Warrington power station supplied electricity to the town of

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

(now Cheshire) and the surrounding area from about 1900 to 1979. The power station was initially developed by the Warrington and District Electric Light and Power Company Limited, this was taken over by Warrington Corporation, which operated the power station prior to the nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry in 1948. It was redeveloped several times to meet the increased demand for electricity.

History

Warrington and District Electric Light and Power Company Limited was registered in January 1898 to generate and supply electricity to Warrington. A Provisional Order under the ''Electric Lighting Acts'' was granted by the Board of Trade and was confirmed by Parliament through the ''Electric Lighting Orders Confirmation (No. 11) Act 1898'' (61 & 62 Vict. c. xciv). The power station was built in Howley, Warrington (53°23’08”N, 2°35’10”W). Equipment was added to meet the rising demand for electricity; by 1922 it had a generating capacity of 7,750 kW. From the establishment of the

Warrington Corporation Tramways Warrington Corporation Tramways was the owner and operator of an electric tramway system in the early 20th century serving the town of Warrington, at the time a county borough of Lancashire, England. History Construction The town of Warrington ...

in 1902 the power station supplied electric current to tram system. The trams were decommissioned in 1935. Warrington power station became a selected station in the North West England and North Wales Electricity Scheme. It was part of one of three national grid rings in the northwest. Other stations on the Warrington ring were Ribble (Preston), Southport, Lister Drive (Liverpool) and Westwood (Wigan). New plant was installed and the output of the power station was uprated in 1940, 1944, 1946 and 1952. The British electricity supply industry was nationalised in 1948 under the provisions of the ''Electricity Act 1947'' (10 & 11 Geo. 6 c. 54). The Warrington electricity undertaking was abolished, ownership of Warrington power station was 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 Warrington electricity undertaking were transferred to the North Western Electricity Board (NORWEB). Warrington power station was closed on 29 October 1979.

Equipment specification

By 1923 the plant comprised boilers delivering 193,000 lb/h (24.3 kg/s) of steam to: * 1 × 1,000 kW steam

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 ...

AC * 1 × 2,000 kW steam turbo-alternator AC * 1 × 3,000 kW steam turbo-alternator AC * 2 × 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 fea ...

s with DC generator * 1 × 500 kW reciprocating engine with DC generator * 1 × 750 kW reciprocating engine with DC generator These machines gave a total generating capacity of 7,750 kW comprising 6,000 kW of

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 ...

(AC) plus 1,750 kW of

direct current Direct current (DC) is one-directional flow of electric charge. An electrochemical cell is a prime example of DC power. Direct current may flow through a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through semiconductors, insulators, or eve ...

(DC). The following electricity supplies were available to consumers: * 440 & 380 Volts, 3-phase, 50 Hz AC * 250 & 220 Volts, 3-phase, 50 Hz AC * 460 & 230 Volts DC

Plant in 1940–52

In 1940 the old plant had a capacity of 12 MW; new plant with a generating capacity of 20 MW was installed. This was followed by extensions of 20 MW (1944), 20 MW (1946) and 30 MW (1952). The old plant was decommissioned in March 1949. By 1954 the plant comprised: * Boilers: ** 5 ×

Simon Carves Simon Carves Engineering Ltd. is an engineering company headquartered in Manchester, England. It was founded in 1878 by Henry Simon and is a subsidiary of Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding. History Simon Carves was founded in 1878 by Henry Sim ...

200,000 lb/h (25.2 kg/s) boilers, steam conditions were 425

psi Psi, PSI or Ψ may refer to: Alphabetic letters * Psi (Greek) (Ψ, ψ), the 23rd letter of the Greek alphabet * Psi (Cyrillic) (Ѱ, ѱ), letter of the early Cyrillic alphabet, adopted from Greek Arts and entertainment * "Psi" as an abbreviatio ...

and 825 °F (29.3 bar and 441 °C), steam was supplied to: * Generators: ** 3 × 20 MW English Electric turbo-alternator (commissioned 1940, 1944 and 1946) ** 1 × 30 MW Brush Ljungstrom (commissioned December 1952) The total generating capacity was 90 MW at 6.6 kV. Condenser cooling water was drawn from the adjacent

River Mersey The River Mersey () is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed par ...

Operations

Operating data 1921–23

The electricity supply data for the period 1921–23 was: Warrington power station supply data 1921–23 Electricity Loads on the system were: Revenue from the sale of current (in 1923) was £92,474; the surplus of revenue over expenses was £51,584.

Operating data 1946

In 1946 Warrington power station supplied 161,474 MWh of electricity; the maximum output load was 60,258 kW. The load factor was 31.4%, and the thermal efficiency was 20.88%.

Operating data 1954–78

Operating data for the period 1954–78 was:CEGB ''Statistical Yearbook'', 1967, 1972, 1978

Warrington Electricity District

Following nationalisation in 1948 Warrington power station became part of the Warrington electricity supply district, covering 51 square miles (132 km²) with a population of 127,000 in 1958. The number of consumers and electricity sold in the Warrington district was: In 1958 the number of units sold to categories of consumers was: The maximum demand was 86,680 kW, the load factor was 49.7%.

References

{{Electricity generation in North West England Demolished power stations in the United Kingdom Coal-fired power stations in England Former power stations in England Buildings and structures in Warrington