Morning, Thursday, 18th June 2026
Online
This conference will examine the future for the use of artificial intelligence across the UK energy sector.
The planned agenda will consider implications for electricity networks, infrastructure planning, regulation, and the transition to clean power. It will include a focus on what is needed for AI deployment to support system efficiency, flexibility, resilience, and decarbonisation in practice, and the conditions required for AI tools to be deployed reliably and responsibly across the energy system.
Areas for discussion include questions around regulatory clarity and governance in relation to AI deployment, reliability and testing of AI systems used in critical infrastructure, transparency and accountability of algorithmic decisions, data access and interoperability standards, cybersecurity and system resilience, and achieving consumer and public trust in automated decision-making.
Lessons from deployment so far & planning needs
It will bring together stakeholders and policymakers to assess next steps arising from the DESNZ Review of AI deployment in the electricity networks, Ofgem’s AI Technical Sandbox initiative, and the Government’s wider programme on AI infrastructure, including AI Growth Zones.
Discussion is expected on the interaction of these initiatives with electricity network planning, including implications of connection queues and rapidly growing data centre demand for grid capacity. Discussion will look at what connection and planning arrangements may be needed if major data centre developments are to proceed alongside new clean generation and network reinforcement.
Delegates will discuss how lessons emerging from early deployment can inform wider operational use, including what may be needed on data access, testing environments, interoperability standards, and governance if AI tools are to be adopted more widely in areas such as forecasting, system balancing, fault detection, and network management.
Policy priorities
Attendees will also consider how policy and market frameworks might need to respond to the rapid growth in electricity demand associated with AI infrastructure, and what this could mean for grid capacity, connection reform and strategic planning, including considerations for investment and infrastructure development across the energy system.
Critical infrastructure, accountability & public trust
The planned agenda will also consider priorities for responsible deployment for use of AI within critical energy infrastructure. Areas for discussion include accountability, consumer protection, cybersecurity, and public trust, alongside practical questions around skills, supply chains, and environmental impacts. This includes how anticipated gains in efficiency, flexibility, and renewable integration can be secured while addressing concerns around power demand, sustainability, and system resilience.
Overview of areas for discussion
- policy: DESNZ’s Review of AI deployment in the electricity networks - insights from Ofgem’s AI Technical Sandbox initiative - alignment with wider government AI policy, including AI Growth Zones
- regulation: accountability for AI‑supported operational decisions - approaches to transparency, assurance and proportionate regulatory oversight
- use cases: improving forecasting accuracy for renewable generation and weather variability - dispatch optimisation - battery and storage management - predictive maintenance across networks
- system flexibility: opportunities for AI‑enabled demand management - supporting system balancing - implications for market design and system operation
- system planning: implications of data centre demand for electricity networks - coordination between digital infrastructure planning and grid reinforcement - priorities for connection reform
- environmental impact: addressing electricity and water demands of large‑scale computing - low‑emission cooling and siting strategies - assessing lifecycle emissions of AI infrastructure
- data: access to high‑quality operational and system datasets - interoperability standards - governance of shared data environments for network operators and technology developers
- supply chain: availability of computing infrastructure and specialist hardware - implications for scaling AI applications across electricity networks and energy companies
- workforce: addressing shortages in AI, data science and power systems expertise - training pathways and collaboration between industry, government and academia
