Prime Minister Andy Burnham is expected to announce the creation of a new government body, Great British Grid, to invest in Britain's electricity grid. The announcement is anticipated during his first party conference speech as Labour leader on Tuesday in Liverpool.
The publicly owned company is intended to accelerate grid connections by increasing competition for connection projects. Mr Burnham is expected to state that this initiative will be central to a new objective of aligning UK energy costs with other European nations within ten years.
Labour has indicated that Great British Grid will invest in and compete for transmission connection projects alongside the three existing private companies that own and manage the grid. The party also stated it would facilitate self-financing of connection infrastructure for firms awaiting grid connection, with GB Grid potentially co-investing.
Funding for the new body is planned to be sourced from the existing budget of GB Energy, the public green investment company established by Labour last year. The National Audit Office warned earlier this month that the number of projects awaiting grid connection has grown significantly, with increasing delays.
Mr Burnham is also expected to use his speech to provide details on how he plans to fund the new NHS-style social care system for England, which he announced over the weekend.