Data centre builders could face new demands for priority grid access Tech The UK government is considering forcing data centre developers to invest in local communities and meet sustainability targets in exchange for priority access to the grid, as ministers miss their own deadline for introducing new planning rules. Under proposals being examined ahead of Wednesday’s Budget, developers could be required to make financial contributions to local [...]
Burnham to announce new publicly-owned grid operator Politics Andy Burnham is expected to announce a new publicly-owned body which will invest in the UK’s electricity grid in an attempt to bring down Britain’s sky-high energy costs. The Prime Minister is tipped to unveil Great British Grid, which will speed up connections to the grid by driving up competition for projects, during his Labour [...]
Ofgem warns on grid squeeze after Heathrow data centre approved Tech The energy watchdog Ofgem has warned that speculative data centre projects risk holding up viable investments on Britain’s electricity grid, after councillors approved another power-hungry facility near Heathrow Airport. Hounslow Council has backed plans for a data centre on a 12.2-acre brownfield site at the Haslemere Heathrow Estate, which would require an 80MVA high-capacity electricity [...]
Upgrading the grid risks ending up like HS2 June 7, 2026 Upgrading the UK's electricity grid is a vastly complex project. I hope the government's learned from HS2, writes John Lazar.
Oil crisis: The answer isn’t panic, it’s power March 11, 2026 To be resilient to global shocks, Britain needs an era of energy abundance – and that means generating far more power at home and having the infrastructure to connect it, says Stuart George Every time the oil price spikes, the same uncomfortable truth returns: Britain is still far too exposed to energy markets we don’t [...]
Trump calls on Big Tech to protect households from AI power costs February 24, 2026 The White House has requested formal pledges from US tech giants that the swelling data centre boom will not drive up electricity bills for households, as concern mounts over AI’s energy demands. Donald Trump has approached behemoths like Microsoft and Alphabet, who have notoriously rallied behind his administration, about signing voluntary, non-binding agreements committing them [...]
Why the net zero transition is not about building more wind turbines February 11, 2026 The UK is electrifying faster than it is building the infrastructure to support it. The transition won’t fail because we can’t generate enough power, but because the grid isn’t stable enough to deliver it. says Emma Parkinson The EV charger story is being treated like a consumer inconvenience – a queueing problem, a pricing problem, [...]