Rosseti reviews 3.3 GW of data-centre applications as ministry puts demand lower

Rosseti is reviewing 134 applications to connect computing centres with a combined capacity of 3.3 GW. Russia's Digital Development Ministry puts confirmed additional industry demand by 2030 at about 1.8 GW, speakers at Russian Energy Week said on October 15.

Rosseti deputy chief executive Alexey Molsky said the company had already connected 195 computing centres with declared capacity of 2.4 GW. He questioned the realism of a projection that connected capacity could reach 7 GW by 2030.

According to Molsky, several investors can apply with the same prospective customer in mind, so requested capacity does not equal actual demand. Deputy Digital Development Minister Evgeny Filatov said the 1.8 GW estimate reflected requirements from companies building and equipping data centres.

RBC separately cited an estimate of 1.9 GW of power capacity supplied to operating Russian data centres: approximately 0.9 GW for commercial facilities and 1 GW for corporate sites. System Operator figures put the sector's share of electricity consumption at 2.2% in 2025, up from 1.4% in 2022.

Molsky proposed extending take-or-pay arrangements to all consumers and requiring load schedules. The mechanism would charge for electricity transmission based on declared capacity. Power infrastructure is built immediately, while computing centres reach full load gradually.

Under the Energy Ministry proposal described by RBC, the mechanism could apply to new industrial consumers requiring at least 670 kW that sign connection agreements after January 1, 2027. A 2028 start is envisaged for technologically isolated power systems. These are proposed parameters rather than an obligation reported as already in force.

Filatov said payment terms needed to reflect data-centre operations. Equipping a centre takes five to six years, he said, while seasonal consumption can range from 40–50% of declared capacity in winter to as much as 70% in summer.

Molsky suggested a distributed network of 5–15 MW sites near underused 35–110 kV power facilities rather than a single 80–100 MW campus. Speakers also discussed allowing applicants to choose their reliability category, including a fourth category without uninterrupted supply.

Filatov warned that this category could be unsuitable for operating data centres because important services depend on continuous power. Diesel generators are expensive and unsuitable for regular extended operation, he said. State Duma energy committee first deputy chair Valery Seleznev described the fourth category as a fallback in areas with insufficient power, followed by an upgrade to the second or third category.

Filatov estimated construction and infrastructure costs at more than 3 billion roubles per MW, with computing equipment costing from 5–7 billion to as much as 20 billion roubles per MW depending on the project. He questioned whether companies could afford to equip 7 GW of capacity.

Maksim Shaposhnikov, an adviser at the Industrial Code fund, estimated demand at 2.5–4 GW by 2030 and linked excess applications to advance capacity reservations. Energy expert Kirill Rodionov expects demand to grow, including for backup computing capacity, but sees payment terms as a significant influence on industry development.

The Digital Development Ministry is preparing a national data-centre location plan. Filatov outlined scenarios under which capacity would increase by approximately 3 GW by 2036 in the baseline case, or by 1.8 GW in the negative scenario.