Burnham’s GB Grid plan targets electricity connections and costs
The proposed publicly owned body would invest in Britain’s electricity network and support business connections. Its effect on bills has yet to be demonstrated.
Andy Burnham plans to create a publicly owned body to invest in Britain’s electricity grid, aiming to speed connections for businesses and ease energy costs. The proposal, reported ahead of his Labour conference speech, addresses a problem that can delay projects seeking access to the network. Whether the new body will shorten waits or lower bills remains untested.
The Guardian reported on 28 September that the body, called GB Grid, would have access to money already allocated to Great British Energy. Reuters separately reported that the Labour Party described Great British Grid as a publicly owned body within Great British Energy. Both accounts describe a plan, rather than a body already delivering connections.
How the proposal would work
According to the Guardian, GB Grid would have access to a £4bn funding pot previously allocated to Great British Energy, though it is not expected to use all of it. The proposed body would invest in electricity networks, build more connections and support a faster rollout of renewable power. The Guardian said it would be the first publicly owned participant in electricity networks since privatisation.
Government officials also told the Guardian they intended to expand the rights of businesses to build their own grid connections. Those businesses could seek support from GB Grid funding to help pay for the work. That would give some projects a route to building connections beyond waiting for an established network company to undertake them, although the reports do not establish how many projects could use it.
Officials cited Ireland as an example, telling the Guardian that a comparable approach had accelerated connections there by 11 months. The report did not provide the underlying evidence or show whether that figure would apply to Britain. It is a reported argument for the proposal, not a measured result of the proposed British body.
Reuters reported that Labour presented the body as a way to boost competition, support industrial development and bring down bills while speeding connections. Burnham also set an ambition to bring British energy costs into line with those of other European countries within 10 years, according to both Reuters and the Guardian. Neither report establishes that GB Grid on its own can meet that goal.
A grid queue already being reformed
The proposal arrives during a separate overhaul of the process for obtaining a grid connection. In August, Colm Murphy, the National Energy System Operator’s connections director, wrote that the queue had reached about four times the size Britain needed for its 2030 energy ambitions. Projects ready to build could be held behind applications making little progress, he said.
NESO’s account of the old queue puts it at more than 700 gigawatts and says some ready projects faced waits of up to 10 years. Those figures describe the former system, not a current waiting time for every applicant. NESO says its reforms reorder applications to prioritise projects that are ready to deliver and aligned with national energy needs.
By 19 August, NESO said it had issued offers to more than 60% of the projects needed for Britain’s 2030 energy ambitions. It expected offers for all projects required for 2030 by autumn, with those needed for 2035 to follow. An offer is a step in the connection process; NESO did not present that figure as proof that every project was already connected.
NESO says responsibility for the existing reforms is shared. Government sets energy policy, Ofgem approves the regulatory framework, network companies design and deliver infrastructure, and NESO operates the connections process. The operator has described its queue changes as part of continuing work, with further opportunities for applications to follow.
What remains to be shown
GB Grid’s proposed investment and the existing queue reforms address related parts of the same problem. The available reports do not establish a launch timetable, spending conditions or a method for separating any effect of GB Grid from improvements delivered by reforms already under way. They also do not show a reduction in household bills attributable to the proposal.
The immediate measure of the plan will be its confirmed structure and the connection work it is able to support. For now, faster connections, stronger competition and lower bills are the stated aims. The published accounts establish the proposal and the scale of the existing grid challenge, while its practical results remain open.
Sources and context
- Burnham promises to roll back privatisation with government-backed grid planThe Guardian
- UK PM Burnham to launch state-owned GB Grid to cut energy costs, speed connectionsReuters (republished by MarketScreener)
- Connecting to the grid has to work for investment, not hold it backNational Energy System Operator
- Connections Reform ResultsNational Energy System Operator
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.
About NewsJaws Desk
AI-assisted reporting and explainers reviewed against the linked source documents. No claim of on-scene reporting or original interviews.