Nov 7 (Reuters) - Electric utility Evergy beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter profit on Thursday, on the back of higher power demand which the company expects will continue to significantly increase in the next few years.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimated power consumption will reach record highs in 2024 and 2025, driven by growing demand from the use of artificial intelligence and expansion of data centers as well as from residential and commercial consumers.

Power supply in the U.S. is expected to increase 3% this year from 2023 to meet rising demand, with solar and natural gas-fired power leading the bulk of new electricity generation.

Evergy said projects representing more than 6 gigawatts of incremental demand are actively considering its service territories and the company expects significant increase in load growth from 2026 through 2029.

The company also announced a capital investment plan of $16.2 billion for 2025 through 2029, to invest in infrastructure upgrades and for new electricity generation.

Total retail sales for the third quarter were up 12% from a year earlier to $1.55 billion, led by an uptick in residential power consumption. As a result, overall revenue rose 8.5% to $1.81 billion.

Evergy provides energy to 1.7 million customers in Kansas and Missouri, through its operating subsidiaries Evergy Kansas Central, Evergy Metro and Evergy Missouri West.

The company forecast its 2025 adjusted earnings to be in the range of $3.92 to $4.12 per share.

It posted an adjusted profit of $2.02 per share in the third quarter, compared with analysts' estimates of $1.93 according to data compiled by LSEG.

(Reporting by Pooja Menon in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)

((Pooja.Menon@thomsonreuters.com;))