The UK government announced today that it will pay £630m (€746m) to buy UK electricity grid operator ESO by the private company National Grid, implementing a multi-year plan.

The new body, to be called NESO (National Energy System Operator) will “assist in the implementation of new generation projects on the electricity grid” the Labor government said in a joint statement with the company.

The creation of NESO and the transfer to state control of network management (among other things, and oversight of the balance between supply and demand) was a project initiated by the previous conservative government.

National Grid will retain ownership of the network hardware (cables and pylons in England and Wales), a spokesman said.

The state-owned company, which will start operating on October 1, “will be a single agency, responsible for overseeing the strategic planning and implementation of electricity and gas networks in the country,” the government added. It will work with Great British Energy, a new public company set up by the government to invest in offshore wind, nuclear and other alternative energy.