Developers planning new UK data centres could be required to pay refundable deposits worth hundreds of millions of pounds before securing electricity grid connections under proposals unveiled by energy regulator Ofgem on Tuesday. UK Data Centres Face Steep Upfront Power Connection CostsUnder the consultation, developers would pay refundable deposits ranging from £237,500 to £712,500 per megawatt when applying for a grid connection. Data Centres Drive Pressure on Britain's Electricity GridData centres have become critical infrastructure for the digital economy, housing the servers that process online services, cloud computing and artificial intelligence workloads. There are currently 564 data centres operating across the UK, according to the Data Centre Map. The regulator said the consultation is specifically aimed at tackling 'speculative projects from securing scarce network capacity without any firm intention to connect'.