Jan 27 (Reuters) - NextEra Energy narrowly beat Wall Street estimates for fourth-quarter profit on Tuesday, helped by steady growth at its regulated ​Florida utility and a record year for renewable energy and ‌battery storage additions, as electricity demand surges across the United States.

Utilities and power producers are benefiting from surging electricity demand tied to artificial intelligence, data centers and broader electrification, even as policy uncertainty clouds the outlook for clean energy incentives.

Power ‌consumption in the U.S. is expected to hit record highs in 2026 ​as data centers for AI and cryptocurrency expand and homes and businesses increasingly replace fossil fuels with electricity for heating and transportation, according to the Energy Information Administration.

Florida ‍Power & Light, the company's regulated utility, posted a net income of $958 million, up 13.4% from a year earlier, driven by higher capital investment.

NextEra Energy Resources, the company’s renewable ⁠energy arm, added about 13.5 gigawatts of new generation and battery ‍storage projects to its backlog in 2025, including 3.6 GW since the third-quarter call ‌in October ‌last year.

The unit's total backlog now totals roughly 30 GW, reflecting strong demand from large corporate customers seeking long-term power supply.

The segment reported a net income of $545 million in the fourth quarter, compared with a loss ⁠of $442 million a ⁠year ago.

NextEra, one ​of the world's largest renewable power producers, reaffirmed its adjusted earnings forecast for 2026 to be between $3.92 and $4.02 per share.

It also said it expects to grow adjusted ‍earnings at an annual rate of 8% or more through 2032, while targeting dividend growth of about 10% per year through 2026.

The company earned 54 cents per share ​on an adjusted basis for the quarter ‍ended December 31, compared with analysts' average estimate of 53 cents per share, according to data ​compiled by LSEG.