In a government announcement published on GOV.UK on 29 September 2026, ministers set out plans for Great British Grid, a new publicly owned body within Great British Energy. The stated aim is to shorten electricity connection delays, support energy security and reduce system costs over time. The policy is framed as a response to a persistent bottleneck in the electricity network. The government’s case is that new generation, new industrial demand and wider electrification will move more slowly unless the grid itself is expanded faster.
According to the announcement, Great British Grid will invest public capital alongside private finance in electricity network infrastructure. In practical terms, this means Great British Energy would no longer be limited to backing generation, storage and supply chains; it would also have a vehicle focused on the wires, substations and transmission assets needed to move power across Britain. The government is clear that Great British Grid is intended to complement, not replace, the existing network structure. Existing network operators would keep their current roles, while the new body is expected to add funding capacity, another delivery route and more direct public involvement in major grid projects.
The timing reflects the scale of the build-out ministers believe is now required. Britain’s electricity network must be expanded and modernised quickly if it is to cope with rising demand from households and businesses and connect new clean power projects at the pace set out in wider energy policy. The announcement also sits alongside current work with the National Energy System Operator and Ofgem on the connections regime. The government said that reform of the queue is already under way and that more than 300GW of speculative capacity is being removed, with the intention of giving viable projects a clearer path to connect.
The institutional split remains important. Ofgem, in the government’s wording, remains the independent economic regulator responsible for the energy market and network companies, consumer protection and value for money. NESO remains responsible for operating, planning and co-ordinating the electricity system. That distinction matters because Great British Grid is not being created as a new regulator or a new system operator. It is being created as a public investment and delivery body inside Great British Energy, working alongside the present framework rather than rewriting it.
Ministers also said they will bring forward reforms to expand self-build connections. The change would allow developers and businesses, where appropriate, to build their own grid connections instead of waiting for a network company to complete the work. For projects held back by connection delays, that could be one of the most immediate changes in the package. The government points to Ireland, where similar reforms are said to have cut connection times by up to 11 months, as evidence that a broader self-build model can speed delivery and reduce cost.
A second strand of the package is faster competitive tendering for transmission projects. The government wants a wider range of organisations, including Great British Grid, to be able to compete to deliver new network infrastructure, with the stated objective of improving delivery standards and securing better value for consumers. The practical point for the market is continuity as well as competition. The announcement says the new body is not expected to affect existing project commitments under Ofgem licences that are already in force or under negotiation, which should limit short-term disruption for current schemes.
Funding details are only partly settled. The government said initial start-up costs for Great British Grid will be met from Great British Energy’s existing budgets, allowing the body to begin work without waiting for a separate immediate funding package. Longer-term spending has been left to a future spending review. That reflects the long lead times attached to grid infrastructure: ministers are announcing the institution now, while the larger multi-year budget decisions for its expanded remit are still to come.
For households and firms, the announcement is better understood as a structural reform than as an instant price measure. Any effect on bills would depend on whether quicker connections, broader tendering and additional public capital translate into faster project delivery and lower network costs over time. For developers, generators and large electricity users, the effects could arrive sooner if queue reform, self-build connections and new delivery routes reduce the time taken to secure access to the network. The government’s broader message is that clean power policy will now be matched by a more explicit policy for the grid itself.