Feb 18 (Reuters) - Electric utility Entergy ( ETR ) beat

fourth-quarter profit estimates on Tuesday, benefiting from

lower operating expenses and higher electricity demand.

Shares of the company rose 1.7% in premarket trading.

Power consumption is set to reach record highs in 2024, the

U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) had said in

December. Utilities are benefiting from rising electricity

usage, including from energy-guzzling data centers needed to

scale Big Tech's artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.

In December, Entergy Louisiana said it plans to invest in

electricity generation and transmission to support the region

and Meta Platform's $10 billion data center in Richland

Parish.

Entergy's ( ETR ) operating expenses for the fourth quarter ended

December 31 came in at $2.07 billion, compared with $2.47

billion a year ago.

For the quarter, Entergy's ( ETR ) total retail sales were at 29,497

gigawatt hours (GWh), higher than 27,320 GWh a year ago.

The company posted a quarterly adjusted profit of 66 cents

per share, above analysts' average estimate of 64 cents per

share, according to data compiled by LSEG.

The New Orleans, Louisiana-based Entergy ( ETR ) provides

electricity to nearly 3 million customers across Arkansas,

Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.

It forecast its full-year 2025 profit between $3.75 per

share and $3.95 per share. Analysts had estimated a profit of

$3.91 per share.