(Reuters) - American Electric Power ( AEP ) beat second-quarter profit estimates on Tuesday, aided by higher electricity demand from data centers powering technology like generative AI.

It said it reduced its workforce during the quarter to combat the impact of inflation, and that benefits from its voluntary workforce reduction program, which impacted about 1,000 employees, will be seen in the second half of the year.

The utility said in April it expects higher commercial load, which is the amount of power used by customers at a given point, over the next several years as the growth of artificial intelligence and other technologies boost the need for additional data storage and processing.

Data centers could use up to 9% of total electricity generated in the United States by the end of the decade, depending on the adoption pace of GenAI and other technologies, an Electric Power Research Institute analysis said in May.

"We currently have commitments from customers for more than 15 gigawatts of incremental load by the end of the decade. We continue to see strong interest in Ohio and Texas," AEP interim CEO Ben Fowke said.

The company's commercial load, rose 12.4% in the second quarter, as new data processing facilities came online.

It reported an operating profit of $1.25 per share, beating analysts' average estimates of $1.23, according to LSEG data.

AEP, which delivers power to 5.6 million customers in 11 U.S. states, reaffirmed its annual operating earnings forecast range of $5.53 to $5.73 per share.