July 31 (Reuters) - U.S. utility Exelon EXC.O narrowly beat Wall Street estimates for second-quarter profit on Thursday, helped by higher electric and gas distribution rates in its PECO unit.

Electric utilities are fielding massive requests for new power capacity as Big Tech scours the country for viable locations for new AI data centers. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, domestic power consumption is expected to reach record highs in 2025 and 2026.

The S&P index tracking utilities .SPLRCU rose 3.5% in the quarter ended June 30.

Exelon reported overall revenue of $5.43 billion for the second quarter, compared with analysts' average estimate of $5.38 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Earnings at its PECO unit, Pennsylvania's largest electric and natural gas energy company, rose about 51% to $136 million, during the reported quarter.

However, earnings at its Commonwealth Edison unit (ComEd), the largest electric utility in Illinois, fell 15.6% to $228 million.

Exelon serves more than 10.5 million customers through six fully-regulated transmission and distribution utilities.

The company reaffirmed its full-year 2025 adjusted profit forecast of $2.64 to $2.74 per share. Analysts were expecting $2.69 per share.

The Chicago-based company posted adjusted operating earnings of 39 cents per share for the April to June period, compared with analysts' estimate of 37 cents.

(Reporting by Pranav Mathur and Katha Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas and Shailesh Kuber)

((Pranav.Mathur@thomsonreuters.com;))