GB Energy - funding to be cut

UK Treasury eyes spending cuts at GB Energy in blow to Ed Miliband. State-owned company was set up with mission to invest in renewables and decarbonisation of the grid. The UK Treasury is drawing up plans to cut the funding for GB Energy in June’s spending review in a fresh blow to energy secretary Ed Miliband. The Labour government set up GB Energy as a publicly owned company with a mission to invest in the generation and supply of clean energy to accelerate the decarbonisation of the electricity grid. The company had been promised £8.3bn in taxpayer money over the five-year parliament, but was only given an initial £100mn in October’s Budget to cover the first two years. Ahead of the spending review, ministers are now running the slide rule over whether they can afford to give GB Energy the full £8.3bn, according to people familiar with the discussions, amid mounting pressure on the government finances and a pivot towards greater defence spending.