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Data Centre Expansion Risks Higher Energy Bills for British Households. Britain’s rapid expansion of data centres, driven partly by the artificial intelligence boom, could push up household energy bills, energy industry leaders and regulators have warned. The UK currently has around 500 data centres, with numbers expected to rise by more than a third as the government seeks to attract investment and boost economic growth. Ofgem chief executive Tim Jarvis warned that consumers could face a backlash if they end up shouldering too much of the cost of connecting new facilities to the electricity grid. Developers have applied for grid connections representing around 80 gigawatts of capacity, of which approximately 50GW is considered sufficiently advanced to proceed. That represents more than Britain's typical peak electricity demand. Energy officials say the impact will depend partly on where the facilities are built and how flexibly they can manage their electricity consumption. Locating data centres in Scotland, for example, could help use surplus wind power that would otherwise go to waste because of grid constraints. The warnings come as the government seeks to expand the country's AI capabilities while also making energy more affordable.
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