| Priority | Who is in it | What it means for an AI or cloud project |
|---|---|---|
1 Protected needsConnected first | Homes, smaller businesses, defence, health, emergency services, and data centres tied to those functions | A critical or existing load can still be reserved. Draft orders put smaller businesses under 3 MW |
2 Electrification and green projects | Transport, heat, industry, renewables, hydrogen and power-to-fuel plants | Ranks above a commercial data centre |
3 Storage | Batteries and extra storage on a shared site | Can be refused if it would displace a higher need |
4 Certain large usersConnected last | Data centres, in principleAI and cloud | Waits, and can be turned away |