US utility First Energy has seen its long-term pipeline for data center load increase by more than 80 percent to 11.1GW from 6.1GW in February.

In its Q2 results, the utility also reported that its concentrated data center load through 2029 also increased by around 25 percent to 2.7GW.

The utility went on to report that, in 2025 alone, it has received requests for 40 new large load studies greater than 500MW each. In addition, since 2024 it said that it has received requests for more than 95GW of large load studies.

According to the utility, the majority of the pipeline is located in Ohio, Maryland, and West Virginia, with increasing interest in Pennsylvania.

In order to serve the demand, the utility will have to make major investments into its transmission infrastructure, said Brian Tierney, chair, president, and CEO, FirstEnergy. “Data center growth both in our system and from those adjacent to our footprint is likely to require additional transmission investments,” he said.

The utility has one of the largest transmission infrastructure systems in the PJM interconnection service area, spanning six states and more than 24,000 line miles.

To meet the load growth estimates, the utility plans to increase its investment in transmission infrastructure by up to 20 percent in its next five-year plan.

Outside of the data center growth, the utility reported a slight increase in revenue and a significant increase in cash generated from operations, which rose 60 percent to $1.7 billion.

First Energy utility companies serve more than six million customers across Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland, and New York.

Late last year, the utility, alongside Dominion Energy Virginia, and American Electric Power, signed a joint planning agreement to develop proposals for new regional transmission projects in the PJM market.

These projects include the construction of several new 765kV, 500kV, and 345kV transmission lines across Virginia, Ohio, and West Virginia.