April 30 (Reuters) - Electric and gas utility Public

Service Enterprise Group ( PEG ) on Wednesday posted a rise in

first-quarter profit, helped by colder winter weather that

boosted heating demand.

Cold spells in the New Jersey-based firm's service regions,

where temperatures dipped below 20°F for several days in January

and February, prompted gas and electricity usage to hit the

highest winter peak load in six years, CEO Ralph LaRossa said.

PSE&G, Public Service Enterprise's ( PEG ) electricity and natural

gas distribution segment, posted a 14.2% rise in operating

revenue during the first quarter, partially helped by new

transmission rates.

"PSE&G experienced another quarterly increase in large load

inquiries for new service connections. This pipeline totaled

over 6,400 MW of capacity requested as of March 31," LaRossa

said.

The company's overall operating revenue rose to $3.2 billion

in the three months ended March 31 from $2.8 billion a year ago.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration in February

forecast power demand to hit record highs in 2025 and 2026 due

to a surge in electricity usage in AI data centers and increased

domestic manufacturing.

The utility's first-quarter net income rose to $589 million,

or $1.18 per share, from $532 million, or $1.06 per share, a

year ago.

However, interest expenses also rose 17.6% to $241 million

during the quarter, while total operating expenses grew nearly

17% to $2.43 billion.

Public Service Enterprise ( PEG ) provides electric and gas services

to about 4.3 million customers across New Jersey. It also

operates nuclear-generating assets through its PSEG Power

segment.

The company posted quarterly profit of $1.43 per share on an

adjusted basis, missing analysts' average estimate of $1.44 per

share, according to data compiled by LSEG.