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
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 ...
.
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
The Electric Lighting Acts 1882 to 1909 are Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. They comprise four public general Acts: the Electric Lighting Act 1882 (45 & 46 Vict. c. 56); the Electric Lighting Act 1888 (51 & 52 Vict. c. 12); the Elec ...
permitted local authorities and companies to apply to the
Board of Trade
The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...
for provisional orders and licences to supply electricity. The orders were confirmed by local Electric Lighting Orders Confirmation Acts. Local authorities and companies could also obtain Local Acts for electricity supply. A sample of Local Acts is given in the table below.
Note that Local Acts have a chapter number for the relevant year in lower-case
Roman numerals
Roman numerals are a numeral system that originated in ancient Rome and remained the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe well into the Late Middle Ages. Numbers are written with combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet, eac ...
.
See also
*
Energy policy of the United Kingdom
The energy policy of the United Kingdom refers to the United Kingdom's efforts towards reducing energy intensity, reducing energy poverty, and maintaining energy supply reliability. The United Kingdom has had success in this, though energy int ...
*
Energy use and conservation in the United Kingdom
Energy in the United Kingdom came mostly from fossil fuels in 2021. Total World energy supply and consumption, energy consumption in the United Kingdom was 142.0millionTonne of oil equivalent, tonnes of oil equivalent (1,651TWh) in 2019. In 20 ...
*
Energy switching services in the UK
Energy switching services are companies that have come to exist since the EU began deregulating the gas and electricity markets, to open them to competition, in 1996.UK energy markets deregulated in 1996. Article retrieved 4 October 2013 https://w ...
References
Sources
* Cochrane, R. and Schaefer, M. (1990). The CEGB Story. London, CEGB.
*
*
* Electricity Council (1987). ''Electricity Supply in the United Kingdom: A Chronology''. London, Electricity Council.
* — explains the 1882 Act
*
* Hannah, Leslie (1982). ''Engineers, Managers and Politicians''. London, Macmillan.
* Luckin, Bill. (1990). ''Questions of Power: Electricity and the Environment in Inter-war Britain.'' Manchester, University Press.
* Pedroche, Ben (2013). London's Lost Power Stations and Gasworks. Stroud, The History Press.
* Sheail, John (1991). ''Power in Trust: The Environmental History of the Central Electricity Generating Board''. Oxford, Clarendon.
* — "Postnote" 163
{{Energy in the United Kingdom, sources
Electricity supply industry
The electric power industry covers the generation, transmission, distribution and sale of electric power to the general public and industry. The commodity sold is actually energy, not power, e.g. consumers pay for kilowatt-hours, power multip ...
Electric power in the United Kingdom
History of electrical engineering