Data Centres Want More Electricity Than the UK Uses at Its Busiest

Energy regulator Ofgem says 315 data centre projects want to plug into the UK power grid, needing 73GW — about 30GW more than the country's peak demand of 45GW. The queue has grown from 140 projects since February 2026. Wait times reach 8–10 years. Ofgem proposes upfront fees and firm deadlines to weed out speculative applicants, pending consultation.