Referral of the proposed Great British Energy Multi-Year Capitalisation Scheme by the Department for Energy, Security and Net Zero

The Subsidy Advice Unit (SAU) has accepted a request for a report providing advice to the Department for Energy, Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) concerning its proposed Great British Energy Multi-Year Capitalisation Scheme (the Scheme).

From:
Competition and Markets Authority
Published
30 January 2026
Case type:
SAU referral
Case state:
Open
Market sector:
Financial services
Opened:
29 January 2026

Administrative timetable

Date Action
11 March 2026 SAU’s report to be published
12 February 2026 Deadline for receipt of any third-party submissions
29 January 2026 Beginning of reporting period

Request from DESNZ

29 January 2026: The SAU has accepted a request for a report from DESNZ concerning the proposed Scheme. This request relates to a Subsidy Scheme of Particular Interest.

The SAU will prepare a report, which will provide an evaluation of the DESNZ’s assessment of whether the Scheme complies with the subsidy control requirements (Assessment of Compliance). The SAU will complete its report within 30 working days.

Information about the scheme provided by DESNZ

Great British Energy (GBE) is the UK’s publicly-owned energy company whose overall strategic objectives are to drive clean energy deployment across the whole of the UK as a strategic developer, investor, and owner of clean energy projects. It will ensure that UK taxpayers, billpayers and communities benefit from the clean energy transition by increasing public ownership and community involvement in the development of clean energy projects, and by supporting jobs and economic growth across the UK.

The Secretary of State for the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) is proposing to make a phased equity investment in GBE through a subsidy scheme. The subsidy scheme will support both aspects of the UK Government’s clean energy superpower mission – to deliver clean power by 2030 and meet future increases in demand as the UK accelerates to Net Zero. 

The maximum value of this subsidy scheme will be up to £5.3 billion and it will run from 2026 to 2027 until 2029 to 2030. It builds upon a subsidy award made in the financial year 2025 to 2026, which provided set-up funding for the first year of GBE’s operations, including its initial investments. SAU report on the previous subsidy is available here Referral of the proposed subsidy to Great British Energy by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero - GOV.UK.

GBE will utilise tranches of funding it receives under the subsidy scheme to primarily finance strategic investments in the clean energy sector across the scheme period to support the government’s decarbonisation targets, including the delivery of clean power by 2030 and Net Zero by 2050, and in pursuance of both the strategic priorities set for GBE by the Secretary of State and the objects set out in section 3 of the Great British Energy Act 2025.

Information for third parties

If you wish to comment on matters relevant to the SAU’s evaluation of the Assessment of Compliance concerning the Scheme, please send your comments on the date stipulated in the timetable above. For guidance on representations relevant to the Assessment of Compliance, see the section on reporting period and transparency in the Operation of the subsidy control functions of the Subsidy Advice Unit.

Please send your submissions to us at sau-gbecapitalisationscheme2026@cma.gov.uk, copying the public authority: gbesubsidy@energysecurity.gov.uk.

Please also provide a contact address and explain in what capacity you are making the submission (for example, as an individual or a representative of a business or organisation).

Notes to third parties wishing to make a submission

The SAU will only take your submission into account if it can be shared with the DESNZ. The SAU will send a copy of your submission to the DESNZ together with its report. This is to allow the public authority to take account of the submission in its decision as to whether to make or modify the scheme or its assessment. We therefore ask that you provide express consent for your full and unredacted submission to be shared. We also encourage you to share your submission directly with the DESNZ using the email address provided above.

The SAU may use the information you provide in its published report. Therefore, you should indicate in your submission whether any specified parts of it are commercially confidential. If the SAU wishes to refer in its published report to material identified as confidential, it will contact you in advance.

For further details on confidentiality of third party submissions, see identifying confidential information in the Operation of the subsidy control functions of the Subsidy Advice Unit.

Contacts

Updates to this page

Published 30 January 2026
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