Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the pause to the applications process for new entrants to the connections queue from 29 January 2025 announced by the National Energy Systems Operator on 15 January 2025, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of this decision on (a) data centre projects and (b) energy-intensive infrastructure projects.

The short pause on connection applications is a necessary, transitional step in delivering fundamental connections reforms that, if approved by Ofgem, could reduce the connections queue by up to half and will enable accelerated connections for many generation and demand projects. The pause does not apply to demand projects and therefore will not impact data centre or energy-intensive infrastructure projects.