reporting by Sumit Saha in Bengaluru and Laila Kearney in New York; Editing by Diti Pujara, Kirsten Donovan)
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