UK Developers Get Green Light to Build Own Grid Connections

Developers in Britain will be given greater powers to build their own electricity grid connections under reforms aimed at one of the biggest blockages holding up construction projects.

The Government today launched Great British Grid, a new publicly-owned infrastructure investor within Great British Energy, alongside plans to widen self-build rights for grid connections.

The reforms could open a significant new market for contractors. Developers of data centres, industrial plants and other power-hungry schemes would be allowed to procure and deliver more of their own connection infrastructure rather than wait for network companies.

Great British Grid will also be able to put public capital into electricity network projects alongside private investors and compete to deliver new transmission infrastructure.

The Government said expanding self-build connections should cut delays and costs. It pointed to similar reforms in Ireland, where projects have been connected up to 11 months faster.

Ofgem has previously said Irish case studies found some contestably built connections were around 20% cheaper as well as 11 months quicker.

The change could create opportunities across high-voltage substations, cables, switchgear, transformers and associated civils, as developers gain more control over how connection works are delivered.

Grid availability is now a serious development constraint

Ofgem revealed this summer that applications from major electricity users had surged from 41GW to 125GW in less than a year. Data centres account for at least 80GW of that pipeline.

Alongside the connection shake-up, the Government will accelerate competitive tendering for new transmission projects. A wider field of infrastructure investors and providers, including Great British Grid, will be able to compete to finance and deliver network assets currently dominated by existing transmission owners.

The potential construction pipeline is vast. Ofgem estimates transmission owners alone could spend more than £70bn between 2026 and 2031 as Britain undertakes a grid expansion on a scale not seen since the post-war period.

No multibillion-pound budget at launch

Significantly, the Government has not allocated a multibillion-pound construction budget to the new body at launch. Initial set-up costs will come from Great British Energy's existing budgets. The long-term funding settlement for its expanded grid investment role will be decided at a future Spending Review.

The Government said the aim was to use public investment alongside private capital to accelerate schemes where network constraints are holding back development and economic growth.

For contractors in power infrastructure, the timing matters: with 125GW of connection demand queued and an 11-month speed precedent across the Irish Sea, self-build rights could shift who delivers Britain's grid expansion — and how fast.