UK government creates Great British Grid to speed up transmission build-out

Overview

Updated Oct 18

Britain's electricity grid must roughly double in capacity this decade to connect offshore wind, data centers, and heat pumps. In late September 2026, Prime Minister Andy Burnham created Great British Grid (GBG), a publicly owned company inside Great British Energy. It will compete with the big network owners to build and own new transmission lines.

GBG is not yet a working project: it has no published budget or project pipeline. Ofgem closed consultation on the new transmission tendering licence October 16 and expects the first tender in 2027. National Grid has separately asked Ofgem to approve £4.5 billion in transmission upgrades across 19 projects.

Why it matters

Grid costs now add about £210 to the average UK energy bill, and analysts project £341 by 2030. GBG aims to cut that.

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Key Indicators

£210

Current average grid cost on household bills

Grid costs add about £210 to the average annual dual-fuel bill, roughly a quarter of the total.

£341

Projected grid cost per household by 2030

Some analysts expect grid costs to rise to £341 per household per year by 2030.

300 GW

Speculative capacity removed from connections queue

The government and NESO already removed more than 300 gigawatts of speculative projects from the grid queue.

11 months

Connection time reduction from Irish self-build reforms

Similar reforms in Ireland cut grid connection times by up to 11 months.

£4.5bn

National Grid's October transmission submission to Ofgem

National Grid asked Ofgem to approve around £4.5 billion for 19 transmission projects in England and Wales, part of a planned £31 billion program for 2026-2031.

£70bn

Ofgem's grid investment estimate, 2025-2031

Ofgem estimated £70 billion of grid investment is needed between 2025 and 2031, four times the current rate.

Voices

Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.

People Involved

Andy Burnham

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Announced Great British Grid at Labour Party conference in Liverpool

Organizations Involved

Great British Energy

Publicly owned energy company

Parent body for Great British Grid

State-owned company investing in generation, storage, and now grid infrastructure.

Great British Grid

Publicly owned grid investment body

Being established; CATO licence consultation closed October 16, 2026; first tender expected in 2027

Will invest public capital alongside private investors and compete for transmission projects.

Ofgem

Energy regulator

Regulates energy markets and network companies; closed its CATO licence consultation October 16, 2026

Regulates energy markets and network companies, protecting consumers and ensuring value for money.

National Energy System Operator (NESO)

Public corporation

Remains operator, planner, and coordinator of the electricity system

Operates, plans, and coordinates Britain's electricity system.

National Grid

Electricity transmission operator

Submitted £4.5 billion in transmission upgrade proposals to Ofgem in October 2026; will face new competition for projects

Operates the electricity transmission network in England and Wales.

Timeline

September 2026 October 2026

3 events Latest: October 16th, 2026 · 4 weeks ago

October 2026
Ofgem closes CATO licence consultation
Latest Regulatory

Ofgem's consultation on the draft Competitively Appointed Transmission Owner (CATO) licence closed. The framework will let new players, including Great British Grid, compete for transmission projects, with the first tender expected in 2027.
October 16th, 2026
National Grid submits £4.5 billion upgrade proposals to Ofgem
Regulatory

Under the RIIO-T3 load re-opener process, National Grid asked Ofgem to approve around £4.5 billion in investment across 19 transmission projects in England and Wales, part of its planned £31 billion program for 2026 to 2031.
October 2026
September 2026
Government announces Great British Grid
Policy Announcement

Prime Minister Andy Burnham unveils state-owned GBG to compete for transmission projects and expands self-build connection rules.
September 30th, 2026

Scenarios

GBG wins first transmission tender

Likely Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: Government announcement; industry analysts quoted in New Civil Engineer

GBG or a consortium it leads beats National Grid, SSE, or Scottish Power for a competitively tendered transmission project under the CATO regime. The government's accelerated tendering is designed to make this possible, and the body's stated purpose is to increase competition and accelerate delivery.

GBG stays marginal, incumbents keep the build-out

Possible Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: Nils Pratley, The Guardian

GBG arrives with limited staff and funding, and existing network operators remain the dominant builders of new transmission. The Guardian's Nils Pratley noted the plan is 'interesting' but not a takeover of existing assets, and GBG will not arrive with the scale to displace incumbents quickly.

Self-build connection rules take effect

Likely Resolves by Q2 2028

Discussed by: GOV.UK announcement

The government brings forward regulations expanding self-build connections, letting developers construct their own grid links rather than waiting for network companies. The reform mirrors Ireland's, which cut connection times by up to 11 months, and targets one of the biggest barriers to new projects.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

Recent years

Ireland's self-build connection reforms

Ireland adopted rules allowing developers to build their own grid connections instead of waiting for the network operator to do the work. The UK government says the reform cut connection times by up to 11 months.

Then

Connection wait times fell sharply for new projects.

Now

The model became the reference point the UK now cites for its own self-build expansion.

Why this matters now

The UK's planned self-build expansion directly copies Ireland's approach, making Irish results the benchmark for what UK developers can expect.

Ongoing

UK offshore transmission competitive tendering

The UK already uses a competitive regime for offshore transmission, where private developers bid to design, build, finance, own, and operate the cables connecting wind farms to shore. The model has helped drive investment in offshore wind infrastructure.

Then

Offshore transmission became a competitive market rather than a monopoly function.

Now

The regime proved competitive tendering can work for transmission assets, setting the precedent for onshore projects.

Why this matters now

GBG extends the same competitive logic onshore, with the offshore regime as the working template the government points to.