UK data center connection requests have soared as National Grid, the country’s grid transmission operator, expects to connect up to 19GW of new capacity by 2031, half of which will be from data centers.

During the company’s Q3 earnings, its CEO John Pettigrew said: “We’re now working hard to facilitate these connections, including working with the government through the AI Energy Council to support the development of more AI growth zones, so we can deliver the investment needed to meet growing energy requirements.”

Due to increased requests from the sector, National Grid projections indicate that data centers could consume up to 9 percent of electricity demand by 2035, up from 2.6 percent today.

“What we’ve seen over the last 12 months is quite a surge of requests for connections to the transmission network to support data centers and generative AI,” said Pettigrew.

In order to meet demand, National Grid will have to build out its network, at “about 4 percent growth in demand per annum,” said Pettigrew. “About half of that is assumed to be for data center demand.”

As a result of the demand, Pettigrew said that he expected to see an “increase in the transmission element of the charge as we deliver out all these ASTI projects and the RIIO-T3 CapEx.” However, the CEO claimed that “getting on with the investment is very beneficial to consumers because it ultimately reduces the cost for them.”

To support the growth, the transmission operator has announced plans for several new substations, the most notable being its Uxbridge Moor facility. The National Grid recently commenced work on the substation, which is expected be completed by 2029 and support more than 12 new data centers.

“This substation will support over a dozen new data centers and is expected to deliver 1.8GW of new capacity equivalent to powering a mid-sized city,” said Pettigrew during the call.

National Grid unveiled its RIIO-T3 Business Plan late last year. The plan will see the grid operator invest up to £35 billion ($44.1 bn) in the UK transmission system over the next five years. The upgrade will include developing and delivering network reinforcement and expansion projects, including the 17 ASTI projects, and upgrading 3,500km (2,174 miles) of existing overhead lines, which, according to the National Grid, will double the amount of transferable power by 2029.

National Grid has signed several deals to support the UK data center market. In September, the transmission network operator signed a strategic partnership with Emerald AI, an Nvidia-backed AI grid orchestration startup, to undertake a live demonstration in the UK showcasing Emerald AI’s Emerald Conductor program.