Norway’s electricity grid operator has temporarily stopped accepting new grid capacity reservations from data centres, in the clearest sign yet that the artificial intelligence boom is colliding with the limits of national power systems.
Statnett said on Monday that it was suspending further reservations of network capacity for data centres to ensure the proper operation of the power system. The halt covers new connection reservations, the processing of new applications for approval of facility functionality, and pending applications for direct connection to the 420 kV grid.
“The temporary halt is necessary to put in place measures and frameworks that ensure that connection occurs with manageable consequences for the power system and system operation,” Peer Olav Oestli, Statnett’s head of system operations and markets, said in a statement.
Data centres underpin digital services and are driving the surge in computing and AI, but their heavy energy use risks straining power supply and pushing up electricity prices, Statnett said. It added that data centres can show large, fast changes in power use and be more vulnerable to disturbances than traditional large consumers.
The decision follows a warning last month from Norway’s energy regulator, the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate, of an increasing risk of a power deficit. The regulator said data centres, a sector that barely existed three to four years ago, already use between 3 and 4 terawatt-hours of electricity a year, about 2.5 per cent of the country’s total demand.
If every grid connection already approved is used, the regulator’s report said, data centres could consume 25 terawatt-hours by 2035. Norway, whose electricity system is dominated by hydropower, typically runs a power surplus of about 15 terawatt-hours in a normal year, so the projected growth would wipe out that surplus and leave the country at risk of becoming a net importer of electricity.
The prospect has already become a political issue in Oslo, with some politicians calling for a halt to new data centre permits and construction, arguing that the largely foreign-owned industry provides few jobs while threatening household power bills.
Statnett stressed that its decision does not amount to a general halt on connecting data centres. Facilities that have already had the necessary functional requirements approved will still be able to connect, and existing connections are unaffected.
The move comes as AI companies scramble to secure power for their data centres. Anthropic last week struck a reported $3.4 billion deal for gas-powered generators to supply its future facilities, while governments from Amsterdam to Washington are weighing how to manage the energy demands of the AI build-out. Norway’s pause shows that even countries rich in renewable power are now having to choose between the growth of the AI industry and the stability of their grids.
Sources: Reuters, “Norway’s Statnett pauses new grid capacity for data centres to protect power system” (9 November 2026), https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/norways-statnett-pauses-new-grid-capacity-data-centres-protect-power-system-2026-11-09/ ; Reuters, “Data centre growth triggers backlash in Norway over power deficit concerns” (29 October 2026), https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/data-centre-growth-triggers-backlash-norway-over-power-deficit-concerns-2026-10-29/