Oct 21 (Reuters) - Evergy ( EVRG ) will build two 705

megawatt natural gas power plants in Kansas to meet an expected

spike in electricity demand, the U.S. utility firm said on

Monday.

Utilities across the country are ramping up investments in

their infrastructure ahead of a projected surge in power demand

by the end of the decade, driven by artificial intelligence data

centers and a growing number of consumers.

Evergy's ( EVRG ) new plants will serve over 1.1 million customers

and see an investment of more than $1 billion each, a company

spokesperson told Reuters in an emailed statement.

"Once the plants are in service, we would ask to recover the

costs in electricity rates," the spokesperson added.

The two plants, set to be located in the Sumner and Reno

counties, are expected to enter service in 2029 and 2030,

respectively, Evergy ( EVRG ) said, adding they would be operational for

40 years.

Evergy ( EVRG ) has signed deals with technology giants such as

Google, Panasonic and Meta on projects of a combined 750

megawatts of capacity in Kansas and Missouri.