May 1 (Reuters) - Power company Southern Co ( SO ) beat

Wall Street estimates for first-quarter profit on Thursday,

helped by an increase in electricity retail sales and higher

demand for power.

Utilities across the U.S. are experiencing a surge in demand

as the growing use of artificial intelligence is driving up the

need for more power-guzzling data centers.

Along with data centers, electricity demand from residences

and businesses for heating and transportation purposes has also

gone up.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration in February

forecast power demand to hit record highs in 2025 and 2026.

The company experienced a 4.2% increase in kilowatt-hour

sales in the first quarter, led by residential, commercial and

industrial customers.

The power company noted a 11% rise in usage by existing data

centers for the first quarter and said it had a large load

pipeline of above 50 gigawatt, out of which 10 GW is committed

and 6 GW is contracted.

Quarterly total operating revenues rose 17% to $7.78 billion

from a year earlier.

However, interest expenses rose 7.3% to $714 million in the

first quarter, while operating expenses increased to $5.8

billion from $4.9 billion a year ago.

Southern Company ( SO ) is the second-largest utility company by

customer base in the U.S., supplying power in six states -

Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Mississippi, Tennessee and Virginia.

The Atlanta, Georgia-based company posted an adjusted profit

of $1.23 per share for the three months ended March 31, compared

with analysts' estimates of $1.20 per share, according to data

compiled by LSEG.