WRAPUP 2-AEP, Xcel Energy sales hit by cool weather

* AEP sales down 17 pct, Xcel Energy rev down 19 pct

* AEP moves FY forecast to top end of prior range

* Xcel sees FY shr at mid-point of prior range

* NRG sales up 12 pct on acquisition, profit dips

* AEP shares up 3 pct, NRG, Xcel Energy down 1 pct (Recasts; adds conference call details, updates share movement)

By Adveith Nair and Hezron Selvi

BANGALORE, Oct 29 (Reuters) - A cool summer in eastern U.S. put a damper on the third-quarter results of power companies Xcel Energy Inc (XEL.N) and American Electric Power Co (AEP) (AEP.N), with their sales falling way short of Wall Street targets, but the companies said there are signs of pick up in industrial demand.

"This was the coolest summer in 30 years for the Eastern states that we serve and the fourth coolest summer in 30 years for our customers in the Southwest Power Pool...the cool summer weather reduced both retail and wholesale sales," AEP Chief Executive Michael Morris said.

AEP's revenue dropped 17 percent to $3.5 billion, below estimates of $3.97 billion. Total operating revenue at Xcel Energy slipped 19 percent to $2.31 billion, while analysts were looking for revenue of $3.01 billion.

The weather hurt AEP's third-quarter profit by 7 cents a share, while reducing Xcel Energy's earnings by 5 cents a share.

AEP's per-share earnings, however, remained unchanged at 93 cents. The company also moved its full-year forecast to the upper end of its earlier range, and said sales to industrial customers registered a slight sequential improvement. [ID:nN29346679]

Electric utilities serving the manufacturing states in the U.S. "Rust Belt" such as Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania have been hit hard as large manufacturers curbed production in response to the global financial crisis.

However, the companies indicated that industrial demand is rebounding.

"You all know me to be an optimist, and I believe we are beginning to see some uptick in industrial demand," AEP's Morris said on a conference call with analysts.

He currently expects 2010 industrial load to be better than 2009.

AEP noted that its sales to industrial customers in the third quarter was down 17 percent from a year ago, but was sequentially up from the second quarter.