Feb 13 (Reuters) - American Electric Power ( AEP ) on

Thursday said it was considering adding $10 billion to its

record $54 billion five-year capital plan as demand for data

centers ramps up in the U.S. electric utility's Midwest and

southern service areas.

As the technology industry pours billions of dollars into

expanding energy-hungry artificial intelligence and cloud

computing data centers, U.S. power companies have revised load

forecasts and capital investment plans upwards.

AEP said it has commitments for 20 gigawatts of new power

load through 2029 and the utility expects total retail demand

growth of up to 9% annually over the next three years.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration expects power

consumption to reach record highs this year and next, driven by

growing demand from data centers dedicated to AI and

cryptocurrencies, and as homes and businesses use more

electricity for heat and transportation.

AEP, which has about 5.6 million customers in 11 states,

added nearly 450 megawatts in Ohio from Amazon Web Services and

Meta data center demand in December alone. The utility expects

to add similar amounts of load each month through the end of the

year, with more than 4.7 gigawatts of data center processing

contracted to enter service for 2025.

Most of that data center electricity consumption is in Ohio

and Texas. In Indiana, where Amazon and Google recently began

service in AEP territory, another roughly 1 gigawatt of data

center demand is contracted to come online.

"They're going to continue to ramp up progressively over the

next several years," AEP CEO Bill Fehrman said on a company

earnings call.

"This growth certainly underscores our commitment to

economic development and highlights the significant

opportunities ahead, but clearly we're going to make sure this

doesn't fall on the shoulders of our existing customers."

AEP has been embroiled in a regulatory fight over developing

power contracts specific to data centers and other very large

customers.

AEP posted a rise in fourth-quarter profit on Thursday, as

data centers boosted demand for power from commercial customers.

The Columbus, Ohio-based company earned $664.1 million, or

$1.25 per share, in the three months ended December 31, compared

with $336.2 million, or 64 cents per share, last year.