Legislation for Britain’s new publicly-owned energy company – Great British Energy – has officially passed through parliament. The Great British Energy Bill received legislative consent from all three devolved governments, the first Bill to under this parliament.
Great British Energy will invest in clean power projects across the UK as part of the government’s plan to become a global clean energy superpower and reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
The Labour government has already pledged £8.3 billion to the company over the course of this parliament, which will allow Great British Energy to speed up work on strategic energy projects and invest alongside the private sector to get new technologies like floating offshore wind up and running.
Great British Energy has already pledged £200 million in funding for new rooftop solar power and renewable energy schemes for schools, hospitals and communities, which it said will save hundreds of millions of pounds on energy bills
“Great British Energy comes from a simple idea: British people should own and benefit from our own natural resources,” said Energy Secretary Ed Miliband.
“We are giving people a stake in clean energy and delivering profits for the British people. As part of our Plan for Change, this will make us a clean energy superpower and help bring down energy bills for good,” he said.
Miliband is expected to give more details on Great British Energy’s strategic priorities over the coming weeks. This will include which technologies the government expects the company to focus on and how it should consider the public benefits from investment decisions.
How Great British Energy will be structured
Great British Energy will be an operationally independent company wholly owned by the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero.
Chaired by Juergen Maier and led by its own CEO, Great British Energy will be overseen by an independent fiduciary Board, rather than Ministers, benefitting from industry-leading expertise and experience across its remit.
The company will have strategic objectives and a framework document agreed with the Secretary of State. However, this will be developed with flexibility in its initial governance and powers, to allow for the company to take on a long‑term role that best drives value for UK taxpayers, billpayers, and communities.
Its goal is to be a financially sustainable and self‑financing organisation in the long term, looking to reinvest its returns into new projects.
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