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Exelon ( EXC ) has about 11 gigawatts of likely data-center demand

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Utility is in fight over co-located data centers

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'We are not against co-locations,' Exelon ( EXC ) CEO Calvin

Butler

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Exelon ( EXC ) Q3 earnings beat Wall Street estimates

(Rewrites throughout with co-located data center issue)

By Laila Kearney

Oct 30 (Reuters) - Exelon ( EXC ) said on Wednesday its

backlog of potential data center deals has jumped by about 80%

from earlier this year as the U.S. electric utility awaits a

decision from regulators on who pays for certain costs related

to the fast-moving expansion of the centers.

Rising

demand from the technology industry's energy-hungry AI data

centers has roused the sleepy U.S. power industry, leading to a

flurry of deals and regulatory debates over the costs associated

with the fast-moving expansion.

This year, Exelon ( EXC ) and fellow utility American Electric

Power ( AEP ) challenged the interconnection agreement for an

Amazon ( AMZN ) data center located on the site of a

Pennsylvania nuclear power plant, in an agreement known as a

co-located load.

When data centers are located on the site of the power

plants that feed them, the co-located load agreement allows the

centers to power up quickly without toiling in interconnection

queues that can take years to clear.

Exelon ( EXC ) and AEP said the agreement could raise power

bills for everyday customers and reduce grid reliability.

Proponents of the deal, including power plant operator Talen

Energy ( TLN ), refute the utilities' claims.

"We are not against co-locations," Exelon ( EXC ) CEO Calvin Butler

said on a third-quarter company earnings call. "We just believe

everyone should pay their fair share of utilizing the grid."

Exelon ( EXC ) and AEP have asked the Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission (FERC) to hold a hearing on the center's

interconnection request.

Exelon ( EXC ) said FERC's decision, along with a technical

conference the regulator plans to hold this week on co-located

loads, would provide clarity on the issues of cost

responsibility and reliability as the utility reports seeing

unprecedented data center demand.

Exelon ( EXC ) said it has about 11 gigawatts of likely data-center

demand within its service territory, rising from 6 GW in the

second quarter.

The company said the requested capacity from projects is in

an official phase of engineering with deposits paid, but not yet

in service, as of the third quarter.

Earnings at Exelon's ( EXC ) Commonwealth Edison unit (ComEd), the

largest electric utility in Illinois, rose 8% on higher

distribution rate base and return on regulatory assets.

The Chicago-based company posted adjusted operating earnings

per share of 71 cents for the third quarter, versus analysts'

average estimate of 67 cents, according to data compiled by

LSEG.

Exelon ( EXC ) also said it has filed with the Delaware Public

Service Commission to increase its annual natural gas rates by

$36 million and expects a decision in the first quarter of 2026.

Rate-case proceedings are used to determine the amount that

customers need to pay for electricity, natural gas, private

water and steam services provided by regulated utilities.

The company's overall revenue was at $6.15 billion for the

quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with estimates of $5.85

billion.