Burnham sets out Great British Grid plan to cut costs and speed up connections

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has announced a Great British Grid to cut energy costs and speed up electricity connections. The BBC reported the announcement on 29 September 2026.

The plan centres on a new publicly owned body inside Great British Energy. Ministers said it would work alongside private firms and the existing network companies. Think of the grid as the motorways for electricity, carrying power from where it is made to homes and businesses. Reuters reported on 28 September that Mr Burnham planned to set out the proposal in his Labour conference speech.

Ministers said the body would have three aims: to drive down costs, to speed up connections and to increase competition in energy. The Guardian reported the cost and competition aims, while advance briefing also stressed faster connections.

Labour has stated it will create a new publicly owned company called Great British Energy, owned by the British people. The Government has said Great British Energy aims to support an initial 1,000 clean energy projects to help deliver clean power by 2030.

Labour set out a plan to "rewire Britain" in October 2023 to build the clean energy grid, aiming then to unlock £200bn in private investment. Labour's National Policy Forum 2026 annual report later described launching Great British Energy as unlocking £100 billion of private investment in renewables.

Mr Burnham became Britain's seventh prime minister in a decade on Monday, 20 July 2026. On taking office he promised to "rewire" the nation. In his statement to the House of Commons on 1 September 2026, he said VAT on electricity bills was cut in his first week in office. He also said business rates for pubs, social clubs and live music venues were cut in that first week.

The Government's Clean Energy Map features clean energy projects supported by government schemes since July 2024, as well as the jobs and investment they are driving.

The broader context here is delivery, not doctrine. The shift from £200bn to £100bn points to changing investment assumptions that officials will need to reconcile. Attention will focus less on ownership labels and more on how the new body shares work with regulated network owners, how connection offers are ordered, and how competition works in practice. A body inside Great British Energy that commissions, coordinates or holds assets raises questions about planning consent, supply chains and accountability to Parliament. The cost pledge will be tested against bills, not announcements. The competition pledge will be tested against new entrants securing connections.