Written question asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated) on Monday, 20 July 2026, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Monday, 3 August 2026. It was answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra (Labour) on Monday, 3 August 2026 on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade.

Data Centres: Energy

Question: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of electricity network connection delays on the delivery of artificial intelligence data centre developments.

Answer

The Government recognises that growth in AI and data centres is increasing electricity demand and that grid connection delays are a major barrier to new capacity in the UK.

To address this, the Government is reforming the connections process to better support strategically important demand, including data centres. Working with DESNZ, Ofgem and the National Energy System Operator, reforms will reduce delays, limit speculative applications and prioritise viable projects, helping unlock capacity faster while maintaining security of supply. Through the AI Energy Council, co-chaired by the Secretaries of State for DBIST and DESNZ, DBIST is exploring resilient, sustainable and scalable.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: HL2360
Session: 2026-27
Subjects: Energy National grid Data centres
Link: View this Written question on www.parliament.uk

Data Centres: Energy

Secondary information

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