Burnham unveils GB Grid, a new state-backed rival to National Grid
The publicly-owned company will compete with existing grid firms rather than take them over, Prime Minister Andy Burnham says in his first conference speech as Labour leader.
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Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced GB Grid, a new publicly-owned company meant to speed up grid connections for businesses and increase competition in Britain's energy market, in his first conference speech as Labour leader, according to AOL.
GB Grid will not nationalize existing operators such as National Grid. Instead it will draw on money already set aside for Great British Energy to fund a state-backed competitor, AOL reported. The plan will also let firms waiting for a grid connection build their own infrastructure rather than wait in the queue, another way the government says it can bring costs down.
No cost, funding breakdown or legislative timeline has been given for GB Grid. Chancellor John Healey used his own conference speech the same day to call for fiscal discipline, according to Bloomberg.
GB Grid is described by AOL as the first major step in Burnham's push to bring essential services under public control, a track separate from the more sweeping plans still being worked out for Thames Water. It follows a pattern of the Labour government tightening its grip on strategic assets, echoing the earlier rollout of a compliance manager for billionaires and mansion tax proposals, moves that remain at the policy-consideration stage rather than law. A state-backed rival to established grid operators raises longer-term regulatory and investment questions for private utility holders, but with no timeline set out, the near-term picture for those companies is largely unchanged.