April 30 (Reuters) - Electric and gas utility firm PPL Corp PPL.N first-quarter profit beat the Wall Street estimate on Wednesday, helped by favorable weather conditions and higher transmission supply rates in Pennsylvania and Kentucky.

Electricity sales in both states rose 6.6% in the quarter, helping offset the impact of higher costs and boosting operating revenues by 8.7%.

U.S. power consumption is expected to reach record highs in 2025 and 2026, driven by rapid expansion of data centers and as homes and businesses use more electricity for heat and transportation.

The company said active data center requests from 2026 to 2034 increased to over 50 gigawatts (GW) in Pennsylvania from 48 GW, and doubled to 6 GW in Kentucky for the same period.

"We're off to a strong start in 2025...Sustained strong interest from data center developers in Pennsylvania and Kentucky further highlights the critical role we continue to play in powering progress and innovation," CEO Vincent Sorgi said in a statement.

Operating in Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, the company anticipates minimal tariff impact on its earnings but foresees potential effects on its capital investments.

"Labor represents the vast majority of capital and O&M costs, and most materials are sourced domestically," the company said.

PPL's total operating expenses rose to $1.83 billion from $1.76 billion a year ago.

The provider of electricity and natural gas to more than 3.6 million customers reaffirmed its full-year adjusted profit forecast of $1.75 to $1.87 per share.

The Allentown, Pennsylvania-based company posted an adjusted profit of 60 cents per share in the quarter, compared with the estimate of 54 cents per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.

(Reporting by Katha Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)

((Katha.Kalia@thomsonreuters.com;))