I attended a conference this week in which a panel member referred to the prospect of new Data Centres using so much electricity in the UK that the usage could exceed all other current electricity usage.

I fact checked this and found that the prediction is overblown but it is true that Data Centres will require huge amounts of electricity and the prospect of even a 25% increase in demand has hugely serious consequences for the environment and the stability of a system that we all rely on in our homes.

I am concerned about this issue and not just because we have early indications of a huge Data Centre being constructed at Fawley. This is a topic that has much wider implications for the whole Nation.

At present, planning laws are such that Data Centres could be given the go ahead, without any proper oversight or agreement of local Councillors and with no proper over arching consideration to the impact on the National Grid and power generating capacity at a strategic level. They could be simply signed off by unelected planning officers, Mayors or indeed a Government Minister.

Would you trust a single individual to have the power to agree things that will result in an unstable power supply to your property? What are going to do when it happens?