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Electricity: Artificial Intelligence and Data Centres

Asked by Gordon McKeeLabourDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled Answered 7 September 2026UIN 19202

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate he has made of expected electricity demand growth arising from (a) data centres and (b) artificial intelligence by 2035.

Answered by Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Future electricity demand for both data centres and artificial intelligence overall is inherently uncertain. This is because different scenarios for capacity, efficiency, utilisation and ramp-up rates of data centres, as well as scenarios for AI adoption and speed of technological change, interact in complex ways and translate into varying annual electricity consumption.

The Government continues to work with the National Energy System Operator, Ofgem and industry to monitor developments and test how a range of scenarios interface with final consumption.

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