Aug 6 (Reuters) - Duke Energy ( DUK ) reported a

better-than-expected quarterly profit on Tuesday, helped by

higher electricity demand during summer months and favorable

tariffs.

Income at its electric utilities and infrastructure segment

jumped 31.2% in the second quarter, with the company attributing

the growth to rate increases and higher sales volumes.

Duke's electric utilities serve 8.4 million customers in

North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and

Kentucky, and collectively own 54,800 megawatts of energy

capacity.

"We've had an excellent first half of the year, delivering

on grid and generation investments and collaborating with

stakeholders to advance the energy transition," CEO Lynn Good

said in a statement.

Duke is among several U.S. electric utilities that have

raised growth forecasts amid a boom in demand from data centers

fueling the boom in artificial-intelligence technology.

The utility is pursuing electricity supply contracts with

Amazon ( AMZN ), Google, Microsoft ( MSFT ) to

safeguard against volatility.

Duke reaffirmed its full-year adjusted profit forecast of

$5.85-$6.10 per share.

The Charlotte, North Carolina-based utility posted an

adjusted profit of $1.18 per share for the quarter, beating

estimates of $1.02, according to LSEG data.