07/10/2026
The Government's new Great British Grid (GB Grid) could mark a significant change in how electricity network infrastructure is delivered in Great Britain.
Announced by Prime Minister Andy Burnham, GB Grid will be a new publicly owned body within Great British Energy, investing alongside the private sector and existing network operators to increase competition and accelerate delivery of new grid infrastructure.
Why is it needed?
Grid capacity has become a significant constraint on both the energy transition and wider economic development. The challenge is twofold: an historically congested connections queue and a physical network that requires substantial expansion to accommodate increasing electricity demand and new generation.
Connections reform is already addressing the first issue. The Government says that more than 300 GW of speculative capacity has been removed from the queue, but removing projects from the queue does not create the physical network capacity needed to connect those that remain.
The scale of investment required is considerable, with estimates suggesting more than £70 billion of transmission investment between 2026 and 2031 alone.
What could GB Grid change?
GB Grid is expected to have access to around £4 billion of Great British Energy's existing funding, although this is not a new £4 billion budget specifically allocated to GB Grid. Against the overall scale of investment required, its role is therefore likely to be as a catalyst for private investment and competition, rather than the principal funder of grid expansion.
GB Grid also introduces a new competitive dynamic. In England and Wales, National Grid has traditionally operated the transmission network as a regulated private monopoly. GB Grid will not replace the existing network operators, but its ability to invest in and compete for new infrastructure projects introduces state-backed capital alongside the incumbent operators. The intention is to provide additional delivery capacity, help overcome bottlenecks and create targeted competitive tension over the cost and delivery of new network infrastructure.
Potentially more significant for developers and major electricity users are proposals to expand self-build connections. This could allow businesses to build their own connection infrastructure, where appropriate, rather than waiting for the relevant network company, with GB Grid potentially able to invest alongside them.
Will it solve the problem?
GB Grid should help, but it is unlikely to provide a complete solution.
There is an important distinction between increasing the capacity to fund and construct grid infrastructure and being able to consent and deliver it quickly. The Government's announcement does not indicate that GB Grid will benefit from special statutory planning or consenting powers. Planning, environmental, land, regulatory and supply-chain constraints will therefore remain.
For developers and investors, much will depend on the detail: how projects are selected, how the £4 billion funding pot is deployed, how self-build connections operate and how GB Grid interacts with existing network operators and the connections regime.
GB Grid could provide an important additional route through the connections bottleneck, but the real test will be whether it can use public investment to unlock private capital and turn additional investment into additional grid capacity more quickly.
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