Data Centre Demand & Grid Impact

Bipartisan interest in Australian-style rules requiring new generation and cost allocation for data centres. Greens call for one-year pause on AI data centre consents. Mercury's 12.7% stake in Datagrid's Southland AI campus (360MW, 140MW PPA) and Invercargill 280MW datacentre highlight demand growth. A constructive perspective argues data centres can be grid assets via flexible demand and community renewables, adding nuance to the debate.