UK’s National Grid is investing $1.75 billion in U.S.-based Joulent to strengthen power infrastructure amid rising electricity demand from AI data centres.
Britain’s National Grid will invest $1.75 billion for a 35% stake in Joulent, a U.S.-based energy platform developing power infrastructure for data centres, as utilities race to meet increasing electricity demand from artificial intelligence.
According to Reuters, the investment will help Joulent’s first major project — a 2.7-gigawatt gas-fired facility in West Texas being developed in partnership with Chevron. The facility is expected to supply power to a data centre campus operated by Microsoft under a 20-year power purchase agreement.
AI-related electricity demand is increasingly reshaping global energy markets. Demand from data centres supporting generative AI services rose 17% in 2025, significantly higher than the 3% growth in overall electricity demand.
National Grid said the investment will be funded through available balance sheet capacity and will not affect its current financial position. The company also said the partnership will strengthen its data centre connection programme across the UK and the U.S.
“We expect the targeted returns of this investment to exceed the 9–10% return on equity achieved by regulated networks,” J.P. Morgan analysts said.
Joulent aims to begin delivering power by 2028, while National Grid expects a final investment decision by the end of 2026.
