Burnham plans publicly owned company to invest in electricity grid

Prime Minister and Labour leader Andy Burnham is expected to announce plans for Great British Grid, a publicly owned company that would invest in electricity-grid connections, at Labour’s conference on Tuesday. The proposal is intended to help businesses connect to the grid more quickly. [1]

Labour says the company would invest in and compete for transmission connection projects alongside the three private companies that currently own and manage Britain’s grid. Businesses waiting for a connection would also be able to finance infrastructure themselves, potentially with support or co-investment from Great British Grid. Funding would come from the existing budget of the publicly owned green investment company GB Energy. [1]

Burnham is expected to link the plan to a goal of bringing UK energy costs into line with those in other European countries within ten years. The BBC reports that regulator Ofgem estimates the grid needs £70bn of investment between 2025 and 2031, while the National Audit Office has warned of a growing queue of projects awaiting connection and increasing delays. [1]