Alliant Energy executes multiple power supply deals with data centers

By Tanay Dhumal

(Reuters) - Utility firm Alliant Energy said on a post-earnings call on Friday that it has executed multiple power supply deals with data centers.

The increasing popularity of advanced AI tools such as OpenAI's ChatGPT has led to a growing need for high-performance data centers, which are capable of processing the vast amounts of data required to handle large volumes of information, boosting demand for electricity.

"We have been proactively working to attract new customers in both Iowa and Wisconsin and we are pleased to announce that we have executed multiple agreements with data centers in both states," a company executive said on the post-earnings call.

Alliant did not provide any other details about the deals.

The Madison, Wisconsin-based company reported a decline in its second-quarter profit on Thursday, hurt by a settlement agreement related to its Interstate Power and Light (IPL) unit's retail electric rate review.

The company recorded a pre-tax non-cash charge of $60 million in the second quarter due to the settlement agreement.

Quarterly adjusted profit for its utilities and corporate services segment, which IPL is a part of, was down 13.8% at 56 cents per share from a year ago.

The company reported an profit of $87 million for the quarter ended June 30, compared with $160 million, from a year earlier.

(Reporting by Tanay Dhumal and Arsheeya Bajwa in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)