Evergy (EVRG.O), 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 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 said, adding they would be operational for 40 years.
Evergy 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.
