Government plans grid investment body and wider self-build connections

The government has announced a new publicly owned grid investment body alongside plans to expand self-build electricity connections, aiming to reduce the delays facing projects and businesses waiting for network infrastructure.

Great British Grid will sit within Great British Energy and invest public capital alongside private finance in electricity network projects. It will work with existing network operators to accelerate infrastructure delivery, while proposed self-build reforms would allow developers and businesses to construct their own connections where appropriate.

For construction projects dependent on additional electricity capacity, the self-build proposals could provide a more direct route to connection. Developers would be able to undertake connection works rather than wait for network companies to deliver them, although the announcement does not specify which projects would qualify or when the reforms would take effect.

The government cited reforms in Ireland which it said had reduced connection times by up to 11 months, but the announcement sets no equivalent target for Britain. The proposals address both the delivery of individual connections and the wider network investment needed to accommodate rising electricity demand. Great British Grid’s remit will be to bring additional public investment into critical infrastructure and increase competition in its delivery.

Alongside establishing the body, the government plans to accelerate competitive tendering for transmission projects. This would allow a wider range of organisations, including Great British Grid, to compete to deliver new network infrastructure.

The measures build on work with the National Energy System Operator (NESO) and Ofgem to reform the connections system. According to the government, that includes overhauling the queue and removing more than 300GW of speculative capacity. Further network investment will be required over the coming decades to meet demand from homes and industry and connect new clean power generation.

Great British Grid will complement the existing institutions responsible for the electricity system. Ofgem will retain its role as the independent economic regulator overseeing energy markets and network companies, while NESO will remain responsible for operating, planning and coordinating the electricity system.

The role of existing network operators will also remain unchanged. Great British Grid is intended to work alongside private investors, developers and operators, contributing capital and competing to deliver infrastructure rather than taking over regulation or system coordination.

The government said it did not expect the new body’s role to affect existing project commitments under Ofgem licences already in force or under negotiation. Great British Energy will continue to invest in generation, storage and supply chains, with Great British Grid extending public investment into the networks connecting those assets to users.

Initial start-up costs will come from Great British Energy’s existing budgets. The longer-term budget for the expanded remit will be considered in a future spending review, reflecting the long development times involved in grid infrastructure.

For developers, the practical significance will depend on how the self-build rules are expanded and which network projects receive investment. The announcement opens the prospect of more routes to delivering connections, but leaves the scope, implementation timetable and long-term funding to be established.