Prime Minister Andy Burnham has announced a new electricity network, Great British (GB) Grid, at the Labour Party Conference.
The publicly owned organisation will be a branch of Great British (GB) Energy, aimed at reducing connection times and bringing energy costs closer to European countries to challenge the private sector.
The reaction has been mixed across charities and the wider energy sector.
Rosie Downes, head of campaigns at Friends of the Earth said: “Greater public control and ownership of energy is how we can end the scourge of ordinary people being ripped off by energy companies who continue to pollute the planet. The creation of GB Grid should be the first of many steps towards building a greener, fairer future powered by clean energy for people, not profit.”
As the electricity network will come under the umbrella of GB Energy, energy analysts have been looking into the funding and investment.
Fintan Devenney, Senior Energy Analyst at Montel, is concerned about how the new venture will affect funding for renewables.
He said: “Originally, £8.3 billion was allocated to GBE over the parliamentary term, which was cut to £5.8 billion after GBE Nuclear was brought on board. This new body will soak up a good portion of that remaining pot, which will mean less money for renewable projects through GBE.”
Burnham has said that the benefits and wider affects of GB Grid will be felt within the next decade but Amy Wilson, Chief Marketing Officer at energy company Wattsor argues that businesses need better clarity sooner.
She said: “Businesses facing high energy costs and grid constraints need solutions now. New network infrastructure will take years to deliver, and organisations need certainty sooner in order to make decisions about investment and growth.”
With a mixed reaction to battle against and many people yet to appease, Burnham has set himself a huge challenge just 10 weeks into his job as Prime Minister.
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