Families and businesses across the country will benefit from faster grid connections, greater energy security and lower costs as the government takes action to remove one of the biggest barriers to clean power and economic growth.

The government today (Tuesday 29 September) announces Great British Grid (GBG), a new publicly owned body within Great British Energy that will help accelerate the delivery of the electricity network infrastructure Britain needs. Just as Great British Energy is investing in supply chain, generation and storage projects across the country, now Great British Grid will be able to invest in our electricity grid.

Britain’s electricity grid must be expanded and modernised at an unprecedented pace if it is to support growing demand from households and businesses, connect new sources of clean power and unlock economic growth. While private investment will continue to play a vital role, the scale of the challenge requires additional public investment and dedicated leadership.

Great British Grid will bring together public and private investment to support the delivery of critical network infrastructure across the country. Working alongside existing network operators, it will help accelerate projects, increase competition and support the delivery of the grid upgrades needed to power Britain’s future.

Together, Great British Energy and Great British Grid will be able to invest across the energy system, supporting both the clean power generation Britain needs and the network infrastructure required to get that power to homes, businesses and industry.

The government is already working with NESO and Ofgem to reform the connections system, including overhauling the connections queue and removing more than 300 GW of speculative capacity. But further investment will be needed over the coming decades to upgrade the electricity network and ensure it can meet rising demand from homes, industry and new sources of clean power.

To help projects and businesses connect to the grid more quickly, the government will also bring forward reforms to expand self-build connections. This will allow developers and businesses to build their own connections where appropriate, rather than waiting for network companies to do so, helping reduce delays, lower costs and accelerate growth.

Accelerating self-build connections has delivered significant benefits internationally, with similar reforms in Ireland reducing connection times by up to 11 months.

The government will also accelerate the competitive tendering of transmission projects, allowing a wider range of organisations, including Great British Grid, to compete to deliver new network infrastructure. This will help drive innovation, improve delivery and secure better value for consumers.

Combined with wider grid reforms, Great British Grid will help unlock investment, accelerate delivery and ensure Britain has the network infrastructure needed to support clean power, strengthen energy security and grow the economy.

Notes

Great British Grid will complement, rather than replace, the existing institutions responsible for Britain’s energy system and the role of existing network operators remains unchanged.

Ofgem remains the independent economic regulator responsible for regulating the energy market and network companies, protecting consumers and ensuring value for money.

NESO (National Energy System Operator) remains responsible for operating, planning and coordinating the electricity system.

Great British Energy invests public capital, alongside private investment, in clean energy generation, storage and supply chain projects across the country.

Working alongside the organisations listed above, Great British Grid will invest public capital, alongside private investment, in electricity network infrastructure projects across the country. It is designed to work alongside existing private sector investors, developers and network operators. Its purpose is to bring additional public investment, increase competition and accelerate delivery of critical infrastructure where Britain needs it most. We do not expect Great British’s Grid’s role to impact existing project commitments under the in-force and in-negotiation Ofgem licences.

The initial start-up costs for GBG will be covered by GBE’s existing budgets. As grid delivery has a long development time, the long-term budget for this expanded remit will be considered as part of a future spending review.