Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Great British Energy

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), Great British Energy (GBE) is a proposed investment (in the form of funding and ancillary services) worth up to £68 million which will be provided by DESNZ in exchange for shares issued by GBE.

The subsidy is split into £28 million of operationalisation funding, and £40 million to fund the early commercial activities of GBE during the 2025/26 financial year.

Our key takeaways from the Subsidy Advice Unit (SAU) report are:

• Where there are several distinct policy objectives, spilt across multiple groups, work should be done to make sure they are consistently assessing against each of the principles. Alternatively, one broad policy objective could be used as an umbrella for these sub-categories.
• Where there are several separate policy objectives, the alternatives and potential changes to economic behaviour for each should be assessed.
• Detail should be provided explaining how the level of the subsidy was limited to the minimum necessary. This could include showing how benchmarking with comparable organisations has contributed to the decision making of the level of the subsidy.
• Assessments should clearly explain and evidence the expected market distortion, for example by comparing the relative size of the subsidy with current investment levels (not just target levels), using qualitative evidence from third party reports to explain the impact on them, and considering impacts to the local labour market.
• Where the recipient is established in Scotland or Northern Ireland, any statements in relation to compliance with legislation should cover the laws of these nations.

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