The Secretary of State may by notice designate a company as Great British
Energy.
A
bill
to
Make provision about Great British Energy.
B e it enacted by the King’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
The Secretary of State may by notice designate a company as Great British
Energy.
A company may be designated under this section only if—
it is limited by shares, and
it is wholly owned by the Crown.
A notice under subsection (1) —
must specify the time from which the designation has effect, and
must be published by the Secretary of State as soon as reasonably
practicable after the notice is given.
The designation of a company terminates—
if the company ceases to be wholly owned by the Crown, or
if the Secretary of State revokes the designation by notice.
A notice under subsection (4) (b) —
must specify the time from which the revocation has effect, and
must be published by the Secretary of State as soon as reasonably
practicable after the notice is given.
For the purposes of
this section
a company is wholly owned by the Crown
if each share in the company is held by—
a Minister of the Crown,
a company which is wholly owned by the Crown, or
a nominee of a person falling within paragraph (a) or (b) .
Great British Energy is exempt from the requirements of the
Companies Act
2006
relating to the use of “limited” as part of its name.
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).
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.
Great British Energy’s property is not to be regarded as property of, or
property held on behalf of, the Crown.
Great British Energy must secure that its articles of association contain a
statement of its objects.
The statement must provide that Great British Energy’s objects are restricted
to facilitating, encouraging and participating in—
the production, distribution, storage and supply of clean energy,
the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from energy produced from
fossil fuels,
improvements in energy efficiency, and
measures for ensuring the security of the supply of energy,
(including through projects involving or benefiting local communities).
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).
The Secretary of State may provide financial assistance to Great British Energy.
Financial assistance under
this section
may be provided in any form and in
particular may be provided—
by way of grant, loan, guarantee or indemnity,
by the acquisition of shares or any other interest in, or securities of,
a body corporate,
by the acquisition of any undertaking or of any assets,
pursuant to a contract, or
by incurring expenditure for the benefit of Great British Energy.
Financial assistance under
this section
may be provided subject to any
conditions the Secretary of State considers appropriate.
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.
“Minister of the Crown” has the same meaning as in the
Ministers of the
Crown Act 1975
(see section 8(1) of that Act).
Financial assistance under this section must not be provided if there exists
credible evidence of modern slavery in the energy supply chain of any
company designated Great British Energy.
The Secretary of State must prepare a statement of strategic priorities for
Great British Energy.
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.
The Secretary of State may revise or replace the statement.
The Secretary of State must lay a copy of the statement, and of any revised
or replacement statement, before Parliament.
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.
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.
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—
would be within the legislative competence of the Northern Ireland
Assembly, if it were contained in an Act of that Assembly, and
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
.
Great British Energy must secure that its articles of association provide for
it—
to publish and act in accordance with strategic plans which reflect the
Secretary of State’s statement, and
to update those plans whenever the Secretary of State revises or
replaces the statement.
The Secretary of State may give specific or general directions to Great British
Energy.
Great British Energy must comply with the directions.
Before giving a direction the Secretary of State must consult—
Great British Energy, and
such other persons as the Secretary of State considers appropriate.
The Secretary of State must publish and lay before Parliament any directions
given to Great British Energy under
this section
.
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
.
The Secretary of State must lay a copy of those accounts and reports before
Parliament.
Great British Energy must keep under review the impact of its activities on the achievement of sustainable development in the United Kingdom.
This Act extends to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
This Act comes into force on the day on which it is passed.
This Act may be cited as the Great British Energy Act 2025.
A
bill
to
Make provision about Great British Energy.
Brought from the Commons on
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