{"id":126148,"date":"2026-09-30T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/?p=126148"},"modified":"2026-09-30T00:34:29","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T23:34:29","slug":"new-grid-system-revealed-burnham","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/new-grid-system-revealed-burnham\/","title":{"rendered":"New Grid System Revealed As Burnham Targets Britain\u2019s Rising Energy Costs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The new organisation will operate under <strong>Great British Energy<\/strong>, the publicly owned green investment company established by the Labour government. According to reports from the BBC, the body will compete with existing private network companies while supporting new connections for businesses and energy projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>A New Public Player in Britain\u2019s Electricity Network<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>GB Grid will become the first publicly owned participant in electricity networks since privatisation under Margaret Thatcher\u2019s government in 1990. The organisation will not take over existing companies but will work <strong>alongside private firms <\/strong>involved in managing and expanding the network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.itv.com\/news\/2026-09-29\/burnham-to-launch-publicly-owned-gb-power-grid-n-bid-to-cut-energy-prices\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ITV News<\/a>, Britain\u2019s electricity grid is currently operated through several private stakeholders, with three transmission network operators responsible for moving large amounts of electricity across the country. These include National Grid Electricity Transmission, Scottish and Southern Energy and Scottish Power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The government says the new body will increase competition by allowing a public organisation to<strong> bid for network projects<\/strong>. Businesses that currently face delays when seeking grid connections will also be given the option to build their own connection infrastructure, with <strong>GB Grid<\/strong> able to support or co-invest in these projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Burnham is expected to say that the organisation will \u201cincrease competition to drive down costs and speed up delivery so businesses can connect faster and grow quicker\u201d. The announcement forms part of a wider plan to give more public control over <a href=\"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/octopus-energy-makes-energy-announcement\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"126078\">energy<\/a> systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The funding for GB Grid will come from the existing budget of Great British Energy, according to reports. The government has not provided details of additional spending for the new organisation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I\u2019ve long argued that our energy networks should serve the public. Plans for a publicly owned Great British Grid is a welcome step towards bringing more of our energy system under public ownership, and the focus now must be on making sure people see the benefit in their bills. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/PBLXSBvNdb\">pic.twitter.com\/PBLXSBvNdb<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Rebecca Long-Bailey (@RLong_Bailey) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RLong_Bailey\/status\/2104901394377629923?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 29, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Grid Upgrades and the Challenge of Reducing Energy Costs<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The government\u2019s stated aim is to bring UK energy costs in line with other <strong>European countries <\/strong>within ten years. Burnham has argued that businesses and households are facing high energy costs because of problems within the current system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/inews.co.uk\/news\/politics\/how-burnhams-great-british-grid-could-cut-your-energy-bills-4796807?srsltid=AU7gw4UeoJLqIoIScdverdVpxK93leQYJ7oko7ocNeT179amMfsEY-Pa\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">i Paper<\/a>, UK household electricity prices were 18 per cent above the European Union average in the second half of 2025, while gas prices were 34 per cent below the EU average during the same period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A major focus of the plan is improving the electricity network as Britain increases <strong>renewable energy capacity<\/strong>. The transition towards more renewable sources requires upgrades to a grid that was largely designed around older power generation patterns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/cqn4k9nypxjro\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">BBC<\/a>, energy regulator Ofgem has estimated that \u00a370bn of investment is required in the grid between 2025 and 2031, representing a significant increase from current investment levels. The <strong>National Audit Office <\/strong>has also reported that the number of projects waiting for grid connections has grown significantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The government says faster connections could reduce delays affecting businesses and renewable energy developments. Energy Secretary <strong>Miatta Fahnbulleh <\/strong>described the move as part of efforts to increase public control over energy systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Opposition figures have challenged the plan. Shadow energy secretary <strong>Andrew Bowie<\/strong> said the Conservatives believed other approaches were needed to reduce energy costs, arguing that government policies could add pressure to bills. The creation of Great British Grid will now form part of the government\u2019s wider energy strategy as it seeks to expand infrastructure and change how future network projects are delivered.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Prime Minister Andy Burnham is set to announce the creation of a new publicly owned energy network body called Great British Grid, designed to increase public involvement in Britain\u2019s electricity infrastructure and address concerns over energy costs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":126151,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-126148","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-energy","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=126148"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126148\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":126152,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126148\/revisions\/126152"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/126151"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=126148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=126148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=126148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}