Data Center Power & Policy in United Kingdom

Restriction (1)

• RestrictionIn force1 Jul 2022

  West London Electrical Capacity Constraints

  GLA Infrastructure Coordination Service note stating that data centre connection requests created capacity constraints on distribution and transmission networks in Ealing, Hillingdon and Hounslow; major new applicants over circa 1MVA, including housing developments, were quoted connection dates several years out, most recently up to 2035. (source gives month only)

  2,035 year (latest quoted connection date) Source: connection offers delayed 'for several years (most recently, up to 2035)'

  Greater London Authority (Infrastructure Coordination Service) · London (Ealing, Hillingdon, Hounslow) · Greater London Authority

Grid access (1)

• Grid accessIn force15 Apr 2025

  CMP434 Final Decision (TMO4+ connections reform)

  Ofgem approved Workgroup Alternative Modification WACM2 of CUSC modification CMP434, putting in place a 'first ready and needed, first connected' framework (Gate 2) for transmission connection applications; decision published 15 April 2025, implemented 10 June 2025.

  Ofgem · Effective 10 Jun 2025 · Ofgem

Incentive (1)

• IncentiveIn force16 Sep 2025

  North East AI Growth Zone

  Government announced an AI Growth Zone in the North East made up of sites in Blyth and Cobalt Park near Newcastle, set to unlock more than 5,000 jobs and GBP 30 billion potential investment, including GBP 10 billion committed by Blackstone; energy capacity to increase to 1.1GW in the next 6 years.

  1.1 GW energy capacity Capacity to rise to 1.1GW in the next 6 years

  Department for Science, Innovation and Technology · North East England (Blyth, Cobalt Park) · GOV.UK

Efficiency rule (1)

• Efficiency ruleIn force24 Jul 2014

  Climate change umbrella agreement for the data centre sector

  Umbrella agreement under the Climate Change Agreements (CCA) scheme for the standalone data centre sector association (DATC), setting out the sector's obligations within the scheme. Amended August 2018 (buy-out fee for third and fourth target periods), January 2022 to add a fifth target period, and May 2022 to allow the administrator to add facilities until 30 June 2022.

  Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (now DESNZ) · GOV.UK

Regulation (3)

• RegulationIn force7 Jan 2026

  The Infrastructure Planning (Business or Commercial Projects) (Amendment) Regulations 2026

  SI 2026/13, made 7 January 2026 and in force 8 January 2026, adds data centres to the business or commercial projects that developers can request be directed into the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) consenting regime under section 35 of the Planning Act 2008.

  Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government · Effective 8 Jan 2026 · legislation.gov.uk

• RegulationIn force12 Dec 2024

  National Planning Policy Framework (December 2024 revision)

  Revised NPPF, published 12 December 2024 after consultation, directs planning policies to identify suitable locations for uses such as laboratories, gigafactories and data centres (para 86c) and to make provision for data centres and grid connections (para 87a).

  Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government · GOV.UK

• RegulationIn force12 Sep 2024

  UK data centres designated as Critical National Infrastructure

  DSIT announced that UK data centres are classed as Critical National Infrastructure, the first such designation since Space and Defence in 2015, giving the sector government support to anticipate and recover from critical incidents such as outages, cyber attacks and adverse weather.

  Department for Science, Innovation and Technology · GOV.UK (DSIT press release)

Plan or strategy (2)

• Plan or strategyIn force17 Jul 2025

  UK Compute Roadmap

  Policy paper (CP 1352) forecasting that the UK will need at least 6GW of AI-capable data centre capacity by 2030; AI Growth Zone sites to be capable of serving at least 500MW of demand by 2030, with at least one scaling to more than 1GW; government to support behind-the-meter, low-carbon energy solutions.

  6 GW AI-capable DC capacity by 2030

  Department for Science, Innovation and Technology · GOV.UK

• Plan or strategyIn force13 Jan 2025

  AI Opportunities Action Plan and government response

  Matt Clifford's AI Opportunities Action Plan, endorsed by the Prime Minister in a government response published 13 January 2025 that agrees to 47 of its 50 recommendations, including Recommendation 4 to establish AI Growth Zones (AIGZs) to accelerate the build-out of AI data centres (first AIGZ at Culham) and Recommendation 2 to expand AI Research Resource capacity by at least 20x by 2030.

  20 x AIRR compute capacity by 2030 Recommendation 2: expand AIRR capacity by at least 20x by 2030 (government response: Agree)

  Department for Science, Innovation and Technology · GOV.UK (government response)

• Grid accessProposed29 Jul 2026

  Proposed data centre connection reforms

  Ofgem consultation published 29 July 2026 and closed September 2026 proposing a data centre commitment fee secured from offer acceptance until connection readiness, and queue management milestones requiring evidence of end-user credibility, long-lead equipment procurement and financial and technical capability; decision pending.

  Ofgem · Ofgem

• Grid accessProposed11 Mar 2026

  Accelerating electricity network connections for strategic demand

  DESNZ consultation published 11 March 2026 and closed 15 April 2026 on reforms to managing demand-side connections to the electricity network, to prioritise future capacity for strategic demand including data centres; government response not yet published.

  Department for Energy Security and Net Zero · GOV.UK

• Power tariffAnnounced13 Nov 2025

  Delivering AI Growth Zones

  Policy paper setting out an electricity discount for data centres in AI Growth Zones that reduce grid constraint costs: up to GBP 24/MWh in Scotland, GBP 16/MWh in Cumbria and GBP 14/MWh in the North East, planned from April 2027 subject to legislative timetables and consultation; up to GBP 5 million initial funding per zone, 100% business rate growth retention, and measures to cut time to power by up to 5 years.

  24 GBP/MWh electricity discount (Scotland, Up to GBP 24/MWh Scotland, 16 Cumbria, 14 North East; effective date source gives month only (April 2027)

  Department for Science, Innovation and Technology · Effective 1 Apr 2027 · GOV.UK