By Laila Kearney
(Reuters) -Detroit-based power utility DTE Energy is in advanced talks to supply more than 3 gigawatts of electricity to Big Tech data centers and expects to sign its first major deal by the end of the year, company executives said on Tuesday.
U.S. power companies have been inundated with requests since early last year to provide electricity to the energy-intensive data centers needed for the technology industry’s rapid artificial intelligence expansion.
The super-sized power demands are pushing power consumption to record highs and prompting utilities to ramp up spending on infrastructure.
“Our intention is to get a deal done by the end of the year, and we are making nice progress,” COO Joi Harris said on a company earnings call.
The developers of the data centers in need of the 3 GW of electricity have already secured land and various permits for the facilities. And DTE is in early discussions to potentially supply an additional 4 GW of data center capacity.
To provide power to the businesses, DTE will use its existing infrastructure and construct new battery storage, Harris said. Longer term, new natural gas-fired power generation and other infrastructure will likely be needed to meet data center demand, she added.
DTE missed Wall Street estimates for second-quarter profit on Tuesday, hurt by lower income from its gas and energy trading segment.
However, the company’s electric segment – its largest unit by net income – reported earnings of $318 million in the April-to-June quarter, compared to a profit of $279 million a year ago.
The utility reaffirmed full-year 2025 adjusted profit in the range of $7.09 per share to $7.23 per share.
Analysts expect full-year profit to be $7.22 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.
DTE reported an adjusted profit per share of $1.36 for the three months ended June 30, compared with analysts’ estimates of $1.40 per share.
(Reporting by Laila Kearney in New York and Sumit Saha in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai and Joe Bavier)
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