The UK government has launched Great British Grid (GB Grid), a publicly owned electricity network body aimed at speeding up grid connections for businesses and supporting investment in energy infrastructure.
Annouced today (29 September) by the UK Prime Minster at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool, the new organisation will sit within Great British Energy and work alongside existing private network companies. It will be able to invest in and compete for transmission projects, while also supporting businesses that choose to build their own connection infrastructure.
The government said the initiative is intended to increase competition, reduce costs and help businesses connect to the electricity network faster.
Supporting industrial investment
Slow and costly grid connections have become a barrier for businesses looking to expand operations or establish new manufacturing facilities, particularly as demand for electricity increases across industry.
GB Grid will act as an investment vehicle, bringing together public and private investment and specialist expertise to support the development of critical network infrastructure.
The government also plans to give businesses greater rights to build their own connection infrastructure, with GB Grid able to support and co-invest in these projects.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the initiative would help businesses connect faster and grow more quickly.
The biggest barriers for growth in the UK is the cost of energy. British businesses and billpayers pay some of the highest energy costs in Europe.
In 10 years, I want those costs in line with our neighbours.
Prime Minister, Andy Burnham
The government has set an ambition to bring UK energy costs closer to those of other European countries over the next decade.
The new body is also intended to support the wider expansion of renewable energy and the infrastructure needed to connect new generation capacity to the grid.
For manufacturers, faster access to electricity infrastructure could help unlock investment in new production capacity, electrification projects and industrial sites that are currently constrained by connection delays.
GB Grid will be funded from existing Great British Energy budgets and will work with existing network companies rather than replacing them.
The initiative forms part of the government’s wider plans to strengthen energy infrastructure and support industrial growth as UK businesses face increasing demand for secure and affordable electricity.
Industry reactions
The manufacturing sector has been respsonding to this annoucement. Read their thoughts below.
Mike Slevin, Director of EMEA Market at Fluke Corporation said : “Grid constraints have become a brake on British growth. Manufacturers and other energy-intensive businesses need faster, more predictable connections to electrify their operations, expand capacity and invest with confidence.
“Great British Grid is a welcome step, although changing who controls the network will not resolve the UK’s infrastructure constraints on its own. Its success will ultimately be judged by whether it delivers a more reliable and resilient energy system. With electricity demand rising across manufacturing, data centres, EV charging and other sectors, increasing capacity must be matched by investment in the monitoring, measurement and maintenance of the infrastructure already in place. This will be vital to identifying inefficiencies, anticipating equipment failures and ensuring new capacity reaches businesses reliably.
“Delivering the government’s ten-year ambition will also require people with the skills to install, test and maintain increasingly complex electrical infrastructure. A national energy plan should therefore bring together government, network operators, industry and training providers, with clear priorities for grid modernisation, workforce development and faster connections. That is how this announcement can translate into lower costs, greater energy security and meaningful industrial growth.”
Ami McCarthy, Head of Politics for Greenpeace UK, said: “Burnham has understood Britain’s problems, knows that fundamental change is needed, and has identified the root cause behind many of those problems – corporate profits overriding the public interest in privatised industries. The big question now is whether he has the courage to go beyond saying the right thing to making the changes that are necessary, and whether he can bring the country with him. We urgently need to completely decouple our electricity bills from the soaring price of gas, and we need our essential utilities to be managed for the nation, not managed for shareholders while ineffectual regulators fail to restrain their polluting and profiteering. We know that the threat of public shaming doesn’t keep water or power companies in line; let’s see if the threat of public ownership will.”
Make UK Chief Executive Stephen Phipson CBE said: “We welcome the PM’s announcement of Great British Grid as a move to address a clear market failure. We look forward to working with Government on its implementation. Of greater importance was the commitment to get UK industrial energy costs in line with the EU. The quickest way to do this is removing policy levies off bills, a commitment the PM could so easily have made today.
“With one in four of our members either already offshoring activity or actively weighing it up our members need help right now. Deindustrialisation is not something that happened in the past. For our members it is a very real and present threat.
“The PM talks of bringing back hope. If manufacturers are to feel it, they need action at the Budget and faster delivery of the Industrial Strategy.”
Yselkla Farmer, CEO of BEAMA, said: “The ambition to build the electrification network Britian needs is more than welcome. The proposed investment in a GB Grid recognises the need to unblock issues of underinvestment in certain areas of the supply chain.
“But what we cannot afford is a protracted process or uncertainty over funding for grid development. Delivery has to be now to stimulate the structured growth the sector is planning for.”
“We understand the GB Grid proposal is focused on transmission connections, but investment is needed top to bottom. So, it is really important that we see investment from transmission through to distribution, to ensure that electrification can progress at the pace we need it to.
“What is very helpful for manufacturers is having a clear view of upcoming investments. This visibility will help them plan when to invest in – both in new equipment and through recruitment. And, make early decisions that accelerate the path to electrification. Critically, it helps the industry avoid delaying decisions through uncertainty of demand.”
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