Feb 12 (Reuters) - U.S. electric and gas utility company NiSource NI.N on Wednesday raised its adjusted earnings forecast for 2025 and beat fourth-quarter profit estimates, benefiting from higher industrial electricity demand.

Power companies are set to benefit from rising electricity usage - expected to reach record highs in 2025, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration - mainly from energy-guzzling data centers needed to scale Big Tech's artificial intelligence $(AI)$ ambitions.

U.S. electric utilities have been pushing to hike customer electricity bills, as the grid faces extreme weather as well as the rising demand.

The Merrillville, Indiana-based NiSource raised its 2025 adjusted profit forecast to between $1.85 per share and $1.89 per share, from its prior expectation of $1.84 per share to $1.88 per share.

On an adjusted basis, NiSource reported a quarterly profit of 49 cents per share, just above analysts' average estimate of 48 cents per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.

For 2024, the company reported an adjusted profit per share of $1.75, compared with estimates of $1.74 per share.

Across six states, the utility company serves natural gas to around 3.3 million customers through its Columbia Gas unit and electricity to 500,000 customers through its NIPSCO unit.

The company said its capital expenditure plan has increased to $19.4 billion compared with $19.3 billion previously, which is expected to result in 8% to 10% rate base growth for the 2025 to 2029 period.

(Reporting by Pooja Menon in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)

((Pooja.Menon@thomsonreuters.com))