June 26 (Reuters) - Britain's Balfour Beatty BALF.L said on Thursday it won an 833 million pound ($1.14 billion) contract from French energy firm Technip Energies TE.PA to help build a gas-fired electricity power plant in the UK.

The construction of the plant, which will employ about 1,500 people, will start later this year with completion scheduled for 2028, Balfour Beatty said.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

The British government is pushing forward with clean energy initiatives to lower energy bills and reduce reliance on imported fossil fuels.

An industry strategy made public earlier this week said that the country will give exemptions to the most energy-intensive firms and cut high energy costs for them.

CONTEXT

The British construction and infrastructure group will work with Technip and U.S.-based GE Vernova GEV.N to construct the large-scale combined cycle gas-powered generation plant for Net Zero Teesside Power, a joint venture between oil giant BP BP.L and Norwegian energy firm Equinor EQNR.OL.

BY THE NUMBERS

Once completed, the new power station is expected to produce up to 742 megawatts of flexible, dispatchable low-carbon power, equivalent to the average annual electricity requirements of more than one million British homes.

KEY QUOTES

"The scheme will not only be a critical driver in achieving net zero but will also play a key role in boosting regional economic growth in the North-East of England; generating thousands of employment opportunities both in the immediate term and in the future," said Balfour Beatty CEO Leo Quinn. ($1 = 0.7288 pounds)

(Reporting by Yamini Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

((Yamini.Kalia@thomsonreuters.com;))