Feb 27 (Reuters) - Evergy Inc EVRG.O missed fourth-quarter profit estimates on Thursday, as the power company was hurt by higher operating and interest expenses.

Higher-for-longer interest rates push up borrowing costs for utility companies such as Evergy, which typically need more capital for expenses such as maintaining the grid.

The company's total operating expenses in the quarter rose 2.8% from a year ago to $1.04 billion, and interest costs rose to $142.4 million from $132.2 million a year ago.

But total retail sales for the fourth-quarter were up 5.4% from a year earlier to $1.04 billion, led by an uptick in residential consumption. As a result, overall revenue rose 6% to $1.26 billion.

Evergy increased its capital expenditure plan from 2025 to 2029 by 8% to $17.5 billion, as power companies are ramping up their investments to cater to data center demand.

"As part of discussions with our more than 10-gigawatt project pipeline, we are in advanced negotiations with two large data center customers," said David Campbell, chief executive officer of Evergy.

Evergy provides power to 1.7 million customers in Kansas and Missouri through its operating subsidiaries Evergy Kansas Central, Evergy Metro and Evergy Missouri West.

The utility reaffirmed its 2025 adjusted profit forecast of $3.92 per share to $4.12 per share, the mid-point of which is two cents below analysts' estimate of $4.04 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.

The company's adjusted profit was 35 cents per share for the three months ended December 31, missing analysts' expectations of 37 cents per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.

(Reporting by Pooja Menon in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)

((Pooja.Menon@thomsonreuters.com;))