At Labour conference in Liverpool on 29 September 2026, Prime Minister Andy Burnham put the grid at the centre of his growth agenda. "You would not believe how many businesses complain to me that they can't get going because they can't get connected to the grid," he said. "It pushes costs up, it drags growth down and it holds Britain back."
His answer is Great British Grid: "a publicly owned company that will challenge the private sector operators. It will increase competition, drive down costs and speed up connections." For anyone who has watched a connection date slip into the 2030s, that's a big statement.
What was announced
The package has four parts:
A publicly owned branch of GB Energy that will invest in and compete for transmission connection projects alongside the three private transmission owners. Start-up funding comes from the existing GB Energy budget.
Developers and businesses will be able to build their own connections where appropriate, rather than waiting for the network company. GB Grid may support or co-invest in those projects.
Transmission projects will be opened up to competitive tender sooner, letting GB Grid and other companies bid to deliver new infrastructure. Ofgem's CATO consultation closes on 16 October 2026.
For the first time, a national plan for energy, with stronger powers for mayors and local leaders, framed around bringing UK energy costs in line with Europe within ten years.
Today, Great Britain's onshore transmission network is owned by three companies: National Grid Electricity Transmission, SP Transmission and SSEN Transmission. If you're connecting at transmission level, you have no choice of partner. GB Grid is designed to change that.
The benefits, if it delivers
- Competition where there's been none. A regional monopoly with no alternative has little reason to move faster. A public challenger, plus competitive tendering, gives developers a real choice for the first time.
- Faster connections through self-build. Being able to build your own connection takes the network company's workload off your critical path. Ireland's experience suggests the time saving is measured in months, not weeks.
- Public money into the grid. Ofgem says roughly £70bn needs to go into the grid between 2025 and 2031, about four times the current rate. GB Grid co-investing alongside developers could unlock schemes that can't fund the connection alone.
- Lower bills over time. Grid costs end up on consumer bills. More competition and less delay should, in principle, push that cost down. Separately, the Energy Secretary has hinted that levies may move from bills into general taxation, which the MCS Foundation estimates would save households around £120 a year.
Industry reaction has been broadly positive. Octopus Energy's Jack Pardoe called it "potentially one of the most significant [changes] in 40 years", and Solar Energy UK welcomed the move as a response to years of lobbying.
The open questions
As Solar Energy UK's Chris Hewett put it, "the real test is results." A few things are still unclear:
- Transmission or distribution? The detail so far is about the high-voltage transmission network. The overwhelming majority of solar, battery, EV and heat pump projects connect to the lower-voltage distribution network run by the DNOs. Whether GB Grid's remit will reach that far hasn't been said.
- Funding and scale. GB Grid draws from GB Energy's existing budget until the next spending review. Energy UK points out that the transmission owners alone plan around £90bn of spending in the next five years, so most of the investment will still be private.
- Skills. Solar Energy UK warns of a shortage of people with skills like power flow analysis. A new company competing for the same engineers won't build anything faster on its own.
- Timing. No dates have been set for GB Grid becoming operational or for the self-build rules coming in.
What it means for installers and developers right now
For domestic and small commercial installers: nothing changes today. G98 notifications and G99 applications still go to your regional DNO or IDNO, with the same documents and the same processes. If the remit later extends into distribution networks, we'll cover it here.
For developers of larger solar, BESS, hybrid and EV hub schemes: this is a real shift worth planning for. Self-build and competitive tendering reward projects that already know their likely voltage, point of connection and constraints, and that have a clear plan for delivering the connection alongside the on-site works. We covered that delivery choice in DNO or ICP? Understanding your grid connection delivery options.
The message that runs through connections reform and this announcement is the same: readiness wins. Don't wait for GB Grid. Get the technical groundwork done now so you're first in line when the new routes open.
We're a UK-based team that handles grid connection applications, strategy and offer review, backed by a live portal where you can track every application. Our turnaround data comes from real applications submitted through our platform, so our advice is grounded in how the DNOs are actually performing, not how they say they perform.
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Start an applicationFrequently asked questions
What is Great British Grid (GB Grid)?
GB Grid is a new publicly owned company announced by Prime Minister Andy Burnham at Labour conference in September 2026. It sits within GB Energy and will invest in and compete for transmission connection projects alongside the three private transmission owners, with the aim of increasing competition, lowering costs and speeding up connections.
Does GB Grid affect domestic solar, battery and EV applications?
Not directly, as announced. The details published so far focus on the high-voltage transmission network. Domestic and most commercial installations connect to the lower-voltage distribution network, so G98 and G99 applications still go to your regional DNO or IDNO in the same way.
What does the right to self-build connections mean?
It means developers and businesses will, where appropriate, be able to build their own connection works instead of waiting for the network company to do them. A similar policy in Ireland is credited with reducing connection times by up to 11 months.
Should I wait for GB Grid before applying for a connection?
No. Full details, timescales and remit have not yet been published. Projects that are technically developed and ready to proceed are best placed under connections reform, so continuing early technical work and applications now is the sensible approach.
Sources: Solar Energy UK, BBC News and pv magazine coverage of the GB Grid announcement, 29 September 2026. Details are based on what had been published at the time of writing and may change as the Government sets out more.