Great British Energy Act 2025

Great British Energy

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• (1) The Secretary of State may by notice designate a company as Great British Energy.

• (2) A company may be designated under this section only if—

• (a) it is limited by shares, and

• (b) it is wholly owned by the Crown.

• (3) A notice under subsection (1)—

• (a) must specify the time from which the designation has effect, and

• (b) must be published by the Secretary of State as soon as reasonably practicable after the notice is given.

• (4) The designation of a company terminates—

• (a) if the company ceases to be wholly owned by the Crown, or

• (b) if the Secretary of State revokes the designation by notice.

• (5) A notice under subsection (4)(b)—

• (a) must specify the time from which the revocation has effect, and

• (b) must be published by the Secretary of State as soon as reasonably practicable after the notice is given.

• (6) For the purposes of this section a company is wholly owned by the Crown if each share in the company is held by—

• (a) a Minister of the Crown,

• (b) a company which is wholly owned by the Crown, or

• (c) a nominee of a person falling within paragraph (a) or (b).

• (7) Great British Energy is exempt from the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 relating to the use of “limited” as part of its name.

• (8) In this section—

• “company” means a company registered under the Companies Act 2006;

• “Minister of the Crown” has the same meaning as in the Ministers of the Crown Act 1975 (see section 8(1) of that Act).

Crown status

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• (1) Great British Energy is not to be regarded as a servant or agent of the Crown or as enjoying any status, immunity or privilege of the Crown.

• (2) Great British Energy’s property is not to be regarded as property of, or property held on behalf of, the Crown.

Objects

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• (1) Great British Energy must secure that its articles of association contain a statement of its objects.

• (2) The statement must provide that Great British Energy’s objects are restricted to facilitating, encouraging and participating in—

• (a) the production, distribution, storage and supply of clean energy,

• (b) the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from energy produced from fossil fuels,

• (c) improvements in energy efficiency,

• (d) measures for ensuring the security of the supply of energy, and

• (e) measures for ensuring that slavery and human trafficking is not taking place in its business or supply chains,

(including through projects involving or benefiting local communities).

• (3) In this section—

• “clean energy” means energy produced from sources other than fossil fuels;

• “distribution”, in relation to clean energy, includes its conveyance and transmission;

• “fossil fuel” has the meaning given by section 32M of the Electricity Act 1989;

• “greenhouse gas” has the same meaning as in the Climate Change Act 2008 (see section 92 of that Act).

Financial assistance

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• (1) The Secretary of State may provide financial assistance to Great British Energy.

• (2) Financial assistance under this section may be provided in any form and in particular may be provided—

• (a) by way of grant, loan, guarantee or indemnity,

• (b) by the acquisition of shares or any other interest in, or securities of, a body corporate,

• (c) by the acquisition of any undertaking or of any assets,

• (d) pursuant to a contract, or

• (e) by incurring expenditure for the benefit of Great British Energy.

• (3) Financial assistance under this section may be provided subject to any conditions the Secretary of State considers appropriate.

• (4) The power to provide financial assistance under this section is in addition to (and does not limit or replace) any other power of a Minister of the Crown to provide financial assistance.

• (5) “Minister of the Crown” has the same meaning as in the Ministers of the Crown Act 1975 (see section 8(1) of that Act).

Strategic priorities and plans

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• (1) The Secretary of State must prepare a statement of strategic priorities for Great British Energy.

• (2) The Secretary of State must comply with subsection (1) within the period of six months beginning with the day on which this Act comes into force.

• (3) The Secretary of State may revise or replace the statement.

• (4) The Secretary of State must lay a copy of the statement, and of any revised or replacement statement, before Parliament.

• (5) The Secretary of State must not, without the consent of the Scottish Ministers, include in a statement under this section anything which concerns a matter provision about which would be within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament, if contained in an Act of that Parliament.

• (6) The Secretary of State must not, without the consent of the Welsh Ministers, include in a statement under this section anything which concerns a matter provision about which would be within the legislative competence of Senedd Cymru, if contained in an Act of the Senedd.

• (7) The Secretary of State must not, without the consent of the Department for the Economy in Northern Ireland, include in a statement under this section anything which concerns a matter provision about which—

• (a) would be within the legislative competence of the Northern Ireland Assembly, if it were contained in an Act of that Assembly, and

• (b) would not, if it were contained in a Bill in the Northern Ireland Assembly, result in the Bill requiring the consent of the Secretary of State under section 8 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998.

• (8) Great British Energy must secure that its articles of association provide for it—

• (a) to publish and act in accordance with strategic plans which reflect the Secretary of State’s statement, and

• (b) to update those plans whenever the Secretary of State revises or replaces the statement.

Directions

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• (1) The Secretary of State may give specific or general directions to Great British Energy.

• (2) Great British Energy must comply with the directions.

• (3) Before giving a direction the Secretary of State must consult—

• (a) Great British Energy, and

• (b) such other persons as the Secretary of State considers appropriate.

• (4) The Secretary of State must publish and lay before Parliament any directions given to Great British Energy under this section.

Reviews of Great British Energy’s effectiveness

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• (1) The Secretary of State must appoint an independent person to carry out reviews of the effectiveness of Great British Energy.

• (2) In carrying out the review, the independent person must have regard to the statement of strategic priorities prepared by the Secretary of State under section 5(1).

• (3) After each review, the independent person must—

• (a) prepare a report of the review, and

• (b) submit the report to the Secretary of State.

• (4) On receiving a report, the Secretary of State must—

• (a) send a copy of the report to the Scottish Ministers, the Welsh Ministers and the Department for the Economy in Northern Ireland, and

• (b) no less than 14 days after complying with paragraph (a)—

• (i) publish the report, and

• (ii) lay a copy of the report before Parliament.

• (5) The first report must be submitted to the Secretary of State within the period of 5 years beginning with the day on which this Act comes into force.

• (6) Subsequent reports must be submitted to the Secretary of State at intervals of not more than 5 years.

• (7) In this section, references to an “independent person” are to a person who appears to the Secretary of State to be independent of—

• (a) the Secretary of State, and

• (b) Great British Energy.

Annual accounts and reports

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• (1) Great British Energy must, as soon as reasonably practicable after its directors comply with section 441 of the Companies Act 2006 in relation to a financial year, deliver to the Secretary of State a copy of the accounts and reports required to be delivered to the registrar for that financial year in accordance with that section.

• (2) The Secretary of State must lay a copy of those accounts and reports before Parliament.

Sustainable development

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Great British Energy must keep under review the impact of its activities on the achievement of sustainable development in the United Kingdom.

Extent, commencement and short title

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• (1) This Act extends to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

• (2) This Act comes into force on the day on which it is passed.

• (3) This Act may be cited as the Great British Energy Act 2025.