Can Great British Grid tackle connection bottleneck?

Ahead of the Autumn Budget on 28 October, the energy sector will be looking for further detail on the Government’s plans for Great British Grid (GBG), the new publicly owned body intended to accelerate the delivery of electricity network infrastructure across Britain.

The introduction of GBG comes alongside wider reforms designed to tackle delays to grid connections, including Gate 2 offers, the expansion of self-build transmission assets and moves to accelerate competitive tendering for transmission projects.

Sophie Linnell, Infrastructure & Energy Director at law firm Walker Morris, comments: “The announcement of Great British Grid is another positive signal of the Government’s intention to tackle one of the biggest barriers facing energy and infrastructure development, but the Budget now needs to put more detail behind that ambition. Obtaining a viable grid connection is seen as a bottleneck for developers, who often face grid delays and significant connection costs. The introduction of GBG therefore provides further indication of the Government’s commitment to tackling grid delays and supporting economic growth.

“GBG is being introduced to complement existing network operators, rather than replace them, developers will want greater clarity on when GBG will become operational and how it will work alongside Ofgem, NESO and other organisations. This might require different asset adoption processes, interface agreements and potentially updated technical standards. As GBG will be publicly owned, there are also questions around how GBG will approach procurement, subsidy control and competition risks, with further detail needed on the tendering strategies that will apply. Initial start-up costs are expected to be covered by existing budgets, but we are still waiting for greater certainty around GBG’s longer-term funding.”

She added: “The Budget provides an opportunity for the Government to give investors and developers a clearer picture of the funding and resources that will sit behind the new organisation, which projects it will support and how those projects will be selected. Ultimately, the test will be whether GBG can translate into faster, cheaper and more viable grid connections. With renewable generation, data centres, EV charging and other major demand projects all competing for grid capacity, improving the connections process will be critical to supporting investment and economic growth.”