BCS launches Power Infrastructure division to tackle Data Centre power constraints
Posted by: electime 12th October 2026
BCS Consultancy, the global data centre consultancy, has announced the launch of its new Power Infrastructure team, a dedicated division created to help investors, developers and operators overcome what has become one of the biggest barriers to data centre growth, securing a credible and deliverable route to power.
Formerly operating as BCS’ Utilities team, the expanded Power Infrastructure division reflects a fundamental change in both the scale and complexity of the power challenge data centre developments and projects are currently facing.
Rapid growth in digital infrastructure, accelerated by AI and increasingly power-intensive workloads, is placing unprecedented pressure on electricity networks. At the same time, grid connection timelines, planning constraints and infrastructure delivery requirements are increasingly determining whether proposed data centre developments can progress from pipeline to operational capacity.
BCS’ own Data Centre Truths 2026 research found that 93% of industry respondents expect demand to continue rising despite supply becoming harder to secure. Power availability is increasingly shaping site selection and investment decisions and grid access alone is no longer enough. Developers need confidence that power can actually be delivered to a site within a commercially viable timeframe.
The move from Utilities to Power Infrastructure therefore represents more than a change of name. BCS’s power activity was previously weighted towards delivering substations for projects with established grid connections. Client demand has since moved upstream, towards power strategy and finding credible routes to unlock developments earlier. Building on more than 50 power infrastructure projects across EMEA and beyond, the division brings policy, strategy and delivery together under one proposition.
Led by Cameron Thompson, previously Head of Utilities now Head of Power Infrastructure at BCS Consultancy, the team works with investors, landowners, developers and operators from early-stage power strategy and grid connection through to the delivery of substations, cable routes, microgrids and other critical power infrastructure.
While BCS’ power activity was previously weighted towards delivering traditional substations for projects with established grid connections, client demand has increasingly moved upstream towards power strategy and identifying credible routes to unlock developments earlier.
With some grid connection offers now extending into the 2030s, BCS is helping clients to unlock alternative and transitional power strategies, including combinations of on-site generation, solar and battery storage, alongside longer-term grid connections.
Cameron Thompson, Head of Power Infrastructure at BCS Consultancy, said: “Power has always been fundamental to data centre development, but the conversation has shifted. Clients are coming to us much earlier, asking how they can make sites viable within the timeframes they need.
“Power Infrastructure reflects that shift. By bringing strategy and delivery together, we can give clients a clear route to power, from early planning through to an energised site.”
The expanded team will coordinate the complete power programme on clients’ behalf, bringing together network operators, designers, OEMs, contractors, land and planning teams and other stakeholders into a single delivery strategy.
That coordination is becoming increasingly crucial as power programmes grow more complex. Delays frequently arise not from one major technical issue, but from the interfaces between grid connection and delivery, including design approvals, cable routes and land rights, long-lead equipment, civils readiness, commissioning and network witnessing.
Chris Coward, COO of BCS Consultancy, commented: “Power increasingly determines where and when data centre projects can happen, and ultimately whether they are commercially viable. As the market shifts from announcing capacity to proving what can actually be delivered, clients need much greater certainty earlier in the development process.
“Expanding our Power Infrastructure capability is a direct response to that shift. By combining specialist power strategy with our data centre land intelligence and delivery expertise, we can help clients make better decisions from the outset and support them all the way through to delivery and energisation.”
The Power Infrastructure service will support clients across power strategy, grid connection, commercial and programme strategy, procurement, construction, energisation and handover, providing a single client-side view of the dependencies required to turn power requirements into deliverable infrastructure.
