Oct 31 (Reuters) - Utility Alliant Energy beat

Wall Street expectations for third-quarter profit on Thursday,

helped by higher electricity rates and growth in customers.

U.S. utilities have been seeking to raise customer power

bills in 2024 to fund infrastructure upgrades, as the country's

electrical grids face extreme weather events and growing demand

due to industry electrification and data center expansions.

In late 2023, Alliant's Wisconsin unit got regulatory

approval to increase the annual base rate by $49 million and $13

million for its retail electric and gas businesses,

respectively.

Alliant serves roughly 1 million electric and 427,000

natural gas customers in Iowa and Wisconsin.

It added more than 10,000 customers combined for gas and

utility segments.

However, the company said it saw lower-than-normal heating

degree days, a measurement used by utilities to gauge power

demand, during the reported quarter.

Its utility electric sales decreased by 2% to 8.86 million

megawatt-hours.

Alliant lowered the top end of its full-year earnings

forecast range to $2.99 to $3.06 per share, from a prior view of

$2.99 to $3.13 per share.

The company also forecast 2025 earnings in the range of

$3.15 to $3.25 per share.

The Madison, Wisconsin-based firm posted an adjusted profit

of $1.15 per share for the July-September quarter, compared with

analysts' estimates of $1.10 per share.