The UK Government has announced the creation of Great British Grid (GBG), a publicly owned entity tasked with accelerating the development and upgrading of the country’s electricity network.
The initiative aims to reduce grid connection delays, support economic growth and accelerate the transition to clean energy.
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GBG will operate under the umbrella of Great British Energy.
While Great British Energy invests in projects relating to energy generation, storage and supply chains, the new division will focus specifically on infrastructure, drawing together public and private investment to deliver critical electricity projects.
According to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, the grid requires significant expansion and modernisation to meet rising demand from households and businesses and connect additional clean power sources.
The government considers grid reinforcement essential to improving energy security and reducing energy costs for consumers.
The announcement follows work with the National Energy System Operator (NESO) and Ofgem to overhaul the connections queue and remove more than 300GW of speculative capacity.
Plans include a series of reforms to make it easier and faster for projects and businesses to connect to the network.
A key proposal would allow developers and businesses to build their own connections where feasible by expanding self-build options, reducing reliance on network companies.
This approach has yielded benefits in other countries, including reducing connection times in Ireland by up to 11 months.
It also advances competitive tendering for transmission projects, allowing a wider range of organisations, including GB Energy, to deliver network infrastructure, which could spur innovation and lower consumer costs.
The launch of GBG comes amid ongoing efforts to reform the grid connection system.
The government said initial funding for GBG will come from Great British Energy’s existing budget, with long-term financing to be reviewed in future spending plans.
It emphasised that GBG Grid will complement, not replace, the existing roles of Ofgem, NESO and network operators.
Ofgem remains the regulator overseeing the energy market and protecting consumers.
