The Norwegian Government and Statnett announce new measures for data centres

At the same time, Statnett has announced that it will develop amended functional requirements for data centres and, pending those requirements, is introducing a temporary halt on new reservations of grid capacity for data centres, as well as on the processing of new applications for approval of facility functionality. The halt is expected to be lifted by 1 August 2027 at the latest.

The Government’s stated objective is to ensure controlled growth of the data centre industry in Norway. Given the pressure on grid capacity, measures of this kind had been widely anticipated.

The impact of the measures on data centre operators that are already established, or that have projects in the planning, development or construction phase, will depend on the final design of the announced regulatory changes and Statnett’s functional requirements.

From a legal perspective, it is worth emphasising that Statnett’s halt and the Government’s announced measures, both individually and collectively, must be designed with due regard for operators who have invested in reliance on the current regime. The Government’s regulatory development, and Statnett’s administration of the temporary halt on reservations and approvals of facility functionality, must therefore be carried out in a manner that allows established projects to continue operating and projects under development and construction to be completed as planned.

Below we provide an overview of the various measures, together with our comments. Please feel free to contact Thommessen if you have any questions about the measures or what they mean for your business.

• Statnett's press release of 9 November 2026
• the Government's joint press release from the Ministry of Digitalisation and Public Governance and the Ministry of Energy

The Government's measures

What measures has the government presented?

• Licensing regime: The Government will assess, and aims to introduce, a licensing regime for the establishment and operation of data centres in Norway. Requirements and conditions that support digital security and preparedness, and that contribute to the necessary AI computing capacity in Norway, the Nordic region and Europe, will be considered. Data centres engaged in cryptocurrency activities will not be regarded as being of public benefit. The Government will ensure transitional arrangements that provide predictability for the existing and future data centre industry in Norway.
  • Conditions for secure grid connection: The Ministry of Energy will prepare regulatory amendments enabling Statnett to impose the conditions necessary for the secure connection of data centres.
  • Prioritising critical consumption: The Government will give priority to consumption that is necessary for societal development and for society to function over other consumption. It will therefore look at changes to the requirements governing which consumption grid companies must reserve capacity for. The aim is to include smaller-scale storage and processing capacity that is essential to supporting critical societal functions.
  • Modernising the connection obligation: The Government will modernise the rules obliging grid companies to connect consumption to the power grid, so that they better reflect the current reality, in which the grid connection queue far exceeds what can be handled.
  • Cost recovery: The Government wants large new power consumers to contribute more towards the costs of building new grid infrastructure and the costs imposed on system operation. It will also assess whether a distinction can be drawn between large new consumption and major expansions of existing consumption.
  • New contributions to power generation: The Government will enter into dialogue with the data centre industry on how the industry itself, on a commercial basis, can help build the power generation needed to enable larger data centre facilities more quickly, including gas-fired power plants with carbon capture and storage, and offshore wind.
  • Considering state ownership: The Government will examine different models for state ownership in data centre projects of particular public benefit.

Statnett's halt on new reservations of grid capacity and development of new functional requirements

What does the temporary halt cover?

Statnett is introducing a temporary halt on new reservations of grid capacity for data centres. The halt is due to Statnett wishing to put in place rules for new functional requirements for data centres (see below), and is expected to be lifted by 1 August 2027 at the latest. Statnett is also suspending the processing of new applications for approval of facility functionality under Section 14 of the Regulations on System Responsibility (FoS), as well as the processing of applications already received for approval of facility functionality for facilities to be connected directly to the 420 kV grid (the transmission grid).

Statnett emphasises that the temporary halt does not amount to a general halt on connecting data centres. Existing connections are unaffected, and facilities whose functional requirements have been approved may still be connected. Statnett has further stated that available capacity will not be allocated to other customers if this would be at the expense of data centres ahead of them in the queue.

Statnett has further stated that the halt will not affect applications already received for FoS Section 14 approval of facilities scheduled for commissioning in the near future that are being processed for connection to the regional grid. Statnett will also consider processing certain applications relating to smaller facilities scheduled for connection in the period up to 1 August 2027.

New functional requirements

In addition, Statnett has announced that it intends to develop dedicated functional requirements for data centres. Examples highlighted by Statnett include requirements on when data centres must remain connected to the grid during operational disturbances, requirements on how quickly consumption must be able to change, and technical requirements aimed at reducing the risk of data centres causing oscillations in the grid.

The way forward

The functional requirements developed by Statnett will be submitted for public consultation and must be approved by the Norwegian Energy Regulatory Authority (RME). The temporary halt is justified by the need to put such requirements and a framework in place and, as mentioned, is expected to be lifted by 1 August 2027 at the latest. Statnett has announced that, going forward, it will inform affected parties of the decision and engage in dialogue with customers, grid companies and other stakeholders.

Preliminary comments on the measures

Taken together, Statnett’s halt and the Government’s announced measures represent a clear shift in the regulation of the data centre industry in Norway: the authorities will exercise greater control over which data centres are established, and on what terms. It naturally remains to be seen how the regulatory framework as a whole will be designed and applied, including how the licensing regime, the new connection conditions, Statnett’s functional requirements and the changes to the connection obligation and cost recovery will fit together. This will be decisive for how far-reaching the measures prove to be in practice.

We believe it will be challenging to develop transparent, objectively justified and non-discriminatory criteria for which forms of data centre activity should be permitted under a licensing regime. Similarly, it may prove challenging to develop such criteria for which types of consumption should bear an increased share of the costs of grid development and system operation, and which should not.

As regards the connection obligation, we understand that the authorities consider the obligation in its current form to have come under pressure, and it is understandable that changes are being announced. However, a connection obligation that distinguishes between different types of consumption would break with fundamental neutrality principles underlying current Norwegian energy legislation.

For projects under development and construction it is important to obtain clarity on how the regulatory amendments intended to enable Statnett to impose the necessary conditions for the secure connection of data centres will interact with the functional requirements that Statnett is to develop.

Whatever the final design, we believe there are legal limits on how the measures can be applied to existing projects under development and construction. This applies in particular to Statnett’s administration of approvals of facility functionality under Section 14 of the Regulations on System Responsibility. The approval is, as a starting point, an ordinary part of the connection process for certain types of projects (but note: not for all), and Statnett’s role as system operator is to assess whether the facility’s functionality meets the applicable requirements. Account must be taken of the fact that projects under construction are based on operating assumptions that Statnett was already aware of when assessing operational security and project maturity.

Operators with projects under development and construction will generally have adapted to the requirements originally assumed, and may have invested considerable resources in meeting them. Statnett naturally has the authority to assess whether a facility meets the assumptions on which it was originally deemed operationally secure. However, the Regulations do not authorise Statnett to use the functionality approval as a means of delaying the connection process pending new requirements. Nor do the Regulations authorise Statnett, at this later stage of the connection process (i.e. when the approval of facility functionality takes place shortly before commissioning), to introduce stricter functional requirements as a condition for deeming the connection of a facility operationally secure. Consequently, even if the Regulations were amended, new requirements cannot simply be imposed on operators who have already invested in reliance on the current requirements. In this regard, we note that the Government itself assumes that regulatory amendments are needed for Statnett to be able to impose conditions on the connection of data centres at all, which indicates that no such legal basis exists today. What the Regulations do already provide, however, is that when Statnett introduces new requirements in the guidelines for so-called FoS Section 14 approvals, it must notify affected parties and allow a reasonable period for them to adapt to the new guidelines, cf. FoS Section 28a.

As mentioned, Statnett has also stated that available capacity will not be allocated to other customers if this would be at the expense of data centres ahead of them in the queue. As we understand it, data centres already in the queue will keep their place during the halt, even though they cannot reserve capacity until the halt is lifted. Projects further back in the queue may nevertheless be allocated capacity, provided this does not reduce the capacity earmarked for the data centres ahead of them. In other words, we understand the statement to mean that data centres will not lose their place in the queue, but nor will they block projects behind them where there is sufficient capacity for both.

In our view, neither Statnett’s administration of the halt nor the Government’s forthcoming proposals for regulatory amendments should be designed in a way that harms investments already made in reliance on the current regulatory framework. The Government has itself announced that it will ensure transitional arrangements that provide predictability for the existing and future data centre industry. We therefore expect both Statnett’s application of the exceptions to the halt and the design of the regulatory amendments and transitional arrangements to be carried out in a way that ensures that established projects, as well as projects under development and construction, can proceed as planned.