Accelerating electricity network connections for strategic demand

Electricity networks are the backbone of Britain’s economic growth, decarbonisation, clean energy, and digital future. Demand for electricity is set to more than double by 2050 as we race to electrify sectors across the entire economy, from hydrogen production, manufacturing, and transport to housing developments and data centres.

However, too many projects vital to national priorities are being held back by long lead times to build new network infrastructure and a connections process that is overwhelmed by unprecedented growth in demand for new connections, intensified by the global race to secure AI capacity. At the same time, the growing UK data centre market offers a major opportunity to attract investment, drive innovation, and create new jobs.

Government cannot allow vital demand projects representing billions in investment to be stuck behind non-viable or less-developed projects in the connections queue. In partnership with Ofgem and NESO, Government is intervening to restore fairness, protect the integrity of the system, and ensure that the right demand projects can connect in a timely manner.

Government is taking bold action to accelerate network build, including through reforms to planning & consenting; support for the supply chain and skills pipeline; reforming land access rights; and reform of the system access process. These interventions will support delivery of the 80 critical transmission projects required for Clean Power 2030. The Government is also reforming the connections system for generation, storage, and interconnection, working with NESO and Ofgem to deliver reforms that align the connection queue with future system needs. We are also launching a Connections Accelerator Service to support critical demand projects facing delays. However, further action is needed.

In November 2025, Government announced its commitment to address speculation in the demand queue while Ofgem provided new guidance on its approach to demand connections, and NESO issued a Call for Input in support of this shared endeavour. We welcome Ofgem’s recent update on its plans to ‘Curate, Plan, and Connect’ demand connections.

Building on this, we set out a proposal to better align data centre connections with the energy system, and to introduce prioritisation mechanisms for reserving and reallocating scarce available network capacity. These measures could benefit strategically important projects, such as AI Growth Zones, EV charging hubs, and electrification of manufacturing sites. Reflecting the urgency of improving the process for demand connections, we intend to exercise new powers taken in the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 (PIA) to expedite these changes, working with Ofgem, NESO, and the network companies to implement actions as quickly as is practicable.