Ofgem targets speculative AI data centres to free up Britain’s energy gridData centres account for at least 73GW of that pipeline across 315 projectsOfgem has announced plans to stop speculative AI data centre projects clogging up Britain’s electricity grid, after applications for new power connections more than tripled in less than a year. The regulator’s intervention also comes as questions grow over the impact of data centres on Britain’s electricity network. Government emissions forecasts for AI data centres were revised up by around 100-fold earlier this month after officials acknowledged they had significantly underestimated the sector’s future energy demand. London’s data centres already consume more electricity than all of the capital’s households combined, while the UK’s data centres now account for around six per cent of national electricity demand. At the same time, communities hosting clusters of data centres have begun pushing back against further expansion.