SWEB Energy, formerly South Western Electricity Board (SWEB) was a British state-owned regional electricity company operating in

South West England South West England, or the South West of England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of the counties of Bristol, Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly), Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Cities ...

which 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 ...

by the Thatcher government. Although sold many times, the 'SWEB' brand name survived until 2006. The

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 ...

for the former SWEB area is now

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 ...

. The incumbent electricity retail company is

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 ...

South Western Electricity Board (SWEB)

The board was responsible for the purchase of electricity from the electricity generator (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 ...

from 1958) and its distribution and sale of electricity to customers. The key people on the board were: Chairman A.N. Irens (1964, 1967), Deputy Chairman S.F.C. Whitmore (1964, 1967), and full-time member C.E. Knight (1964, 1967). The total number of customers supplied by the board over its operational life was: The amount of electricity, in GWh, sold by South Western Electricity Board was:

Company timeline

In 1990, SWEB Energy was formed from the privatisation of the South Western Electricity Board. In 1995, SWEB Energy was bought by the American utility

Southern Company Southern Company is an American gas and electric utility holding company based in the southern United States. It is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with executive offices also located in Birmingham, Alabama. The company is the second largest ...

. In 1999, the company was bought by the

PPL Corporation PPL Corporation is an energy company headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The company is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. History Pennsylvania Power & Light was founded in 1 ...

distribution company

and was split into two. Western Power itself (officially known as WPD South West) dealt with the local distribution, metering and substations, and the 'SWEB' brand name was continued as a retail energy utility. In June 1999, SWEB was sold to French-owned

. The acquisition was authorised by the European Commission in Jul.1999.Commission clears acquisition of SWEB (United Kingdom) by EdF (France)
European Commission, Press Release, Jul.20.1999 EDF discontinued the 'SWEB' brand name on 5 June 2006.

References

External links

HISTELEC NEWS
South Western Electricity Historical Society documents Electric power companies of the United Kingdom Former nationalised industries of the United Kingdom Utilities of the United Kingdom {{energy-company-stub