Written questions

Energy: Data Centres

Commons · Question 8970 · Tabled 10 Jun 2026 · Department for Energy Security and Net Zero · Official record

Answered 19 Jun 2026

Question

Asked by James McMurdock

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 21 May 2026 to Question 4046, what estimate he has made of the annual electricity consumption associated with 6GW of AI-capable data centre capacity.

Answer

Answered by Michael Shanks, 19 Jun 2026

Future electricity demand for data centres is uncertain because different scenarios for data centre capacity, efficiency, utilisation and ramp-up rate translate into varying annual electricity consumption. Because of this, the Government continues to work...