Data centers can pay hundreds of millions in deposits for energy needs.

Ofgem has proposed new measures that could cost data center operators hundreds of millions of pounds up front.

Britain’s energy regulator says a refundable fee must be paid to projects that want to connect to the grid.

It proposed that developers pay a deposit of between £237,500 and £712,500 per megawatt – meaning data centers wanting 1 gigawatt (GW) of power would have to pay hundreds of millions upfront, which would be refunded once the project is completed.

The idea follows The protest that is spreading in parts of the country Planning for new data centers to enhance the development of artificial intelligence.

Data centers are large buildings that contain computer servers that store and process data and run digital services that provide Internet access.

Ofgem has launched a consultation on the proposal, which runs until 16 September.

Last year, the amount of electricity demanded by projects seeking to connect with 41 GW increased to 125 gigawatts, indicating a significant increase in demand, he said.

This is more than double Britain’s 2025 peak electricity demand of around 46 GW.

The regulator said the projects must hit key milestones to secure their place in the grid connection queue, which has seen a surge in demand.

An increasing number of centers have been built around the world in recent years to provide the computing power needed to train and run AI systems.

But they are controversial, especially for people who live near them.

Residents have raised concerns about the noise, electricity demand and large amounts of water used to cool the high-performance chips, which generate large amounts of heat.