July 31 (Reuters) - Utility PPL missed Wall

Street estimates for second-quarter profit on Thursday, hurt by

higher operating costs and interest expenses.

More than 450,000 people in Pennsylvania were without power

in April, after a storm system brought on severe weather to the

central U.S., increasing costs for utilities like PPL and

FirstEnergy ( FE ) which operate in the state.

The company's quarterly operating expenses were up about 9%

at $1.62 billion from a year earlier.

Its quarterly interest expenses were also up about 9% at

$199 million from a year earlier. Higher-for-longer interest

rates can weigh on utilities as it makes investing in

construction and maintenance of critical infrastructure such as

electrical grids more expensive.

The utility also said its earnings were impacted by milder

weather conditions in the reported quarter, which were favorable

in the year earlier.

PPL Corp ( PPL ) generates and delivers electricity to nearly 3.6

million customers across Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Rhode

Islands.

The company posted an adjusted profit of 32 cents per share

for the quarter ended June 30, compared with analysts' average

estimate of 38 cents per share, according to data compiled by

LSEG.