AI’s electricity problem, and what it means for Britain’s grid

In 2025 the world’s data centres used about 485 terawatt-hours of electricity, according to the International Energy Agency. That is 17% more than the year before. The part of that total devoted to artificial intelligence grew far faster, by around 50% in a single year. Those figures, from the IEA’s Key Questions on Energy and AI published in April 2026, explain why electricity has become the least glamorous and most…