Aug 6 (Reuters) - U.S. electric and gas utility NiSource NI.N beat Wall Street estimates for second-quarter adjusted profit on Wednesday, driven by robust demand from data centers dedicated to AI and cryptocurrency.

Utilities in the country have been "inundated with requests for electricity for Big Tech's AI data centers, with demand eclipsing total available power supplies in some areas," according to a Reuters survey.

Power consumption will hit record highs in 2025 and 2026 on the back of the rising demand from data centers as well as homes and businesses that are moving away from fossil fuels, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Merrillville, Indiana-based NiSource narrowed its forecast for annual adjusted earnings to the upper half of its prior expectation of $1.85 to $1.89 per share.

"Our base capital plan includes critical investments to ensure reliability for our customers and the increased 2025 earnings expectation is driven by our dedication and ability to deliver on our financial commitments while supporting the growth and reliability of our systems," CEO Lloyd Yates said.

The company's second-quarter revenue came in at $1.28 billion, compared with $1.08 billion a year earlier.

However, NiSource reported total operating expenses of $1.02 billion for the April-June quarter, up from $847.7 million a year ago. Its interest expenses rose 7.6% to $139.1 million.

The company serves 3.3 million natural gas customers across six states through its Columbia Gas division and 500,000 electricity customers in Indiana through its NIPSCO unit.

It posted quarterly earnings of 22 cents per share on an adjusted basis, narrowly beating analysts' average expectation of 21 cents, according to data compiled by LSEG.

(Reporting by Khusbu Jena; Editing by Shreya Biswas)

((Khusbu.Jena@thomsonreuters.com;))