The government has announced plans to establish Great British Grid (GBG), a new publicly owned body within Great British Energy that will help deliver the electricity network infrastructure that Britain needs.
The government says that Britain’s electricity grid must be expanded and modernised at an unprecedented pace if it is to support growing demand from households and businesses, connect new sources of clean power and unlock economic growth.
While Great British Energy is investing in supply chain, generation and storage projects across the country, Great British Grid will be able to invest in our electricity grid.
Great British Grid will bring together public and private investment to support the delivery of critical network infrastructure across the country, working alongside existing network operators to accelerate projects and support the delivery of the grid upgrades.
To help projects and businesses connect to the grid more quickly, the government will also bring forward reforms to expand self-build connections. This will allow developers and businesses to build their own connections where appropriate, rather than waiting for network companies to do so, helping reduce delays, lower costs and accelerate growth.
Accelerating self-build connections has delivered significant benefits internationally, with similar reforms in Ireland reducing connection times by up to 11 months.
The government will also accelerate the competitive tendering of transmission projects, allowing a wider range of organisations, including Great British Grid, to compete to deliver new network infrastructure. This will help drive innovation, improve delivery and secure better value for consumers.
The government says that Great British Grid will complement, rather than replace, the existing institutions responsible for Britain’s energy system and the role of existing network operators remains unchanged.
Vicky Edmonds, Chief Executive Officer of EVA England, says: "Investment in Britain’s electricity grid is welcome and important for the EV transition. Driving faster upgrades to the electricity network should help accelerate the rollout of public charging, support more home and workplace charging, and remove some of the connection barriers that are holding back the transition to electric.
"But grid investment alone will not make the transition work for drivers. We are increasingly seeing a two-tier system: those who can charge cheaply at home benefit from much lower running costs, while drivers without a driveway are often left relying on a public network that is significantly more expensive.
"That divide becomes even harder to justify this week, with VAT on household electricity falling to zero while public charging remains subject to 20% VAT. Government now needs to match long-term infrastructure investment with action to bring down public charging costs and expand access to affordable charging, so that choosing electric is a realistic option for every driver.”
Shane Brennan, chief executive officer, ChargeUK said: “The PM is right to single out grid investment as a priority, but a focus on transmission is too narrow. Charging infrastructure operators are suffering from expensive delayed grid access. We can’t continue building a twenty first century transport energy system, on nineteenth century infrastructure.
“We hope that this is just the start of a more radical approach, because a structural change that might mean lower bills in ten years is not going to deliver the investor confidence and driver benefits we need at this crucial moment in the EV transition.”
