Aug. 7, 2026
— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs
PPL Corp. is all in on bringing data centers to Pennsylvania.
“Pennsylvania is uniquely positioned to lead data center expansion in the U.S.,” according to a slide from PPL’s conference call with Wall Street analysts today, after the company reported $247 million in adjusted second-quarter net income.
At the same time, PPL Chief Executive Vincent Sorgi said other customers will be protected from higher rates even as big users, known as hyperscalers, consume immense amounts of energy.
Those customers will pay their own way, he said, and even cover expenses of deals that don’t get to the finish line.
“Our existing customers are protected from costs from projects that do not move forward,” Sorgi said.
“Large-load users” as they’re called will be subject to energy-supply agreements, have to post collateral to cover upgrades to PPL’s generation system and be subject to termination fees, Sorgi said.
Sorgi also discussed the challenges of data centers for towns, but he doesn’t expect Pennsylvania to place a moratorium on the centers.
“There was quite a bit of (legislative) activity prior to the (Pennsylvania state) budget being approved,” he said. “I would just say overall as you can see from our pipeline alone that there’s tremendous data center interest in Pennsylvania and particularly our zone.”
Sorgi said data centers can lead to big investments, but noted “It can also overwhelm these local communities.”
The CEO said developers are engaging better with local communities, some which are planning restrictions on data centers.
Sorgi said he views that as a move to “slow down a little bit so they (municipalities) can effectively review the projects, update their zoning requirements as needed but really just take some time to see that they’re doing it the right way.”
“That seems very reasonable to us,” he said, conceding local concern about use of water, land, of potential noise and higher prices for power.
In the Lehigh Valley, some residents are concerned about huge companies rolling over local government and doing whatever they want. Some state politicians pander to that sentiment. Among them are some of the same blowhards who said they’d slow down the warehouse boom.
PPL may have some big announcements on deals by year’s end, Sorgi said.
Earlier Friday, PPL reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of $247 million, or 33 cents per share, today and said its sees increasing interest from data-center companies and other big electricity users in Pennsylvania and Kentucky.
That could lead to $10 billion to $12 billion in investment linked to power generation through 2032, PPL said in its earnings release. The company has a joint venture with Blackstone to develop power plants.
The Allentown-based utility was expected to report “ongoing” (adjusted) earnings per share of 35 cents, according to Zacks Investment Research, so today’s number fell a little bit short of the survey of five analysts.
PPL raised its “default rate” for electricity for Lehigh Valley customers along with its delivery charge this year. The higher delivery price will cost an average residential customer about $78 annually. That charge last went up in 2016. The electricity rate is for customers who do not shop for better prices via the Public Utility Commission’s PA Power Switch market.
In July, PPL signed a “Ratepayer Protection Pledge” that focuses on making sure regular customers are protected from price surges related to data centers.
“Ultimately, we believe economic growth and customer protection can go hand in hand, and this pledge reflects that important balance,” Sorgi said in a press release about the pledge.
As of 12:01 p.m., the price of shares in the company (NYSE:PPL) was $35.52, up 90 cents, giving the company a market capitalization of $26.7 billion. The shares have traded as low as $33.17 and as high as $40.11 in the last 52 weeks.
Reported earnings for the second quarter under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) were $230 million, or 30 cents per share. The non-GAAP numbers ($247 million, 33 cents per share) include adjustments for items the company considers to be one-time or unusual.
PPL reaffirmed its 2026 “ongoing” (adjusted) earnings per share forecast of $1.90 to $1.98, midpoint $1.94. It also reaffirmed its annual EPS growth target of 6% to 8% through at least 2029, “with compound annual growth expected to be near top end of the target range.”
Disclosure: I own shares in PPL and in some companies involved in data centers. I also shop via PA Power Switch and am paying 17% less per kilowatt hour than the PPL default rate.
PPL serves more than 3.6 million electricity and natural gas customers in Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Kentucky.
Lehigh Valley News Briefs 