Nov 14 (Reuters) - U.S. utility firm Talen Energy ( TLN )

beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter core profit

on Thursday, helped by higher electricity rates and resilient

demand for power.

Shares of the utility were up nearly 7% in premarket

trading.

Power consumption is expected to reach record highs in 2024

and 2025 due to surging demand from artificial intelligence and

data centers.

This demand growth will benefit utilities such as Talen

Energy ( TLN ), whose shares have risen more than twofold in 2024.

Earlier this year, the company sold Amazon ( AMZN ) a data

center that is connected directly to a nuclear power plant in

Pennsylvania. Talen had hoped to boost the data center's

capacity.

However, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)

rejected the request this month over concerns that expanding the

data center's capacity could raise power bills for the public

and affect the grid's reliability.

Talen CEO Mac McFarland said the FERC's recent rejection was

disappointing but added that the company would move forward with

Amazon Web Services (AWS) to provide commercial solutions.

The company said it was evaluating options to provide the

most efficient path to develop the AWS data center campus.

This includes the potential submission of a revised form of

an amended interconnection service agreement or alternate

contract structures with AWS.

Talen posted adjusted earnings before interest, taxes,

depreciation and amortization of $230 million for the three

months ended Sept. 30, compared with analysts' average estimate

of $212.9 million, according to data compiled by LSEG.