BERNSTEIN Utilities Daily – July 15th

Research evidence excerpt

BERNSTEIN Utilities Daily – July 15th

are added, power prices will rise and the grid will be blocked for other power-intensive

sectors for years,” said Johan Magnusson, head of the Swedish Centre for Digital Innovation at the University of Gothenburg. His

comments came as the region’s data centre power demand was expected to more than triple from 10 GW in 2024 to 35 GW by

2030, according to consulting firm McKinsey, intensifying competition for scarce grid capacity, with some countries such as Scotland

mulling a moratorium on new developments. Industries critical to phasing out fossil fuels, including electrified transport, hydrogen,

e-fuels, green steel and battery production, could struggle to secure the electricity needed to expand in the face of the AI boom,

said Magnusson. Sweden is already seeing a shift in grid connection requests as several large industrial projects stall amid weak

market conditions and high costs, while US tech giants press ahead with major investments. According to Daniel Gustafsson, head of

development at Swedish TSO Svenska Kraftnat, around 3 GW of new data centre capacity could be added by 2030.

• Analysts warn EU gas prices could double on winter freeze (Montel). European gas prices could double from current levels

to top EUR 100/MWh in the event of a harsh winter amid stock levels around five-year lows, though the risk of physical shortages

was unlikely, analysts told Montel this week. The region’s biggest gas consumers such as the UK, Germany and Italy were the most

exposed – particularly given their reliance on the fuel in terms of setting the power price – with the ongoing Iran war tightening key

LNG supply, they added, as Montel Energy Brainpool predicted German electricity prices could top EUR 400/MWh. Nevertheless,