Last year, data centres consumed more electricity than urban homes in the Republic, the data reveals.


The share of metered electricity used by data centres has more than quadrupled over the past eight years, rising from 5 percent in 2015 to 21 percent last year.


In comparison, urban households used 18 percent of metered electricity in 2023, while rural households used 10 percent.


The increase in electricity use by data centres has raised concerns about the State’s energy supply and efforts to reduce carbon emissions to combat climate change.


Eirgrid, the State’s electricity grid operator, predicts that data centres could account for 23 to 30 percent of overall electricity consumption by the end of this decade.