UK PM Burnham to unveil publicly owned GB Grid in energy cost push

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham will announce the creation of Great British Grid, a new publicly owned body to be housed within Great British Energy, in his address to the Labour Party conference, the party has said.

The announcement, set out in a party statement, places electricity network infrastructure and renewable energy connections at the centre of the government's energy agenda.

Under the plan, the state would take a larger role in building and running the grid, with the aim of accelerating connections for businesses, strengthening competition and supporting reindustrialisation. The party said the move would also help drive down consumer bills.

Burnham is additionally expected to set a target of aligning Britain's energy costs with those of other European countries within a decade.

The proposals combine a push to expand public ownership in the electricity network with a longer-term goal on affordability, framing grid capacity as a constraint on both industrial activity and household costs.