May 1 (Reuters) - Energy company PPL Corp ( PPL )

reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings on

Wednesday, benefiting from higher transmission revenue and lower

operating costs, as the company moved to expand its customer

base with several gigawatts of new data center capacity.

PPL benefited from higher sales volumes, increased

transmission and distribution revenue and lower operating costs,

said executives with the electric utility and natural gas

company, which has service areas including Kentucky,

Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.

PPL recently signed deals to add more than three gigawatts

of data center capacity in Pennsylvania, with each of the

centers requiring between $50 million and $150 million in

capital investments from PPL signed agreements, CEO Vincent

Sorgi said on a call with investors.

The Pennsylvania projects, which can range in more than one

gigawatt of capacity in size, would likely have in-service dates

in 2026, Sorgi said. The company said it is also pursuing

smaller data center customers, from around 300 to 500 megawatts

each, in Kentucky that would require less investment from the

utility.

"We have capacity on our grid such that the needed

investment by the data centers is not too significant," Sorgi

said, adding that the reliability and abundance of reasonably

priced land in Pennsylvania and Kentucky also drew interest from

data centers, which support technology like generative AI and

cloud computing and have been a driving force behind a U.S.

electricity demand resurgence.

PPL said has also nearly completed $3.1 billion in

infrastructure improvements this year to increase grid

reliability and resiliency and adding clean energy.

PPL's operating expenses fell 8% to $1.76 billion in the

first quarter, while the company posted revenue of $2.30

billion, beating analysts' estimates of $2.06 billion, according

to LSEG.

On an adjusted basis, the company earned 54 cents per share,

ahead of estimates of 50 cents.