London, Feb 24, 2026, 08:49 GMT — Regular session
- National Grid shares climbed at the open in London, holding close to their recent peak.
- Ofgem flagged that planned data centres might end up needing more electricity than Britain’s peak consumption, putting grid connection issues under the spotlight.
- The March 13 consultation deadline remains on the radar for investors, as does National Grid’s full-year report due May 14.
National Grid shares climbed in early London trading Tuesday, with investors eyeing a new regulatory effort to clear out Britain’s electricity connection backlog—and sizing up just how much demand is building from data centres.
This has become a grid-planning headache, not just another tech trend, as data-centre demand surges. For National Grid—which oversees Britain’s electricity transmission and owns networks in the U.S.—Ofgem’s approach to reshaping connections will influence both how quickly the company invests and what risks it faces in meeting demand.
By 0849 GMT, shares had climbed roughly 0.9% to 1,371.5 pence after closing Monday at 1,359.5 pence. The stock moved between 1,361 and 1,377 pence on Tuesday, staying a step under its 52-week high of 1,399 pence.
Ofgem flagged that roughly 140 planned data-centre projects might need 50 gigawatts of power—surpassing Great Britain’s current peak demand by about 5 GW. The regulator also cautioned that hooking up these sites could push back other high-priority projects.
Ofgem is seeking feedback on its proposed shake-up to “demand connections” regulations, with a focus on accelerating key projects and filtering for those that are ready to proceed. The consultation runs through March 13. Ofgem
National Grid finds itself back in the weeds over regulated outlays, project timing, and the price tag for customers. Stricter requirements for major new users might reshape which projects line up for connections—and shift who shoulders the cost for extra capacity.
In the U.S., a winter storm knocked out power for over 39,000 National Grid customers, according to Reuters on Monday. The company noted that dangerous conditions in Massachusetts were hampering repair efforts, with crews unable to resume much work until the weather clears.
National Grid has acted the part of a defensive in the UK—solid cashflows, regulated returns. Still, whenever investors start to question interest rates or politics around energy bills, the stock feels it. If connection reform ends up shifting costs to developers or drags out connection times, that could undercut the “more capex, bigger grid” story.
The flipside matters, too: should data centre demand turn out to be less steady than the backlog suggests—or if some projects don’t make the cut—the investment cycle won’t look as reliable. Storm costs in the U.S. remain a threat as well, biting into results even if they don’t usually alter the bigger picture.
Traders are eyeing Ofgem’s March 13 deadline for its connections consultation, with attention on what comes next around prioritisation. The next company milestone is National Grid’s 2025/26 full-year earnings, set for May 14. After that, shares go ex-dividend for the final payout on May 28; buyers from that date forward won’t be eligible.
