London grid crunch delays new housing amid datacenter boom

The Future of the Datacenter Access to electricity has become a major source of delay for housebuilding in London, and datacenters are inevitably tied up in this, leading to calls for greater oversight of energy and construction planning so that they keep pace with demand.

A report published on Monday by the London Assembly, the elected body that holds the mayor and their administration to account, highlights the increasing pressure on the UK capital's electricity grid. It says that there is a need for better planning to address both IT infrastructure and new homes, especially as some areas are already overstretched.

It points to the grid reaching full capacity in some areas of West London back in 2022, contributing to delays on new housing developments. This is an area where there is a concentration of datacenters, which were blamed for the problems, as The Register reported at the time ...