Data dive: Power grid data shows birth of AI in UK datacentres

Electricity grid “land grabs” to ensure capacity ahead of graphics processing unit (GPU) shipments. Additions to capacity as ever-larger datacentres switch on . And the arrival, deployment and “burning in” of Hopper and Blackwell GPUs. These are some of the things we can see in data from electricity grid provider UK Power Networks (UKPN) , which provides electricity utilisation rates taken half hourly for 96 datacentre sites within its region. This stretches from the datacentre hotspots of west London and Docklands, south-eastwards to Kent, Surrey and Sussex, and includes all of Essex and East Anglia. Computer Weekly research conducted in March 2026 analysed Electricity Performance Certificate data to identify datacentre locations and capacities , finding 80 datacentres in the UKPN region with a combined capacity of 798MW. The UKPN dataset starts at the beginning of 2023 and runs to April 2026. Altogether, it comprises almost 5.4 million rows and covers datacentres categorised by the v