A National Audit Office (NAO) report has found that the £70bn "great grid upgrade" – the programme to rewire Britain's electricity transmission network to enable clean power by 2030 – is running behind schedule and over budget, with the watchdog demanding far greater transparency from the bodies overseeing it. Columnist Nils Pratley argues that the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, the National Energy System Operator and Ofgem all publish fragmented data but none gives a clear overall picture, and that ministers, including Andy Burnham, should be upfront about the risk of higher consumer bills before the problem worsens.

Of 88 originally identified projects, 12 are complete and 12 have been folded into other work, but of the 56 deemed essential for the 2030 clean power target, the NAO says 50 are forecast to be delivered late, one by six to seven years. Delays partly stem from land rights, planning consents, legal challenges, Ofgem signoff procedures and global competition for equipment, with some components reportedly up to five times pricier than in 2022. Missing the "optimal" delivery dates risks pushing up "constraint cost" payments to windfarms and gas generators for balancing supply, which already topped £29m in a single day this week and could reach £7.8bn a year by 2030 under Neso's worst-case forecast, all ultimately funded through bills.