Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, whether receipt of (i) support and (ii) priority access to an electricity-grid connection by a data-centre development will be conditional on compliance with minimum standards for (a) energy efficiency, (b) water efficiency, (c) the use of low-carbon electricity, (d) demand flexibility and (e) the recovery and reuse of waste heat.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
The Government is committed to supporting the sustainable growth of the UK's data centre sector reflecting their critical importance to the economy, public services and national security. A limited number of strategically important data centres may be supported through the Connections Accelerator Service (CAS) subject to the CAS Project Selection Process. The selection process includes due diligence from DBIST and an evaluation of the project alignment to government priorities including economic growth, jobs and net zero objectives. CAS provides enhanced engagement with network companies to identify opportunities to accelerate connections where possible, but it does not guarantee an earlier connection date.
Asked by: Patrick Spencer (Conservative - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of whether existing compensation arrangements adequately reflect the impact of the proposed Norwich to Tilbury electricity transmission project on the operation of affected agricultural businesses.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The government does not agree compensation for individual landowners or businesses affected by the proposed Norwich to Tilbury project. This is a matter for the transmission owner, National Grid, and the landowners or businesses concerned. Where acquisition of land rights are required, whether by voluntary agreement or through compulsory purchase powers granted in a Development Consent Order, the requirements for compensation of affected parties are set out in relevant legislation.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what her Department’s latest estimate is of the completion date of the Norwich to Tilbury transmission upgrade.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Transmission Owners are responsible for delivering transmission projects and are regulated by Ofgem. Ofgem monitors delivery against agreed regulatory delivery dates and holds Transmission Owners accountable for the efficient and timely delivery of network upgrades. The licence delivery date for Norwich to Tilbury is 31/12/2031. Government is taking actions to accelerate the build out of electricity network infrastructure, through reforms to planning, regulation, strategic network planning, unlocking supply chains and taking a strategic approach to workforce and skills.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the expansion of artificial intelligence data centres in the UK is supported by sufficient energy and grid capacity.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government recognises that growth in AI and data centres is increasing electricity demand and that grid connection delays are a major barrier to new capacity in the UK.
To address this, the Government is reforming the connections process to better support strategically important demand, including data centres. Working with DESNZ, Ofgem and the National Energy System Operator, reforms will reduce delays, limit speculative applications and prioritise viable projects, helping unlock capacity faster while maintaining security of supply. Through the AI Energy Council, we are exploring a resilient, sustainable and scalable solution.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what her Department’s latest estimate is of the total capital cost of the transmission network upgrades required to deliver Clean Power 2030.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Ofgem estimates that transmission owners will invest up to around ÂŁ70 billion in Great Britain's electricity transmission network between 2025-26 and 2030-31. The majority of this spend remains subject to further in-period approval.
As well as supporting delivery of Clean Power 2030, this will accommodate growing electricity demand and reduce network constraints resulting from generation build having historically outpaced network build. Some expenditure also reflects essential asset replacement and maintenance.
Government monitors the progress of transmission projects required to meet our goal of clean power through regular engagement with industry and regulators. Cost estimates for individual projects are developed and maintained by the relevant transmission owners and are subject to regulatory scrutiny by Ofgem. Transmission owners are only permitted to recover costs that Ofgem determines are efficiently incurred.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what her Department’s latest estimate is of the completion date of Eastern Green Link 2.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Transmission Owners are responsible for delivering transmission projects and are regulated by Ofgem. Ofgem monitors delivery against agreed regulatory delivery dates and holds Transmission Owners accountable for the efficient and timely delivery of network upgrades. The licence delivery date for Eastern Green Link 2 is 31/12/2030. Government is taking action to accelerate the build out of electricity network infrastructure, through reforms to planning, regulation, strategic network planning, unlocking supply chains and taking a strategic approach to workforce and skills.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what her Department’s latest estimate is of the completion date of the Yorkshire GREEN project.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Transmission Owners are responsible for delivering transmission projects and are regulated by Ofgem. Ofgem monitors delivery against agreed regulatory delivery dates and holds Transmission Owners accountable for the efficient and timely delivery of network upgrades. The licence delivery date for Yorkshire Green is 31/12/2028. Government is taking action to accelerate the build out of electricity network infrastructure, through reforms to planning, regulation, strategic network planning, unlocking supply chains and taking a strategic approach to workforce and skills.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many datacentres are currently in the queue to connect to the National Grid, and what the average expected connection wait time is.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Data collected in 2025 and published by the National Energy System Operator shows 72.8 GW of capacity allocated to data centres in the GB connection queue across transmission and distribution, with connection dates extending to the late 2030s. It is not currently possible to provide a count of individual projects.
Government recently consulted on measures to manage the current oversubscription of data centre connections and will publish its response in due course.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what her Department’s latest estimate is of the completion date of substation works associated with the Beauly to Denny transmission upgrade.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Transmission Owners are responsible for delivering transmission projects and are regulated by Ofgem. Ofgem monitors delivery against agreed regulatory delivery dates and holds Transmission Owners accountable for the efficient and timely delivery of network upgrades. The licence delivery date for Beauly to Denny including the substation works is 31/12/2031. Government is taking action to accelerate the build out of electricity network infrastructure, through reforms to planning, regulation, strategic networks planning, unlocking supply chains and taking a strategic approach to workforce and skills.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what her Department’s latest estimate is of the completion date of the Sea Link transmission reinforcement project.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Transmission Owners are responsible for delivering transmission projects and are regulated by Ofgem. Ofgem monitors delivery against agreed regulatory delivery dates and holds Transmission Owners accountable for the efficient and timely delivery of network upgrades. The licence delivery date for Sea Link is 31/12/2031. Government is taking action to accelerate the build out of electricity network infrastructure, through reforms to planning, regulation, strategic network planning, unlocking supply chains and taking a strategic approach to workforce and skills.