<p>Housebuilding is being delayed in West London due to a lack of electrical capacity, with the Home Builders Federation informed of an announcement that connection for new schemes in three boroughs will not be possible for “the foreseeable future”. </p> <p>HBF said the Greater London Authority (GLA) had told it about an announcement from the Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) affecting all residential schemes of 25 homes or more, with these developments in Hillingdon, Ealing and Hounslow – areas SSEN serves - unable to connect to the electrical energy network, in some cases until 2035.</p> <p>A GLA guidance note states that recent applicants to the SSEN network have received quotes informing them that there will not be sufficient grid capacity for a new connection for several years or more. </p> <p>The guidance note to developers explains that thanks to an upswing in demand for new electricity connections from data centre operators along the M4 corridor, West London was under network constraints. “Data centres use large quantities of electricity, the equivalent of towns or small cities, to power servers and ensure resilience in service,” the GLA stated. </p> <p>These three local authorities had been set to deliver 10% of all …