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Timeline Of The UK Electricity Supply Industry
This timeline outlines the key developments in the United Kingdom electricity industry from the start of electricity supplies in the 1870s to the present day. It identifies significant developments in technology for the generation, transmission and use of electricity; outlines developments in the structure of the industry including key organisations and facilities; and records the legislation and regulations that have governed the UK electricity industry. The first part is a chronological table of significant events; the second part is a list of local acts of Parliament (1879–1948) illustrating the growth of electricity supplies. Significant events The following is a list of significant events in the history of the electricity sector in the United Kingdom. Local legislation timeline In addition to the Public General Acts on electricity supply given in the above table, there were also Local Acts. The Electric Lighting Acts 1882 to 1909 permitted local authorities and c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Electricity Sector In The United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has a National Grid that covers most of mainland Great Britain and several of the surrounding islands, as well as some connectivity to other countries. The electrical sector supplies power at 50 Hz AC, and ~240 volts is supplied to consumers. In 2020 the electricity sector's grid supply came from 55% low-carbon power (including 24.8% from wind, 17.2% nuclear power, 4.4% solar, 1.6% hydroelectricity, 6.5% biomass), 36.1% fossil fuelled power (almost all from natural gas), and 8.4% imports. Renewable power is showing strong growth, while fossil fuel generator use in general and coal use in particular is shrinking, with historically dominant coal generators now mainly being run in winter due to pollution and costs, and contributed just 1.6% of the supply in 2020. The use of electricity declined 9% from 2010 to 2017, attributed largely to a decline in industrial activity and a switch to more energy efficient lighting and appliances. By 2018 per capita elec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Electricity (Supply) Act 1919
The Electricity (Supply) Act 1919 (9 & 10 Geo. 5. c. 100) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which amended the law with respect to the supply of electricity. It established the statutory body of the Electricity Commissioners ‘to promote, regulate and supervise the supply of electricity’ under the direction of the Board of Trade. It provided for the formation of electricity districts and, where necessary, the establishment of joint electricity authorities, ‘to provide or secure the provision of a cheap and abundant supply of electricity’. Background In 1917, the UK government was planning the reconstruction of the nation's industries after the First World War. The Board of Trade set up the Electric Power Supply Committee, chaired by Sir Archibald Williamson, which proposed the effective nationalisation of the industry. Subsequently, in 1919 under the chairmanship of Sir Henry Birchenough, the Advisory Council to the Ministry of Reconstruction produced t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
London And Home Counties Joint Electricity Authority
The London and Home Counties Joint Electricity Authority was a United Kingdom statutory body established in 1925 with the responsibility to "provide or secure the provision of a cheap and abundant supply of electricity” within the County of London and parts of the surrounding home counties. The Authority acquired electricity in bulk from electricity undertakings for distribution, and operated some power stations in Surrey. The Authority was abolished upon nationalisation of the British electricity industry in 1948. Establishment The Electricity (Supply) Act 1919 (9 &10 Geo. 5 c.100) had established the Electricity Commissioners with the aim to consider schemes for the centralisation of electricity supplies in a small number of large generating stations owned by joint electricity authorities (JEA). The London and Home Counties JEA was established in 1925 under the provisions of the 1919 Act and the Electricity (Supply) Act 1922 (12 & 13 Geo. 5. c. 46). Its role was to ensure the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Grid (UK)
In the electricity sector in the United Kingdom, the National Grid is the high-voltage electric power transmission network serving Great Britain, connecting power stations and major substations and ensuring that electricity generated anywhere on it can be used to satisfy demand elsewhere. The network covers the great majority of Great Britain and several of the surrounding islands. It does not cover Northern Ireland, which is part of a single electricity market with the Republic of Ireland. The GB grid is connected as a wide area synchronous grid nominally running at 50 hertz. There are also undersea interconnections to other grids in the Isle of Man, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Norway. On the breakup of the Central Electricity Generating Board in 1990, the ownership and operation of the National Grid in England and Wales passed to National Grid Company plc, later to become National Grid Transco, and now National Grid plc. In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Central Electricity Board
The United Kingdom Central Electricity Board (CEB) was established by the Electricity (Supply) Act 1926. It had the duty to supply electricity to authorised electricity undertakers, to determine which power stations would be 'selected' stations to generate electricity for the board, to provide main transmission lines to interconnect selected stations and electricity undertakers, and to standardise generating frequency. History In 1925 Lord Weir chaired a committee that proposed the creation of the Central Electricity Board to link the UK’s most efficient power stations with consumers via a ‘national gridiron’. At that time, the industry consisted of more than 600 electricity supply companies and local authority undertakings, and different areas operated at different voltages and frequencies (including DC in some places). The board's first chairman was Andrew Duncan. The CEB established the UK's first synchronised AC grid, running at 132 kilovolts and 50 Hertz, which ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Electricity (Supply) Act 1926
The Electricity (Supply) Act 1926 (16 & 17 Geo. 5. c. 51) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which amended the law on the supply of electricity. Its long title is: ‘An Act to amend the law with respect to the supply of electricity’. This Act was construed as one with the Electricity (Supply) Acts 1882 to 1922, and was cited as the Electricity (Supply) Acts 1882 to 1926. It established a statutory body, the Central Electricity Board (CEB), ‘with the duty of supplying electricity to authorised undertakers’ and to ‘appoint consultative technical committees’. It provided for the Electricity Commissioners to prepare and transmit to the CEB ‘electricity schemes’ for relevant areas, and which identified the most efficient ‘selected’ generating stations which were to be used to generate electricity for the Board. The Act provided for ‘main transmission line’ interconnections between selected stations and undertakings; and to standardise the frequency o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Weir, 1st Viscount Weir
William Douglas Weir, 1st Viscount Weir GCB PC (12 May 1877 – 2 July 1959) was a Scottish industrialist and politician, who served as President of the Air Council in 1918. Early life Weir was born in Glasgow in 1877, the eldest child of James Weir (1842/3–1920) and his wife, Mary Richmond (1848–1931). He attended Allan Glen's School and the High School of Glasgow before entering an apprenticeship in the business established by his father and his uncle, G. and J. Weir, manufacturers of condensers, pumps, and evaporators. Industrialist Weir rose to become a director of G. and J. Weir, before serving as managing director between 1902 and 1915, and as chairman from 1910 to 1953. During World War I, he converted his factories to produce explosive shells. He went on to hold a number of other directorships, including Lloyds Bank (1928–38), Imperial Chemical Industries (1928–53), International Nickel (1928–59), and Shell Transport and Trading (1939). He was also chairm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Statutory Gas Companies (Electricity Supply Powers) Act 1925
The Statutory Gas Companies (Electricity Supply Powers) Act 1925 (15 & 16 Geo. 5. c. 44) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which facilitated the supply of electricity by gas companies. Background The spread of electricity supplies in rural areas in the UK had been limited because of the cost distribution infrastructure. Yet, the advantages of using electricity for lighting rather than gas were recognised. Gas companies were able to use surplus power from the gas making process to generate and supply electricity. Twenty-four gas companies had, by 1925, obtained legal powers to supply electricity. However, this required the company to promote a Bill in Parliament which was a prohibitive cost for smaller gas companies. The aim of the Act was to enable Statutory Gas Companies to apply for Special Orders under the Electricity Acts. It enabled companies to raise capital or borrow money to provide an electricity supply. The Electricity Commissioners were empowered to g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battersea Power Station
Battersea Power Station is a decommissioned Grade II* listed coal-fired power station, located on the south bank of the River Thames, in Nine Elms, Battersea, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It was built by the London Power Company (LPC) to the design of Leonard Pearce, Engineer in Chief to the LPC, and CS Allott & Son Engineers. The architects were J. Theo Halliday and Giles Gilbert Scott. The station is one of the world's largest brick buildings and notable for its original, Art Deco interior fittings and decor. The building comprises two power stations, built in two stages, in a single building. Battersea A Power Station was built between 1929 and 1935 and Battersea B Power Station, to its east, between 1937 and 1941, when construction was paused owing to the worsening effects of the Second World War. The building was completed in 1955. "Battersea B" was built to a design nearly identical to that of "Battersea A", creating the iconic four-chimney structure. "Battersea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
London Power Company
The London Power Company was an electricity generating and bulk supply company in London, England, formed in 1925 by the merger of ten small electricity companies. In 1948 Britain's electricity supply industry was nationalised under the Electricity Act 1947 and the company was absorbed into the British Electricity Authority. Legislation The London Power Company originated in the ''London Electricity Joint Committee (1920) Limited,'' established in January 1920, which aimed to secure cooperation between London's electricity companies. The company promoted the ''London Electricity (No.2) Act 1925'' which empowered electricity companies to amalgamate. It also regulated their dividends, required funds to be set up to transfer the companies' assets to the London and Home Counties Joint Electricity Authority, required companies to notify the authority of any proposal to spend capital exceeding £5,000, to dispose of any electricity generated in excess of that obligated to customers, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lister Drive Power Station
Lister Drive power station was a series of generating stations that supplied electricity to the City of Liverpool and the wider area from 1900 until 1980. They were owned and collaboratively operated by Liverpool Corporation and Marcus Kemp Coal Limited until the nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry in 1948. The power station was developed in several phases: designated No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 stations. A gas turbine station was commissioned in March 1965. Equipment specification Plant in 1923 In 1923 the plant comprised: * Boilers, producing 1,000,000 lb/h (126 kg/s) of steam supplying: * Steam turbine generating sets: ** 6 × 2,000 kW AC ** 2 × 3,500 kW AC ** 2 × 6,000 kW AC ** 1 × 10,000 kW AC ** 2 × 12,500 kW AC ** 2 × 2,000 kW DC The total output was 66.0 MW AC and 4.0 MW DC. No. 3 power station The No. 3 Station was constructed in 1926–28 and comprised: * Boilers: ** 2 × 60,000 lb/h (7.6 kg/s) Yarrow, stoker fired ** 4 × 60,000 lb/h (7.6 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Electricity (Supply) Act 1922
The Electricity (Supply) Act 1922 (12 & 13 Geo. 5. c. 46) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which amended the law on the supply of electricity. This Act was construed as one with the Electricity (Supply) Acts 1882 to 1919, and was cited as the Electricity (Supply) Acts 1882 to 1922. It established the powers of electricity authorities to borrow money for the construction and operation of electricity generating and transmission systems; it amended some Sections of the Electricity (Supply) Act 1919 relating to electricity districts and joint electricity authorities; it empowered electricity authorities to provide a supply to railway companies; and established methods of reclaiming expenses of various statutory bodies. Background The Electricity (Supply) Act 1919Electricity (Supply) Act 1919 It had provided for the establishment of the Electricity Commissioners (Sections 1–3), and their duty to determine Electricity Districts (Section 5). The Act also provided f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
