Aug 7 (Reuters) - Major U.S. power company Constellation

Energy ( CEG ) on Thursday beat Wall Street estimates for

second-quarter adjusted profit, helped by rising power demand

from data centers and lower interest expenses.

Independent power companies like Constellation have reaped

the benefits of record high electricity demand, which is being

propelled further by the expansion of Big Tech's

energy-intensive data centers.

Over the year, Constellation has signed long-term power

agreements for data centers owned by giant technology companies,

including with Meta and a separate agreement with

Microsoft ( MSFT ) that will involve re-opening the former Three

Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania.

The company is in ongoing talks with data center

developers about striking similar deals, Constellation CEO Joe

Dominguez said on an earnings call.

"We're seeing a continued acceleration of interest,"

Dominguez said.

Constellation, which is the country's biggest operator

of nuclear power plants, is in the process of expanding its

natural gas-fired power plant fleet.

In January, Constellation agreed to buy natural gas and

geothermal company

Calpine

for $16.4 billion, marking one of the biggest U.S. power

industry acquisitions.

The deal has received

regulatory approvals

from states and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

(FERC) for its previously announced $16.4 billion acquisition of

Calpine Corporation.

It is awaiting the go-ahead from the Department of

Justice.

"I'm hopeful we will get the last one shortly,"

Dominguez said.

Constellation's total operating expenses rose 17.7% to $5.15

billion in the April-June quarter, compared with $4.38 billion a

year earlier.

The company's nuclear fleet produced 45,170 gigawatt-hours

(GWh), down from 45,314 GWh a year ago, due to higher

non-refueling outage days compared to last year.

Constellation Energy ( CEG ) said it expects to see continued

bipartisan legislative support for nuclear energy.

U.S. President Donald Trump in May signed executive orders

directing the nation's independent Nuclear Regulatory Commission

to cut down on regulations and fast-track new licenses for

reactors and power plants.

Constellation Energy ( CEG ) reported total quarterly operating

revenue of $6.10 billion, up from $5.48 billion a year earlier.

Analysts, on average, had expected $4.83 billion, according to

data compiled by LSEG.

Its interest expenses fell to $118 million from $142

million.

The Baltimore, Maryland-based utility posted an adjusted

profit of $1.91 per share for the three months ended June 30,

compared with analysts' average estimate of $1.85.

(Reporting by Pooja Menon in Bengaluru and Laila Kearney in New

York; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Shinjini Ganguli)