The government’s “net zero” climate-change targets have increased demand for electricity, which the existing infrastructure cannot meet quickly
Save time by listening to our audio articles as you multitaskA boom in data-centre construction has affected west London particularly badly. This area is only a small part of a regional grid that covers a swathe of southern England, but it has received 90% of all applications to connect data centres to that grid in the past two years. The amount of electricity these new facilities require is very roughly the same as west London’s entire existing capacity.
The issue of insufficient capacity is a national one. . National Grid, which runs the backbone of Britain’s electricity-transmission system, says that requests to connect to the grid have quadrupled in the past four years. This creates a problem. All electricity-transmission networks in Britain are licensed by Ofgem, an energy regulator. The licence obliges networks to treat all connection requests equally and to fulfil them only on a first-come, first-served basis. The regulatory system also creates incentives for new connection requests to be at the signed-contracts stage before network operators invest to expand capacity. In the past this approach has saved money for billpayers. Now it inhibits growth.
Ofgem says it is “aware” of the issue and is “working with parties involved for an effective resolution”. National Grid and Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks, which operates the grid in west London, are saying much the same. The short-term fix is to ring up developers who have already been assigned capacity to ask if they would be willing to give up their place in the queue. The structural solution is to change the regulatory regime.
That is necessary because growth in connection requests will surely accelerate. Networks have barely begun to accommodate the charging-points that will be required for electric vehicles. Much of Britain’s heating must be moved from gas to electricity, further increasing demand. All this is a natural consequence of the legal mandate that the country must reach net-zero emissions by 2050. The government should free up Britain’s electricity grid to adapt to changes that it is ushering in.
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