FirstEnergy의 데이터센터 파이프라인은 3분기에 5% 증가한 26GW를 기록했으며, FirstEnergy 소속 두 개 전력회사는 웨스트버지니아주의 1.2GW 규모 데이터센터 중심 프로젝트를 위해 복합발전 터빈을 확보하고, 추가 프로젝트에 대한 입찰 공고를 냈다(원문이 잘려 세부 내용은 확인되지 않음).

FirstEnergy's long-term pipeline of data center load, including both contracted and other potential load, grew 4.8% to 26 GW in the third quarter from the second quarter, according to an earnings presentation on Wednesday.

FirstEnergy is seeing broad interest across its system, including in Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, Brian Tierney, FirstEnergy chairman, president and CEO, said during an earnings conference call.

The first wave of data centers is expected to come online in the 2030 timeframe, but "the large customers that you might think of, the hyperscalers, the legitimate developers, are looking well beyond that, and they're doing so across our service territory," Tierney said.

Contracted load through 2036 rose to 7.9 GW, up from 6.4 GW in the second quarter. Within the pipeline, FirstEnergy's data center pipeline in West Virginia jumped to 6 GW, up from 4.3 GW three months earlier, according to the company.

Two FirstEnergy utilities, Monongahela Power and Potomac Edison Co., are seeking permission from the West Virginia Public Service Commission to build the Maidsville Energy Center, a roughly $2.7 billion project that includes a 1,200-MW gas-fired power plant and three solar projects totaling 70 MW. FirstEnergy expects the PSC to issue a certificate for the project in the fourth quarter, according to Tierney.

The utilities have signed a reservation agreement with Siemens Energy for turbines for the project, with a 2030 delivery date, according to FirstEnergy's quarterly filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. They have also issued a request for proposals for 3 GW of combined-cycle turbines for power plants that would serve data center load in the state, Tierney said.

"All other major contracts are on track to be signed shortly after we receive a commission order," Tierney said. "Maidsville is an important project on its own, but we see it as the first of a broader set of opportunities in West Virginia."

FirstEnergy is investigating potential "bridge" generation that could be built quickly to serve data centers while transmission infrastructure and larger power plants are in development and under construction, according to Tierney.

"What we're seeing from customers is, if they want a 1-GW type campus, they're looking at seeing if they can start with a building that might be about 100 MW in the near term," Tierney said.

Possible bridge options include reciprocating engines, fuel cells and batteries, he said. Once a final generating solution is in place, the smaller assets could be moved to other large load projects.

FirstEnergy expects data center demand across its six-state footprint to drive up its transmission investments by at least 25%, or $4.75 billion, over its current $19 billion transmission investment plan, Tierney said. The company estimates that a gigawatt of data center load requires roughly $250 million in transmission upgrades.

Meanwhile, FirstEnergy's weather-adjusted electric sales rose 1.2% from a year earlier to 40.1 million MWh in the third quarter, and demand increased 1% to 148.6 million MWh over the previous 12 months, according to the earnings presentation.

"We are seeing broad strength in manufacturing activity, including metals, oil and gas, and chemical sectors, along with increasing data center demand," FirstEnergy CFO Jon Taylor said on the conference call.

On the financial front, FirstEnergy's utilities earned a combined 9.5% return on equity over the last 12 months, with a 53% equity share and a $29.8 billion rate base, according to the presentation. That compares with an 8.8% ROE, a 52% equity ratio and a $26.3 billion rate base over a 12-month period in 2023.

FirstEnergy's net income rose to $557 million on $4.5 billion in revenue in the third quarter, up from $441 million and $4.1 billion in the same period last year. The presentation attributed the increase partly to income tax benefits and higher customer demand. Net income was up 26% from a year earlier.

FirstEnergy's utilities serve about 6 million customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and New York.