Publicly owned company GB Grid announced in UK connections policy overhaul

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has announced a new publicly owned grid company to “challenge the private sector operators.” The government claims the move will increase competition, drive down costs and speed up grid connections.

Great British Grid (GB Grid) will compete against private sector energy network operators in an energy market in need of significant grid infrastructure investment. Energy regulator Ofgem estimates that transmission owners will need to spend up to around GBP 70 billion ($93 billion) over 2025 to 2031 on grid upgrades.

Initial startup costs for GB Grid will be covered by the publicly owned clean power investment vehicle Great British Energy, with a long-term budget for the new venture to be considered in future government spending reviews. The state-owned grid company will enter a market characterized by a lack of competition and lengthy grid connection queues.

Great Britain’s transmission network currently operates as a heavily regulated, private regional monopoly. For solar and energy storage project developers applying for a connection at transmission level, there is no choice in connection partner.

Wait times for grid connections have also ballooned in recent years, and despite connection reform efforts removing more than 300 GW of capacity from the queue, long waits to connect generation and demand continue to limit the pace of development.

In a bid to accelerate this process, the UK government has also committed to reforming rules on self-build connections. This will allow developers and businesses to build their own connections where appropriate, rather than waiting for network companies. The government claims this will reduce delays and lower costs, citing a similar policy change in Ireland credited with reducing connection times by up to 11 months.

Plans to introduce competitive tendering for transmission projects will also be accelerated, according to the government, allowing a wider range of organizations to compete to deliver network infrastructure – including GB Grid.

Great Britain’s onshore transmission network is owned by three companies: National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET), SP Energy Networks (SP Transmission) and SSEN Transmission (Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission). In addition to owning and operating the network, these companies are responsible for investing in grid upgrades.

Work was already underway to break this monopoly before Burnham announced the new publicly owned grid company.

Ofgem has been consulting on a new Competitively Appointed Transmission Owner (CATO) regime that would offer new licensed Independent Transmission Operators (ITO) the opportunity to win competitive tenders to develop, finance, build, own and operate a specific transmission project. Stakeholders have until Oct. 16, 2026, to share their views via Ofgem’s open consultation on the details of the draft CATO licence and guidance.

The changes to UK grid policy have been broadly welcomed by industry commentators.

In a statement, Energy Networks Association chief executive Lawrence Slade noted that energy networks are investing tens of billions of pounds to upgrade the grid, adding that network operators are keen to work with the government on any measures that bring down energy costs for consumers, “whilst maintaining the delivery of the infrastructure the country needs.”

Andy Khan, managing director of UK-based EPC and developer Push Power, described the announcement as “hugely significant” for the sector. ´

Commenting on social media platform LinkedIn, Octopus Energy Head of Policy Jack Pardoe described the change as “potentially one of the most significant in 40 years” and a “big opportunity to shake things up.”

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