It's not only rural areas with poor connectivity issues... From Telegraph today
ByMatt Oliver28 July 2022 • 7:21pm
West London faces a de facto ban on new homes for over a decade because the electricity grid has run out of capacity.
Housebuilders have been told it could take until 2035 to get new developments in Hillingdon, Ealing and Hounslow hooked up to the electricity network because it lacks the capacity to serve them.
Energy companies and regulators are scrambling to fix the problem while Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has ordered officials to monitor the situation.
The holdup promises to delay a string of schemes in London, where a typical property costs £526,000.
Builders have raised fears that the issue may not be confined to the capital. The problem is understood to affect some areas in the Thames Valley as well.
In a letter to developers, the Greater London Authority blamed the issues in west London on a string of planned data centres that are set to hoover up huge amounts of power.
The area is a popular location for these centres because it neighbours internet “superhighway” cables that run along the M4 motorway and into the Atlantic ocean — dubbed the “Silicon Corridor”. One data centre can consume the same amount of power as up to 10,000 homes.
This has resulted in some developers being told they cannot connect housing projects to the grid until as late as 2035, the Financial Times reported, with data centres prioritised under a “first come, first serve” system.
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN), which serves part of the affected area, and the National Grid are looking at upgrading the network but this is expected to take several years.
SSEN insisted there was no "ban" on new developments but the warning that it cannot connect new schemes amounted to a de facto moratorium until the issue can be resolved.
It has sparked concerns that a spate of data centres being built across the South East will gum up local power grids and hamper efforts to tackle the housing crisis. A source at one major housebuilder said his company, one of Britain’s biggest, was already reviewing potential sites amid fears they could face similar problems.
“It is quite worrying,” the source added. “We are concerned this might be a problem in other areas as well.”
The Home Builders Federation (HBF) said that, along with environmental rules imposed by green quango Natural England, problems with electricity network capacity threatened to further derail the Government’s target to build 300,000 homes per year.
A spokesman added: “Where the impact of new build housing is minimal, preventing housing delivery as a solution to these issues is not proportionate.
“If we are to deliver much-needed housing, we would urge the Government to ensure its agencies and utility providers are meeting their responsibilities.”
It is understood that options being looked at by SSEN and the National Grid include negotiating with data centre firms to allow housing developments with smaller power requirements to move ahead in the queue.
They could also encourage more battery storage operators to set up in the area or incentivise homes and businesses to use less power during certain times of the day through so-called smart tariffs.
Kwasi Kwarteng, the Business Secretary, has ordered Government officials to monitor the situation, according to a letter seen by the Daily Telegraph. Energy regulator Ofgem is considering changes to grid connection rules to make it easier for housing developments to move forward. These proposals and other measures are expected to be outlined in further detail by the Government next week.
On Thursday Labour’s Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, also said he was “very concerned” that the network problems were holding up delivery of “thousands of much needed homes".
“The Mayor’s team is working closely with the network providers responsible, to seek solutions to mitigate the potential delays and unlock the issue,” Mr Khan's spokesman said.
The Energy Networks Association, which represents the UK and Ireland’s energy networks businesses, insisted the problems in West London were an “isolated circumstance caused by… demand from a localised growth in data centres, far higher than forecast”.
A spokesman added: “Electricity networks are using every tool available, including deploying innovative technologies, to accelerate connections and ensure that future demands are managed as efficiently as possible.
“There is significant collaboration across the industry, the Greater London Authority and with the housing developers themselves to address these challenges, but a long-term approach to investment is needed.
"We’re in dialogue with Ofgem to make changes to their reactive regime and ensure that where new infrastructure is needed network companies can build it once and build it right.”
A spokesman for National Grid ESO (electricity system operator) said: "This is an issue with connection agreements at a local distribution network level.
"The ESO is actively working with all the parties involved to find solutions to make the connections happen.”
No new homes in West London as electricity grid runs out of capacity
Housebuilders have been told it could take until 2035 to get new developments hooked up to the electricity networkByMatt Oliver28 July 2022 • 7:21pm
West London faces a de facto ban on new homes for over a decade because the electricity grid has run out of capacity.
Housebuilders have been told it could take until 2035 to get new developments in Hillingdon, Ealing and Hounslow hooked up to the electricity network because it lacks the capacity to serve them.
Energy companies and regulators are scrambling to fix the problem while Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has ordered officials to monitor the situation.
The holdup promises to delay a string of schemes in London, where a typical property costs £526,000.
Builders have raised fears that the issue may not be confined to the capital. The problem is understood to affect some areas in the Thames Valley as well.
In a letter to developers, the Greater London Authority blamed the issues in west London on a string of planned data centres that are set to hoover up huge amounts of power.
The area is a popular location for these centres because it neighbours internet “superhighway” cables that run along the M4 motorway and into the Atlantic ocean — dubbed the “Silicon Corridor”. One data centre can consume the same amount of power as up to 10,000 homes.
This has resulted in some developers being told they cannot connect housing projects to the grid until as late as 2035, the Financial Times reported, with data centres prioritised under a “first come, first serve” system.
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN), which serves part of the affected area, and the National Grid are looking at upgrading the network but this is expected to take several years.
SSEN insisted there was no "ban" on new developments but the warning that it cannot connect new schemes amounted to a de facto moratorium until the issue can be resolved.
It has sparked concerns that a spate of data centres being built across the South East will gum up local power grids and hamper efforts to tackle the housing crisis. A source at one major housebuilder said his company, one of Britain’s biggest, was already reviewing potential sites amid fears they could face similar problems.
“It is quite worrying,” the source added. “We are concerned this might be a problem in other areas as well.”
The Home Builders Federation (HBF) said that, along with environmental rules imposed by green quango Natural England, problems with electricity network capacity threatened to further derail the Government’s target to build 300,000 homes per year.
A spokesman added: “Where the impact of new build housing is minimal, preventing housing delivery as a solution to these issues is not proportionate.
“If we are to deliver much-needed housing, we would urge the Government to ensure its agencies and utility providers are meeting their responsibilities.”
It is understood that options being looked at by SSEN and the National Grid include negotiating with data centre firms to allow housing developments with smaller power requirements to move ahead in the queue.
They could also encourage more battery storage operators to set up in the area or incentivise homes and businesses to use less power during certain times of the day through so-called smart tariffs.
Kwasi Kwarteng, the Business Secretary, has ordered Government officials to monitor the situation, according to a letter seen by the Daily Telegraph. Energy regulator Ofgem is considering changes to grid connection rules to make it easier for housing developments to move forward. These proposals and other measures are expected to be outlined in further detail by the Government next week.
On Thursday Labour’s Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, also said he was “very concerned” that the network problems were holding up delivery of “thousands of much needed homes".
“The Mayor’s team is working closely with the network providers responsible, to seek solutions to mitigate the potential delays and unlock the issue,” Mr Khan's spokesman said.
The Energy Networks Association, which represents the UK and Ireland’s energy networks businesses, insisted the problems in West London were an “isolated circumstance caused by… demand from a localised growth in data centres, far higher than forecast”.
A spokesman added: “Electricity networks are using every tool available, including deploying innovative technologies, to accelerate connections and ensure that future demands are managed as efficiently as possible.
“There is significant collaboration across the industry, the Greater London Authority and with the housing developers themselves to address these challenges, but a long-term approach to investment is needed.
"We’re in dialogue with Ofgem to make changes to their reactive regime and ensure that where new infrastructure is needed network companies can build it once and build it right.”
A spokesman for National Grid ESO (electricity system operator) said: "This is an issue with connection agreements at a local distribution network level.
"The ESO is actively working with all the parties involved to find solutions to make the connections happen.”
