Do You Know? Britain’s energy regulator Ofgem has estimated that £70bn of investment is needed in the electricity grid between 2025 and 2031 as the network adapts to renewable power projects.
What happened?
Andy Burnham has announced plans for a publicly owned company, branded Great British Grid, to invest in Britain’s electricity transmission network.
Burnham made the announcement on 29 September 2026 at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, in his first conference speech as Labour leader, according to BBC Business.
Labour says Great British Grid will compete with the three private companies that currently own and manage the grid in Britain. It is intended to increase competition for transmission connection projects and help speed up connections for businesses and energy developments.
How the proposed body would work
Full details of Great British Grid have not yet been set out. Labour said the organisation would:
- Invest in and compete for transmission connection projects alongside private companies.
- Support businesses waiting for grid connections to finance connection infrastructure themselves.
- Potentially co-invest in projects with those businesses.
Labour said funding would come from the existing budget of GB Energy, the publicly owned green investment company established by the party last year and headquartered in Aberdeen.
Why grid investment matters
Britain’s electricity system is being reshaped as power generation moves from large fossil-fuel stations towards more remote renewable sites, including offshore wind farms. That shift requires significant changes to the transmission network so electricity can reach homes and businesses.
The cost of modernising the grid and connecting new wind and solar farms ultimately feeds into customer bills, the source article reported. Labour has linked its proposal to a wider goal of bringing UK energy costs into line with those in other European countries within 10 years.
| Reported detail | What it means |
|---|---|
| £70bn | Ofgem’s estimate of grid investment required between 2025 and 2031. |
| Three private companies | The existing private owners and managers that Great British Grid would compete alongside for transmission projects. |
| Existing GB Energy budget | The proposed source of funding identified by Labour for the new body. |
Political and industry reaction
Burnham said a publicly owned company would challenge private-sector operators, increase competition, reduce costs and speed up connections so businesses could expand more quickly.
Conservative shadow energy secretary Andrew Bowie said Burnham wanted to “nationalise the network”. Matthew Lawrence, founder of the Common Wealth think tank and a former adviser to Burnham, said the announcement would bring public investment into new parts of the grid.
Dhara Vyas, chief executive of Energy UK, welcomed the investment but said the bulk of grid investment would remain private. She said transmission owners were spending £90bn over the next five years, according to the BBC report.
What happens next?
The source article does not provide a launch date or further operating details for Great British Grid. It says the body’s full details are still to be set out.
The National Audit Office has warned that the number of projects waiting to connect to the grid had grown significantly, while delays were also increasing. The proposed public body is therefore being presented against a backdrop of pressure to expand the network and reduce connection bottlenecks.
Bottom Line
Great British Grid is a proposed publicly owned competitor for electricity transmission projects, funded from the existing GB Energy budget. Labour says it could increase competition and accelerate grid connections, but its structure, timetable and practical financial impact have not yet been fully disclosed.
Source
This report is based on information published by BBC Business.
