HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Public electricity suppliers (PES) were the fourteen electricity companies created in Great Britain when the
electricity market In a broad sense, an electricity market is a system that facilitates the exchange of electricity-related goods and services. During more than a century of evolution of the electric power industry, the economics of the electricity markets had un ...
in the United Kingdom was
privatised Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...
following the
Electricity Act 1989 The Electricity Act 1989 (c. 29) provided for the privatisation of the electricity supply industry in Great Britain, by replacing the Central Electricity Generating Board in England and Wales and by restructuring the South of Scotland Electricity ...
. The
Utilities Act 2000 The Utilities Act 2000c 27 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that deals with the gas and electrical markets in the UK. It mainly modified the Gas Act 1986, the Gas Act 1995 and Electricity Act 1989. One of the greatest changes w ...
subsequently split these companies between
distribution network operator A distribution network operator (DNO), also known as a distribution system operator (DSO), is the operator of the electric power distribution system which delivers electricity to most end users. Each country may have many local distribution networ ...
s and separate supply companies. In England and
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
the
Central Electricity Generating Board The Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) was responsible for electricity generation, transmission and bulk sales in England and Wales from 1958 until privatisation of the electricity industry in the 1990s. It was established on 1 Januar ...
had been responsible for the generation and transmission of electricity, with the twelve area electricity boards (AEBs) formed under the
Electricity Act 1947 The Electricity Act 1947 (10 & 11 Geo. 6. c. 54.) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which nationalised, or bought into state control, the electricity supply industry in Great Britain. It established a central authority called t ...
responsible for the distribution and supply of electricity to consumers. In Scotland the structure was different, with all aspects of generation, transmission, distribution and supply being carried out by two vertically integrated companies.


History


England and Wales

On 31 March 1990 the AEBs were changed into independent regional electricity companies (RECs) and the CEGB was split into four, three generation companies and the
National Grid Company National Grid plc is a British multinational electricity and gas utility company headquartered in London, England. Its principal activities are in the United Kingdom, where it owns and operates electricity and natural gas transmission networks ...
, operator of the National Grid. The National Grid Company was placed under the ownership of the RECs. On 11 December 1990 the RECs were privatised. In 2000, as part of further restructuring under the
Utilities Act 2000 The Utilities Act 2000c 27 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that deals with the gas and electrical markets in the UK. It mainly modified the Gas Act 1986, the Gas Act 1995 and Electricity Act 1989. One of the greatest changes w ...
, the PES were required to have separate licences for their supply business and distribution network, which were renamed
distribution network operator A distribution network operator (DNO), also known as a distribution system operator (DSO), is the operator of the electric power distribution system which delivers electricity to most end users. Each country may have many local distribution networ ...
s (DNOs).


Scotland

The Scottish boards were privatised whole in 1991 with the exception of the nuclear plants, which passed to Scottish Nuclear and were later privatised as part of
British Energy British Energy was the UK's largest electricity generation company by volume, before being taken over by Électricité de France (EDF) in 2009. British Energy operated eight former UK state-owned nuclear power stations and one coal-fired power ...
.


Companies


East Midlands Electricity

Formerly the
East Midlands Electricity Board The East Midlands Electricity Board (EMEB) was formed in 1947 as one of the United Kingdom's twelve area electricity boards specified under the Electricity Act 1947. In 1990 it was floated on the stock market as East Midlands Electricity plc, w ...
. Acquired by Powergen in 1998, which was itself taken over by multinational E.ON in 2002. The retail supply business continues to operate as
E.ON UK E.ON UK is a British energy company and the largest supplier of energy and renewable electricity in the UK, following its acquisition of Npower. It is a subsidiary of E.ON of Germany and one of the Big Six energy suppliers. It was founded in ...
. After Powergen also acquired MEB in 2004, the two distribution networks were merged under the Central Networks name. The combined network was sold in 2011 and is now part of
Western Power Distribution Western Power Distribution was the trading identity of four electricity distribution companies in the United Kingdom: WPD South West (operating in South West England), WPD South Wales (in South Wales) and WPD Midlands (two companies, in the E ...
.


Eastern Electricity

Formerly the
Eastern Electricity Board Eastern Electricity plc was an electricity supply and distribution utility serving eastern England, including East Anglia and part of Greater London. It was renamed ''Eastern Group'' under which name it was listed on the London Stock Exchange and ...
. Acquired by
Hanson plc Hanson UK, formerly Hanson Trust plc, is a British-based building materials company, headquartered in Maidenhead. The company has been a subsidiary of the German company HeidelbergCement since August 2007, and was formerly listed on the London S ...
in 1995. Demerged from Hanson as part of
The Energy Group Eastern Electricity plc was an electricity supply and distribution utility serving eastern England, including East Anglia and part of Greater London. It was renamed ''Eastern Group'' under which name it was listed on the London Stock Exchange an ...
, which was later sold to the US firm Texas Utilities and became TXU Energi, part of TXU Europe. In 2002 it was sold to Powergen, which was subsequently acquired by the German utility company E.On, and the operations were rebranded in 2004. The distribution business was owned by EDF. Now owned by
UK Power Networks UK Power Networks is a distribution network operator for electricity covering South East England, the East of England and London. It manages three licensed distribution networks (Eastern Power Networks, South Eastern Power Networks and London Pow ...
along with London Electricity and SEEBOARD.


London Electricity

Formerly the
London Electricity Board The London Electricity Board was the public sector utility company responsible for the supply and distribution of electricity to domestic, commercial and industrial consumers in London prior to 1990. It also sold and made available for hire and ...
. Acquired by US based
Entergy Entergy Corporation is a Fortune 500 integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations in the Deep South of the United States. Entergy is headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, and ge ...
in 1996 for £1.3bn ($2.1bn). Acquired by EDF International in 1998, which merged it with SEEBOARD and Eastern Electricity to form
EDF Energy EDF Energy is a British integrated energy company, wholly owned by the French state-owned EDF (Électricité de France), with operations spanning electricity generation and the sale of natural gas and electricity to homes and businesses through ...
. Now owned by
UK Power Networks UK Power Networks is a distribution network operator for electricity covering South East England, the East of England and London. It manages three licensed distribution networks (Eastern Power Networks, South Eastern Power Networks and London Pow ...
.


Manweb

Formerly the
Merseyside and North Wales Electricity Board SP Manweb is the regional electricity distribution network operator (DNO) for Merseyside, North Wales and parts of Cheshire. It is now part of SP Energy Networks, itself a subsidiary of the Spanish energy company Iberdrola. Nationalised in ...
.
Manweb SP Manweb is the regional electricity distribution network operator (DNO) for Merseyside, North Wales and parts of Cheshire. It is now part of SP Energy Networks, itself a subsidiary of the Spanish energy company Iberdrola. Nationalised indust ...
plc was acquired by
Scottish Power Scottish Power is a vertically integrated energy company based in Glasgow, Scotland. It is a subsidiary of Spanish utility firm Iberdrola. ScottishPower is the distribution network operator for Central and Southern Scotland, Merseyside, North ...
in 1995. Scottish Power was in turn acquired by the Spanish energy utility
Iberdrola Iberdrola () is a Spanish multinational electric utility company based in Bilbao, Spain. Iberdrola has a workforce of around 34,000 employees serving around 31.67 million customers. Subsidiaries include Scottish Power (United Kingdom) ...
during 2017, although it continues to use Scottish Power branding on domestic sales of gas and electricity. The DNO for the area is SP Manweb plc, a subsidiary of SP Energy Networks.


Midlands Electricity

Formerly the
Midlands Electricity Board The Midlands Electricity Board was the public sector utility company responsible for the purchase of electricity from the electricity generator (the Central Electricity Generating Board from 1958) and its distribution and sale of electricity t ...
. Originally acquired in 1996 by a consortium of US companies GPU and Cinergy, after a bid by Powergen was blocked by government. The electricity retail business was sold to
National Power National power is defined as the sum of all resources available to a nation in the pursuit of national objectives. Assessing the national power of political entities was already a matter of relevance during the classical antiquity, the middle ages ...
in 1999 and continues under the Npower brand. The distribution business that remained was purchased by Powergen in 2004 and merged with that of East Midlands Electricity to form Central Networks. In 2011 the combined operation was sold and became part of
Western Power Distribution Western Power Distribution was the trading identity of four electricity distribution companies in the United Kingdom: WPD South West (operating in South West England), WPD South Wales (in South Wales) and WPD Midlands (two companies, in the E ...
.


Northern Electric

Formerly the
North Eastern Electricity Board North Eastern Electricity Board was an electricity distribution utility in England, serving the North East of England. History Formed as the North Eastern Electricity Board (NEEB) in 1948 as part of the nationalisation of the electricity indust ...
. The electricity distribution business is operated by CE Electric UK, a subsidiary of
MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company Berkshire Hathaway Energy (previously known as MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company until 2014) is a holding company that is 92% owned by Berkshire Hathaway. Berkshire has owned a controlling stake since 1999. The company also controls power dist ...
. The successor company to the retail supply business is
npower UK Npower Limited is a British supplier of gas and electricity to businesses. It has been a subsidiary of E.ON UK since January 2019. The company was formerly known as Innogy plc and was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of ...
.


NORWEB

Formerly the North Western Electricity Board. Merged with
North West Water North West Water was a water supply, sewage disposal and sewage treatment company serving North West England. It was established as the North West Water Authority in 1973, and became North West Water plc in 1989, as part of the privatisation of t ...
in 1995 to form
United Utilities United Utilities Group plc (UU), the United Kingdom's largest listed water company, was founded in 1995 as a result of the merger of North West Water and NORWEB. The group manages the regulated water and waste water network in North West Englan ...
, the electricity businesses of which were subsequently sold, with the retail supply arm of Norweb becoming part of TXU Energi (now part of E.On) and the distribution network becoming
Electricity North West Electricity North West is a British electricity distribution network operator, responsible for the administration and maintenance of the network, that distributes electricity to the North West of England excluding Merseyside and parts of Cheshi ...
.


Scottish Hydro-Electric

The
North of Scotland Hydro Board The North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board (1943–1990) was founded to design, construct and manage hydroelectricity projects in the Highlands of Scotland. It is regarded as one of the major achievements of Scottish politician Thomas Johnston, w ...
became Scottish Hydro-Electric plc before merging with
Southern Electric Southern Electric plc was a public limited energy company in the United Kingdom between 1990 and 1998, when it merged with Scottish Hydro-Electric plc to form Scottish and Southern Energy plc (now SSE plc). The company had its origins in the s ...
to form Scottish & Southern Energy (later trading simply as 'SSE') in 1998. During 2020, SSE's retail business was sold to
Ovo Energy OVO Energy is a major energy supplier based in Bristol, England. It was founded by Stephen Fitzpatrick and began trading energy in September 2009, buying and selling electricity and gas to supply domestic properties throughout the UK. By Jun ...
. The distribution networks in Scotland and the south of England remain part of SSE plc and now trade under the name Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks.


Scottish Power

The
South of Scotland Electricity Board The South of Scotland Electricity Board (SSEB) generated, transmitted and distributed electricity throughout the south of Scotland, including the former regions of Strathclyde, Lothian, Fife, Central, Borders and Dumfries and Galloway and a few t ...
became
Scottish Power Scottish Power is a vertically integrated energy company based in Glasgow, Scotland. It is a subsidiary of Spanish utility firm Iberdrola. ScottishPower is the distribution network operator for Central and Southern Scotland, Merseyside, North ...
plc. In 2007 it was acquired by the Spanish energy utility
Iberdrola Iberdrola () is a Spanish multinational electric utility company based in Bilbao, Spain. Iberdrola has a workforce of around 34,000 employees serving around 31.67 million customers. Subsidiaries include Scottish Power (United Kingdom) ...
, although it continues to use Scottish Power branding on domestic sales of gas and electricity. Its DNO subsidiary is SP Distribution plc, under SP Energy Networks.


SEEBOARD

Formerly the South Eastern Electricity Board. Owned by
UK Power Networks UK Power Networks is a distribution network operator for electricity covering South East England, the East of England and London. It manages three licensed distribution networks (Eastern Power Networks, South Eastern Power Networks and London Pow ...
along with Eastern Electricity and London Electricity. It markets to the public as part of
CK Infrastructure Holdings CK Infrastructure Holdings Limited (CKI), is the largest listed company, publicly listed infrastructure company in Hong Kong with diversified investments in energy infrastructure, transportation Infrastructure, water Infrastructure and infrastr ...
(CKI).


South Wales Electricity

Formerly the
South Wales Electricity Board SWALEC was an electricity supply and distribution company in South Wales, established in 1989 following the de-regulation of the electricity supply industry in the United Kingdom. The business has seen several changes of ownership from 1996, and ...
, later known as
SWALEC SWALEC was an electricity supply and distribution company in South Wales, established in 1989 following the de-regulation of the electricity supply industry in the United Kingdom. The business has seen several changes of ownership from 1996, and ...
. The business was purchased by
Welsh Water Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...
in 1996, but the company formed as a result - Hyder plc - soon encountered serious financial difficulties which led to its break-up. The electricity retail business was initially sold to
British Energy British Energy was the UK's largest electricity generation company by volume, before being taken over by Électricité de France (EDF) in 2009. British Energy operated eight former UK state-owned nuclear power stations and one coal-fired power ...
in June 1999 and then again in 2000 to Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE plc). During 2020, SSE's retail business was sold to
Ovo Energy OVO Energy is a major energy supplier based in Bristol, England. It was founded by Stephen Fitzpatrick and began trading energy in September 2009, buying and selling electricity and gas to supply domestic properties throughout the UK. By Jun ...
. The distribution network was ultimately acquired by
Western Power Distribution Western Power Distribution was the trading identity of four electricity distribution companies in the United Kingdom: WPD South West (operating in South West England), WPD South Wales (in South Wales) and WPD Midlands (two companies, in the E ...
during September 2000.


South Western Electricity

Formerly the
South Western Electricity Board SWEB Energy, formerly South Western Electricity Board (SWEB) was a British state-owned regional electricity company operating in South West England which was privatised by the Thatcher government. Although sold many times, the 'SWEB' brand n ...
, it was acquired by London Electricity (owned by EDF) in 1999. The distribution business is part of Western Power Distribution and the retail business is part of
EDF Energy EDF Energy is a British integrated energy company, wholly owned by the French state-owned EDF (Électricité de France), with operations spanning electricity generation and the sale of natural gas and electricity to homes and businesses through ...
.


Southern Electric

Formerly the
Southern Electricity Board Southern Electric plc was a public limited energy company in the United Kingdom between 1990 and 1998, when it merged with Scottish Hydro-Electric plc to form Scottish and Southern Energy plc (now SSE plc). The company had its origins in the so ...
, the company merged with Scottish Hydro-Electric plc to form Scottish & Southern Energy in 1998. During 2020, SSE's retail business was sold to
Ovo Energy OVO Energy is a major energy supplier based in Bristol, England. It was founded by Stephen Fitzpatrick and began trading energy in September 2009, buying and selling electricity and gas to supply domestic properties throughout the UK. By Jun ...
. The distribution network remains part of SSE plc and now trades under the name Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks.


Yorkshire Electricity

Formerly the
Yorkshire Electricity Board Yorkshire Electricity was an electricity distribution utility in England, serving much of Yorkshire and parts of Derbyshire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire. History Formed as the Yorkshire Electricity Board in 1948 as part of the nationalisat ...
. Sold to Innogy (now npower) in 2001, and to the German utility RWE the following year. Now
RWE npower Npower Limited is a British supplier of gas and electricity to businesses. It has been a subsidiary of E.ON UK since January 2019. The company was formerly known as Innogy plc and was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent ...
, but most domestic marketing is under the npower brand.


See also

*
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 i ...
*
Electricity billing in the UK In the United Kingdom, an electricity supplier is a retailer of electricity. For each supply point the supplier has to pay the various costs of transmission, distribution, meter operation, data collection, tax etc. The supplier then adds in ener ...
*
Electricity Commission (United Kingdom) Electricity Commission may refer to: * Central Electricity Regulatory Commission * Electricity Commission (New Zealand) * Electricity Commission (UK) * Electricity Commission of New South Wales * Electricity Supply Commission of Malawi * Electricit ...
*
Big Six energy suppliers The Big Six were the United Kingdom's largest retail suppliers of gas and electricity, who dominated the market following liberalisation in the late 1990s. By 2002, six companies – British Gas, EDF Energy, E.ON, RWE npower, ScottishPower and ...


References

{{Area Electricity Board, state=collapsed Electric power companies of the United Kingdom Former nationalised industries of the United Kingdom