The South London Electric Supply Corporation Limited was a British electricity undertaking. It was established in 1896 to supply electricity to the parish/borough of

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area expe ...

in south London. The Corporation owned and operated a power station at

Loughborough Junction Loughborough Junction is an area of South London, in the London Borough of Lambeth, which is located equidistant between Brixton, Camberwell and Herne Hill. Loughborough Junction is centred on a rail junction consisting of seven railway ...

. From 1925 it formed an association with three other London companies to centralise electricity generation in the new, high

thermal efficiency In thermodynamics, the thermal efficiency (\eta_) is a dimensionless performance measure of a device that uses thermal energy, such as an internal combustion engine, steam turbine, steam engine, boiler, furnace, refrigerator, ACs etc. For a ...

, power station at Barking. The South London Electric Corporation was abolished in March 1948 upon the

nationalisation Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...

of the British electricity supply industry.

Background

The South London Electric Supply Corporation Limited was registered on 4 December 1896 and took over the electricity supply interests of the Lambeth Vestry (later the Metropolitan Borough of Lambeth) in 1897. The Vestry had been granted a Provisional Order by the Board of Trade to supply electricity to the parish of Lambeth in 1892. This was confirmed by Parliament in the ''Electric Lighting Orders Confirmation (No.6) Act 1892''. The supply area was all the Lambeth Vestry/Metropolitan Borough except small parts in the north and south and the detached part of the parish of Streatham. The Corporation had an authorised capital of £325,000 comprising 65,000 shares of £5 each, there were 594 shareholders in 1898. The Corporation built a power station in Bengeworth Road Loughborough Junction (51°27'59"N 0°05'48"W) in the Borough of Lambeth together with a high voltage distribution cable network. Part of the agreement with the Vestry was that the Corporation would burn dustbin refuse receiving 11½d. per ton destroyed and would provide current for 25 street lights free of charge. Electricity supply started in November 1899.

Operations

Management Board

The management board of the South London Electric Supply Corporation in 1898 comprised: * G. Ellis * B. Fitch * E. Ironside Bax * Algenon Turnor * W. W. Phipps The company offices were at Bengeworth Road, Loughborough Junction, London.

Power station

In 1923 the plant at Loughborough Junction comprised: * Boilers: ** Coal fired boilers producing 130,000 lb/h (16.4 kg/s) of steam which supplied: * Generators: ** 1 × 250 kW

reciprocating engine A reciprocating engine, also often known as a piston engine, is typically a heat engine that uses one or more reciprocating pistons to convert high temperature and high pressure into a rotating motion. This article describes the common featu ...

alternating current Alternating current (AC) is an electric current which periodically reverses direction and changes its magnitude continuously with time in contrast to direct current (DC) which flows only in one direction. Alternating current is the form in whic ...

, ** 1 × 500 kW reciprocating engine, alternating current, ** 1 × 800 kW reciprocating engine, alternating current, ** 1 × 900 kW reciprocating engine, alternating current, ** 1 × 900 kW reciprocating engine, alternating current, ** 1 × 1,500 kW

turbo-alternator An alternator is an electrical generator that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy in the form of alternating current. For reasons of cost and simplicity, most alternators use a rotating magnetic field with a stationary armature.Go ...

, alternating current, ** 1 × 2,500 kW turbo-alternator, alternating current, These machines had a total generating capacity of 7,350 kW. The power station had a single chimney. The electricity available to customers was: * 2-phase AC 50 Hz, at 220 Volts * 1-phase AC 50 Hz, at 220 Volts.

Operational data

The following table summarises the growth of the Corporation in terms of capacity of the plant, the electricity load, the amount of current sold, and the number of customers. The growth in sales of electricity in MWh is shown in the following graphs. The dust destructor was decommissioned in 1900 as fumes caused a local nuisance.

Electricity use

Electricity was originally used for lighting but ‘power’ uses were soon established. The following table illustrates the changing patterns of use.

Financial statistics

The capital required to establish, build and operate the business was raised through the offer of shares. Capital expenditure was needed for the purchase of land, buildings, machinery, mains, transformers, meters, electrical instruments, legal costs, fixtures and furniture at the stations. The South London Corporation current account revenue was as follows. Share offers were made on several occasions throughout the operating life of the corporation. For example, in 1908 an issue of £100,000 five per cent shares were offered. The overall revenue, expenses and profit for the South London Electric Supply Corporation were as shown. To meet the requirement of increased demand, capital expenditure on new plant and equipment was required, as shown on the table below. Dividends to shareholders were paid throughout the operational life of the company. Dividends as a percentage of the total capital raised in a given year were as shown, together with the average dividends paid by the London company electricity undertakings.

Joint working

The South London Corporation and three other companies in south and east London promoted the ''London Electricity (No.1) Act 1925''. The four companies were: the

City of London Electric Lighting Company The City of London Electric Lighting Company Limited (CLELCo) was a British electricity undertaking. It was formed in July 1891 to generate and supply electricity to the City of London and part of north Southwark. It owned and operated Bankside ...

; the County of London Electric Supply Company Limited; the South London Electric Supply Corporation Limited; and the South Metropolitan Electric Light and Power Company Limited. They established a joint committee to specify how generating stations of each company were operated. The companies remained district electricity supply undertakings; although they were physically joined with interconnecting cables. The companies envisaged that power stations such as Barking would provide enough capacity for their electricity requirements. The Act required equal consideration for the interests of shareholders and consumers. Dividends to shareholders were limited to 7 percent per year and the funds that could be carried forward in the accounts were restricted. Profits above these conditions formed a ‘consumers’ benefit’ in the form of lower prices. The County of London Company built the 118.75 MW Barking A power station which was commissioned in 1925. This was followed by the 303.5 MW Barking B commissioned from 1933. Under the terms of the ''Electricity (Supply) Act 1926'' (16-17 Geo. 5 c. 51) the

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 ...

(CEB) was established. The CEB identified high efficiency ‘selected’ power stations that would supply electricity most effectively. The CEB also constructed the national grid (1927–33) to connect power stations within a region. These interconnections and those provided by the national grid enabled the bulk transfer of electricity. In 1929 the South London Corporation decommissioned the Bengeworth Road power station and purchased its electricity needs (38,593 MWh in 1931) from the Central Electricity Board).

Nationlisation

The British electricity supply industry was nationalised in 1948 under the provisions of the ''Electricity Act 1947'' (10-11 Geo. 6 c. 54). The South London Electric Supply Corporation undertaking was abolished, ownership of bulk supply substations and transmission were vested in the British Electricity Authority, and subsequently the

Central Electricity Authority The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) was a body that managed and operated the electricity supply industry in England and Wales between 1 April 1955 and 31 December 1957. The CEA replaced the earlier British Electricity Authority (BEA) as a r ...

and 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 Janua ...

(CEGB). At the same time the electricity distribution and sales responsibilities of the South London Electric Supply Corporation electricity undertaking were transferred to 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 ...

(LEB).

References

{{Reflist Defunct electric power companies of the United Kingdom Electric power companies of England Electric power infrastructure in England Energy companies disestablished in 1948