Key facts
- Labour leader Andy Burnham proposed Great British Grid (GB Grid) to compete with private electricity network operators.
- GB Grid aims to provide data center developers with a route around long electricity connection queues.
- The UK's demand connections queue has reached 125GW, with data centers accounting for 73GW to 80GW.
- Ofgem proposed a Data Centre Commitment Fee for projects of 40MW or more.
- Data center projects in London face average connection waits of seven to 13 years.
Labour leader Andy Burnham has unveiled a plan to establish Great British Grid (GB Grid), a state-owned company intended to challenge private operators of Britain's electricity transmission network. Announced at the Labour conference in Liverpool on September 29, GB Grid aims to provide businesses, particularly data center developers, with a more direct route to secure power connections, thereby bypassing lengthy queues that have stalled development.
Burnham stated that businesses frequently report being unable to proceed with projects due to difficulties in obtaining grid connections, which he described as a problem that increases costs and hinders Britain's progress. GB Grid, envisioned as a new branch of Great British Energy, would allow businesses the right to build their own connection infrastructure, with the potential for co-investment from GB Grid, reducing reliance on existing network companies.
This proposal comes amid record-high demand connection queues in Britain. According to energy regulator Ofgem, contracted demand offers surged from 41GW in November 2024 to 125GW by June 2025. Data centers represent a significant portion of this demand, accounting for between 73GW and 80GW, while peak electricity demand in Great Britain was 45GW on February 11, 2026. To address speculative projects, Ofgem has proposed a Data Centre Commitment Fee ranging from £237,500 to £712,500 per MW for data center projects of 40MW or more, which would be refunded upon energization but forfeited if the project leaves the queue early. Ofgem also proposed data centre-specific milestones for developers to maintain their queue position.
Connection timelines are also slipping, with the National Energy System Operator (NESO) requesting an extension for issuing connection offers for projects due online by 2030. Engineering consultancy Buro Happold found that data center projects in London face average connection waits of seven to 13 years, significantly longer than in competing European cities. This constraint has already impacted major AI projects, with OpenAI pausing its Stargate UK project in April due to energy costs and regulation.