Housing developers and local councils have been warned by the Greater London Authority (GLA) that a lack of capacity in the power network may limit the availability of electricity. The Energy Networks Association (ENA), representing the UK’s energy providers, said that a ‘quick and concentrated expansion of demand’ from data centres was responsible.
These large buildings house computer servers often used to provide IT networks, email and websites. These facilities require enormous amounts of power for computer processing but other elements, such as cooling, are also very demanding on the electricity grid.
The GLA has told developers that electricity providers were not allowed to prioritise one consumer over another, even including house building at a time of huge demand for new homes and affordable housing.
Developers have been accused of requesting connectivity too late in the house building process, leading to delays.
Ealing Council said it had an affordable housing crisis and was seeking ways to resolve the issue. It would also review the impact of delays on its current housing development programme. Hillingdon Council, on the other hand, said it was unlikely that any planned housing schemes would be affected as some of the schemes to which power had been allocated might not be built.
The office of the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said the government had refused its request for a meeting to discuss electricity capacity in West London.
The ENA said that, despite “significant collaboration” between interested parties, including housing developers and National Grid, long-term investment was needed to manage demand.