Huge Boost To UK Supply Chain As National Grid Launches The Great Grid Partnership With Seven New Industry Partners, All United In The Drive To Deliver The Great Grid Upgrade
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from National Grid.
These five bullet points act as sub-headings.
- National Grid launches pioneering ‘enterprise model’ as response to UK supply chain and skills shortage, announcing the first seven supply chain partners to form the Great Grid Partnership.
- The Partnership, which will initially focus on the network design and construction work required by the end of the decade for nine major infrastructure projects across England and Wales, forms part of a £9bn supply chain framework which will also support infrastructure projects beyond 2030.
- The Partnership will support supply chain capacity and foster collaboration across best practice and skills, delivering benefits for consumers and the wider UK economy.
- This investment further underlines National Grid’s commitment to the people, jobs and skills required to help deliver the energy transition.
- Investment in the UK’s electricity network industry will contribute an average of £18.4bn to GDP and support around 220,000 jobs each year between 2024 and 2035.
These three paragraphs introduce the Great Grid Partnership.
In a major boost to the UK supply chain, National Grid has today launched the Great Grid Partnership. The company, which sits at the heart of the UK energy transition, has named the seven partners who will support the delivery of an initial nine Accelerated Strategic Transmission Investment (ASTI) projects.
The ASTI projects form a key part of The Great Grid Upgrade, which is building the significant new electricity network infrastructure required to reduce the UK’s reliance on fossil fuels by connecting 50GW of offshore wind by 2030.
This new ‘enterprise model’ is a collaborative partnership, bringing together National Grid’s supply chain partners. Two design and consenting service partners [AECOM Arup (JV); WSP], and five construction partners [Laing O’Rourke; Morgan Sindall Infrastructure; Morrison Energy Services; Murphy; Omexom / Taylor Woodrow (OTW)] are joining National Grid in the newly formed Great Grid Partnership.
I very much feel that the Great Grid Upgrade will be on time, but will the Great Grid Partnership, mean that other important projects will be late, as much of the UK’s competent infrastructure companies will be working for National Grid?
The Anonymous Widower 
I agree with you, it’ll be good for the task of enhacing the electricity distribution network, however the problems with new recruits, which the industry desperately needs are going be heavily loaded by National Grid tying in these companies.
Comment by fammorris | May 6, 2024 |
When I graduated as an electrical engineer in 1968, Liverpool University were cutting back on high-voltage stuff.
It seems that Manchester in the North-West does the grid and high-voltage stuff.
Hopefully, we have enough graduates. But I’ve always found in engineering, a lot of engineers have got to the top by other routes.
Comment by AnonW | May 6, 2024 |
Yes it’s important to remember that the Engineering Industry needs more than graduates alone
Comment by fammorris | May 6, 2024
We don’t manufacture any extra high voltage switchgear or transformers anymore in the UK nor do we do the High Voltage DC equipment. We lead the world in providing equipment for grids but as usual have given it away to others. Yes we still have world class engineering consultancies and net zero has certainly been helpful to the civil construction contractors but doubt they get any export orders from that work.
Comment by Nicholas Lewis | May 6, 2024 |
[…] Huge Boost To UK Supply Chain As National Grid Launches The Great Grid Partnership With Seven New In…, I describe how National Grid has setup the Great Grid Partnership to deliver the Great Grid […]
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