Nov 4 (Reuters) - U.S.-based utility AES AES.N reported a rise in third-quarter profit on Tuesday, driven by higher electricity rates and robust demand for power.

Utilities have been pushing for increasing customer bills to fund upgrades of critical infrastructure such as electrical grids and power lines to support an unprecedented surge in electricity demand, driven primarily by the rapid buildout of data centers dedicated to artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency.

AES has also seen significant growth in its renewables unit since last year, boosted by a global push for cleaner sources of power generation, at a time when U.S. power consumption is expected to hit record highs.

"We currently have an 11.1 gigawatt backlog of signed power purchase agreements, including 4 GW with hyperscaler customers, and the large majority of which will come online within the next three years," CEO Andres Gluski said.

The utility posted revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, up from $3.29 billion a year ago.

The Virginia-based company said net income attributable to shareholders was at $634 million, compared with $504 million a year earlier.

(Reporting by Vallari Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)

((Srivastava.Vallari@thomsonreuters.com;))