Adds comments from conference calls and shares
By Pranav Mathur
Feb 12 (Reuters) - U.S. electric utility Entergy ETR.N on Thursday raised its long-term capital expenditure plan by $2 billion, as power producers rush to meet growing demand from AI-driven data centers.
Shares of the company were up 1.7% in afternoon trading.
U.S. utilities have been supported by steady electricity demand from households and small-to-mid-sized businesses, though elevated regulatory, financing and operating costs continue to pressure the sector.
Power consumption is also rising as data centers dedicated to artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency expand and as customers electrify heating and transportation.
The company said current data center contracts are expected to provide about $5 billion in fixed‑cost contributions that will help offset residential rates over the life of the agreements.
In December, the company's unit, Entergy Louisiana, filed a request to acquire the natural gas-fired power plant Cottonwood Generating Station for $1.5 billion.
The New Orleans‑based utility now forecasts $43 billion in capital spending for 2026 to 2029, including $11.6 billion marked for this year.
Entergy's total retail sales were at 30,017 gigawatt hours (GWh) in 2025, compared to 29,497 GWh last year.
The company's results were, however, pressured by higher debt levels, which rose nearly 7% to $31 million in 2025 on a year-on-year basis.
Entergy's operating and maintenance expenses rose 8.6% year-on-year in the fourth quarter to $26.67 per megawatt hour (MWh), while full-year O&M and nuclear refueling outage expenses increased 1.2% to $22.02 per MWh.
The utility now expects its full-year adjusted profit to be in the range of $4.25 to $4.45 per share, the midpoint of which is below analysts' average estimate of $4.41 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.
For the quarter ended December 31, Entergy posted an adjusted profit of 51 cents per share, which missed analysts' average estimate of 52 cents.
(Reporting by Pranav Mathur in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
((Pranav.Mathur@thomsonreuters.com;))