Data centre power use 'to surge six-fold in 10 years'

The boom in artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing will drive a spike in energy use, the National Grid has predicted.

Both rely on data centres - warehouses full of computer systems.

Chief executive John Pettigrew said the power those data centres use would increase six-fold in the next decade.

He said the grid was becoming "constrained" and "bold action" was needed to create a network able to cope with "dramatically" growing demand.

"Future growth in foundational technologies like artificial intelligence and quantum computing will mean larger scale, energy-intensive computing infrastructure," Mr Pettigrew said.