A quarter of a new multibillion-pound package of transmission upgrade proposals from UK transmission owner National Grid to regulator Ofgem is driven by data centre demand.  

National Grid has submitted a package of 25 transmission upgrade schemes to Ofgem under the re-opener process. The request amounts to a total £4.5 billion investment across England and Wales.  

Six of the projects are needed to meet demand from data centres. These are dotted about the country in Kent, Surrey, Northumberland, Essex and two in south Wales. 

Ofgem will assess the need and design of the additional upgrade and reinforcement projects submitted by National Grid and decide whether they justify additional investment. 

The projects largely concern upgrades, expansions or rebuilds of substations to meet growing demand in the area. Several others are reinforcement or replacement of overhead line equipment and circuits. 

All of the upgrades are intended to maintain and strengthen network resilience to meet growing electricity demand. National Grid said that all of the applications have been through a structured assessment process before submission including detailed optioneering, system design, asset health review and whole system analysis. 

Rob Salter-Church, regulation director at National Grid Electricity Transmission, said: “Britain’s energy system is changing rapidly, and the transmission network must keep pace. These submissions set out the investment needed to expand capacity, maintain resilience and support future growth, while enabling the delivery of secure, affordable and cleaner energy. 

“They are designed to ensure we can continue to support major new industries and meet growing demand on the system, and to connect new low-carbon generation. This is an important step in the regulatory process, and we will continue to work closely with Ofgem to help ensure the right investments are delivered efficiently, at the right time, for consumers and the wider economy.”