The Challenger Arrives Before the Contest

A publicly owned grid company was announced on Tuesday, promising energy costs in line with Europe inside a decade. GB Grid is not a nationalisation: it is up to £4bn of public money, from a budget already largely spoken for, preparing to bid into a tender regime whose licence is still in draft. The one real argument for public ownership of networks is cheaper capital. On Wednesday the thirty-year gilt touched 6% for the first time since January 1998, and the reason given was Britain's dependence on gas.