United Infrastructure to develop DC grid connection standards
Author: Joe Peck
United Infrastructure, a UK contractor delivering utility and social infrastructure across energy, power, water, and telecoms networks, has been asked by industry stakeholders to lead the development of standardised electricity connection archetypes intended to help accelerate grid connections for UK data centres.
The initiative follows discussions between industry representatives and Ofgem on improving the speed and consistency of electricity network connections as demand for AI infrastructure and data storage continues to grow.
The work will bring together organisations from across the electricity infrastructure supply chain to develop standard designs for data centres, substations, high-voltage compounds, and other common connection arrangements. The aim is to simplify network design, improve delivery efficiency, and support faster grid connections.
Industry collaboration on network delivery
The announcement follows a roundtable in Cardiff attended by more than 30 senior representatives from the energy, digital infrastructure, development, and utilities sectors. Discussions covered connection reform, supply chain resilience, decentralised energy, workforce capability, planning, and grid capacity.
Akshay Kaul, Director General of Infrastructure at Ofgem, says, “The rapid growth in data centres presents both a challenge and an opportunity for the energy system.
“It was encouraging to see how technologies like fuel cells could complement the grid, and these insights will be important in shaping a flexible, resilient, and future-ready energy system.”
Neil Armstrong, CEO of United Infrastructure, comments, “To be asked to lead on such an important piece of work is a real credit to the engineering teams we have within United Infrastructure. As demand for data centres grows, we are seeing unprecedented interest in our gas-to-power solutions.
“Being recognised in this way is testament to the work we are doing to accelerate ‘time to power’ for data centres across the UK, many of which are now frequently classed as nationally significant infrastructure.”
The programme will initially focus on developing connection archetypes for data centres and associated electricity infrastructure. United Infrastructure says the work will be shared with industry stakeholders to help inform future network delivery and regulatory discussions.
