Help find the real figures for data-centre demand

This estimate is useful, but it is still an estimate. The Cloud Kettle Index is built from public sources because actual measurements of data-centre electricity demand are not publicly available in a form that would support a more precise calculation.

If public bodies hold better evidence - demand forecasts, planning assumptions, grid-impact assessments, or connection data - there is a practical way to ask for it. Environmental Information Requests let people ask public authorities for recorded environmental information they hold. The requests are free to make, and public authorities must respond within 20 working days.

What is an Environmental Information Request?

The Environmental Information Regulations 2004 give anyone the right to ask public authorities for recorded environmental information they hold. Electricity infrastructure, planning documents, and emissions data all fall within scope.

Environmental Information Requests are addressed to public authorities and public bodies - councils, planning authorities, government departments, regulators, and infrastructure bodies. Private data-centre operators are not directly subject to EIR, though public bodies may hold information about them through their planning, grid, regulatory, or policy work.

What to ask for

Relevant information might include:

electricity-demand forecasts or estimates for existing or proposed data centres
grid connection or capacity assessments
planning documents that discuss energy use, grid impact, or infrastructure requirements
correspondence with network operators, regulators, developers, or government departments
assumptions used in local energy, infrastructure, or economic-development planning
carbon or emissions assumptions linked to data-centre electricity use

Who might hold it

No single body will hold everything. Send requests to whichever is most likely to hold what you are looking for.

Local planning

Your local planning authority, council, or the Planning Inspectorate (for nationally significant infrastructure projects)

Grid and energy

NESO (National Energy System Operator), Ofgem, or your local electricity distribution network operator - UK Power Networks, National Grid Electricity Distribution, SP Energy Networks, or Scottish Hydro Electric Power Distribution

Government and policy

DSIT (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology), DESNZ (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero), or the Environment Agency where emissions or environmental impact is relevant

If you are unsure, the template includes a clause asking the authority to identify any other body that may hold the information.

How to use this template

Replace the square-bracketed text with your local area, project name, date range, and name.
Send it to the relevant public body. Most authorities accept requests by email; some have online portals. A specific local area and a clear date range will usually work better than a nationwide request.
If the authority says the request is too broad, ask what they do hold and how to narrow it. The template includes a clause prompting them to do this.
If you receive a response, consider sharing it publicly - via WhatDoTheyKnow, for example - so the public record can improve.

The template

Two versions: a full request covering electricity demand, grid capacity, planning evidence, and carbon assumptions; and a shorter version for a more focused enquiry. Both are editable before you copy.

Fill in the square brackets, then copy and send.

Subject: Environmental Information Request: data-centre electricity demand and grid impacts in [area]

Dear [public body],

I am making this request under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.

Please provide recorded information you hold about data-centre electricity demand, grid impacts, planning assumptions, or connection capacity in relation to [area / postcode / local authority area] for the period [date range].

If relevant, this request includes information relating to [data-centre site or project, if known].

Please include any recorded information you hold on:

1. Electricity demand

- estimated or measured electricity demand from existing or proposed data centres
- peak demand, annual demand, load factor, or capacity assumptions
- demand forecasts that include data-centre growth
- assumptions used to model future electricity demand from data centres

2. Grid impacts and connection capacity

- grid connection applications, offers, agreements, or capacity assessments, where held
- documents discussing whether local or regional grid reinforcement is needed
- assessments of substation, transmission, or distribution capacity linked to data-centre demand
- correspondence with network operators, regulators, government departments, developers, or consultants about data-centre electricity demand

3. Planning and infrastructure evidence

- planning documents, officer reports, environmental statements, energy statements, or sustainability statements that refer to data-centre energy use
- internal briefings, reports, meeting notes, or presentations discussing the electricity demand or grid impact of data centres
- policy documents, local plans, infrastructure delivery plans, or economic-development documents that consider data-centre energy demand

4. Environmental and carbon assumptions

- estimates of emissions associated with data-centre electricity use
- assumptions about carbon intensity, renewable supply, backup generation, or power purchase agreements
- assessments of how data-centre demand affects local, regional, or national energy planning

Please provide the information electronically. Where the information is held in tables or spreadsheets, I would prefer CSV or Excel format. For reports, correspondence, or briefings, PDF format is fine.

If any part of this request is too broad, please provide advice and assistance on how it can be refined. In particular, please tell me what categories of information you hold and suggest a narrower wording that would allow you to process the request.

If you do not hold some of the information requested, please say so. If you believe another public authority or public body is more likely to hold it, please identify that body if you can.

If you withhold any information, please identify which exception you are relying on and explain how the public interest test has been applied, where relevant. Please also disclose any parts of the requested material that can be released.

If any part of this request falls outside the Environmental Information Regulations but may be handled under the Freedom of Information Act, please treat that part as a Freedom of Information request.

Yours faithfully,

[Your name]

Then paste into an email to the relevant public body.

What to expect

Public authorities may withhold some information under EIR exceptions - for example, commercially sensitive data or information held in confidence. The template asks them to identify any exception they rely on and to release anything that can be disclosed. Not all requests will succeed in full, but partial disclosure is common and still useful.

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