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UK power industry history

Not actually anything of the sort; save that for people with the skill to write things in their own words. This is just a “notepad” for useful dates as a reminder.

Contents

Scottish Power Company (1909–1948)

Scottish Power Company Limited, formed in 1909 and defunct as of 1948 as a result of nationalisation. The Scottish Power Company owned numerous subsidiaries including the Grampian Electricity Supply Limited for whom both Rannoch–Abernethy and the Spey Valley extension were constructed. Separate from NoSHEB which was never nationalised.

CEB (1926–1948)

Central Electricity Board, formed in 1926. Divided into multiple regions, from north to south:

The remainder of Scotland is presently undefined.

Under the CEB, the original national grid was constructed between 1928 and 1935. The national grid was run as separate regional grids, with emergency interconnections, until 1938 when it was connected together as a single grid. National Grid’s Overhead Line Handbook indicates that the reason for this was an urgent concern that winter demand in the south of England would outstrip the region’s supply capacity; it has elsewhere been argued that connecting the regional grids was an unauthorised but successful experiment conducted by engineers.

Superseded by the BEA following nationalisation.

NoSHEB (1943–1990)

North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board, formed in 1943. Scope unclear. Excluded from nationalisation.

BEA (1948–1955)

British Electricity Authority, formed in 1948 during nationalisation of the power sector. The BEA seems to have had the same overall scope as the CEB but with all different regions.

CEA (1955–1957)

Central Electricity Authority, formed in 1955, and covering England and Wales only.

CEGB (1957–2001)

Central Electricity Generating Board, replaced the CEA in 1957. Replaced by privatisation during the 1990s, defunct in 2001.