Formerly | South West Scotland Electricity Board, South East Scotland Electricity Board |
---|---|
Company type | Government body |
Industry | Electricity generation and supply |
Founded | 1 April 1955 |
Founder | Act of Parliament: Electricity Reorganisation (Scotland) Act 1954 |
Defunct | 1991 |
Fate | Privatisation |
Successor | Scottish Nuclear, Scottish Power |
Headquarters | Glasgow |
Area served | South of Scotland |
Key people | Sir John Sydney Pickles (Chairman) |
Products | Electric power |
Production output | 22,321 GWh (1989) |
Services | Generation and supply of electricity |
£32.225 million (1987) | |
Total assets | Electricity generating stations and transmission system |
Owner | UK Government (Secretary of State for Scotland) |
Number of employees | 12,008 (1989) |
Parent | UK Government |
Divisions | Distribution areas (see text) |
The South of Scotland Electricity Board (SSEB) generated, transmitted and distributed electricity throughout the south of Scotland, including the former regions of Strathclyde, Lothian, Fife, Central, Borders and Dumfries and Galloway and a few towns in northern England. It operated from 1955 to 1991.
History
[edit]As established by the Electricity Act 1947 there were two British Electricity Authority divisions responsible for the generation of electricity in Scotland based in Glasgow and Edinburgh.[1] There were also two area boards for distribution of electricity responsible to the British Electricity Authority and to the Minister of Fuel and Power. It was thought by the industry and government[2] that a single board for the South of Scotland would be better placed to cover the whole area and would provide administrative advantages such as simplification. The South of Scotland would then be in line with the North of Scotland which was covered by the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board for both the generation and distribution of electricity. The new arrangement would provide a more efficient service and better match Scotland's needs.[3][2]
The Electricity Reorganisation (Scotland) Act 1954 transferred to the Secretary of State for Scotland the responsibility for electricity matters in Scotland and established the South of Scotland Electricity Board, a new public authority for the generation and distribution of electricity in the South of Scotland.[3] Scotland was given control of its own electricity undertakings, and the responsibility for adequate performance became the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Scotland.[3][2] On 1 April 1955, South West Scotland Electricity Board and South East Scotland Electricity Board were merged into the South of Scotland Electricity Board.[4]
The board operated conventional coal-fired steam stations, hydro-electric stations and nuclear power stations.[1]
The board was dissolved in 1991 as a consequence of the Electricity Act 1989 which privatised the British electricity industry.[5]
Constitution
[edit]The 1954 Act specified the management board was to comprise a chairman and not less than four and not more than eight members. All appointments to the board were to be made by the Secretary of State for Scotland.[1]
The Board's headquarters were at Sauchiehall Street and Inverlair Avenue Glasgow.[1]
Chairmen
[edit]South East Scotland Electricity Board
[edit]- 1948–1955: Sir Robert Norman Duke, KBE, CB, DSO, MC[6][7]
South West Scotland Electricity Board
[edit]- 1948–1955: Sir John Sydney Pickles, MIEE[8]
South of Scotland Electricity Board
[edit]- 1955–1962: Sir John Sydney Pickles, MIEE[9]
- 1962–1967: Sir Norman Randall Elliott, CBE[10]
- 1967–1973: Charles Lewis Cuthbert Allen, FICE, FIEE[11]
- 1974–1977: Sir Francis Leonard Tombs, FREng (later Baron Tombs)[12][13]
- 1977–1982: Donald Roy Berridge, CBE[14]
- 1982–1991: Sir Donald John Miller[15]
Electricity generation
[edit]Electricity generated by the Board was from coal-fired steam power stations, hydro-electric stations, and from 1964 from nuclear power stations.[1]
Steam power stations
[edit]Outline details of the Steam power stations of the South of Scotland Electricity Board in 1958 are as follows:[16]
Power station | Location | Steam raising capacity of boilers, 1000 lb/hr | Generating sets | Total generating capacity, MW | Steam condenser, tower or water course, water flowrate |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Barony | Cumnock Ayrshire | 300 | 1 × 30 MW | 30 | Cooling tower 3 million gallons per hour (mgph) |
Bonnybridge | Stirlingshire | 690 | 1 × 5 MW, 2 × 12.5 MW, 2 × 20 MW | 70 | Cooling tower 3.35 mgph |
Braehead | Renfew | 2,100 | 4 × 50 MW | 200 | River Clyde |
Clyde’s Mill | Cambuslang Glasgow | 2,124 | 2 × 18.75 MW, 8 × 30 MW | 277.5 | Cooling tower 3.0 mgph |
Dalmarnock | Glasgow | 2,360 | 2 × 18.75 MW, 2 × 50 MW, 1 × 60 MW | 197.5 | River Clyde |
Dunfermline | Fife | 154 | 1 × 4 MW, 1× 6 MW, 1 × 3 MW | 13 | Townhill Loch |
Falkirk | Stirlingshire | 85 | 1 × 1.5 MW, 2 × 3 MW | 7.5 | Cooling tower 0.4 mgph |
Ferguslie | Paisley | 144 | 2 × 5 MW, 2 × 3 MW | 16.25 | Cooling trough 0.76 mgph |
Galashiels | Selkirkshire | 67 | 1 × 1.875 MW, 1 × 3.75 MW | 5.625 | Rivers Gala and Tweed |
The Board commissioned large coal-fired stations such as the 760 MW Kincardine power station (1958), the 1200 MW Inverkip (1967), the 1200 MW Cockenzie power station (1967), and the 2400 MW Longannet power station (1970).[4]
Hydro-electric power stations
[edit]Outline details of the Hydro-electric power stations of the South of Scotland Electricity Board in 1958 are as follows:[16]
Power station | Location | Commissioned | Head of water, feet | Generating sets | Generating capacity, MW | Electrical Output (1958), GWh |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bonnington | Lanark Lanarkshire | 1937 | 189 | 2 × 4.92 MW | 9.84 | 55.478 |
Carsfad | Castle Douglas
Kirkcudbrightshire |
1936 | 65 | 2 × 6 MW | 12 | 18.234 |
Earlstoun | Castle Douglas
Kirkcudbrightshire |
1936 | 2 × 6 MW | 12 | 21.821 | |
Glenlee | Castle Douglas
Kirkcudbrightshire |
1935 | 380 | 2 × 12 MW | 25 | 46.72 |
Kendoon | Castle Douglas
Kirkcudbrightshire |
1936 | 150 | 2 × 10.5 MW | 21 | 44.467 |
Stonebyres | Lanark Lanarkshire | 97 | 2 × 2.84 MW | 5.68 | 28.474 | |
Tongland | Tongland
Kirkcudbrightshire |
1935 | 3 × 11 MW | 33.25 | 74.175 |
Nuclear power stations
[edit]The South of Scotland Electricity Board commissioned three nuclear power stations.[17][18]
Power station | Reactor type | Output | Construction | Commissioned | Closed | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hunterston A | Magnox | 2 x 180 MWe | 1957 | 1964 | March 1990 | Decommissioning |
Hunterston B | AGR | 2 x 610 MWe | 1968 | 1976 | January 2022 | Defuelling |
Torness | AGR | 2 x 682 MWe | 1980 | 1988 | – | Operational |
Transmission
[edit]The supply of electricity was by high voltage cables. In 1958 there were 170 miles of transmission line operating at 275 kV and 841 miles at 132 kV.[1] They connected 20 power stations and 44 transforming stations. There were connections to the North of Scotland grid system and to England via the 275 kV Clyde’s Mill to Carlisle line.[1] By April 1989 there were 526 km of 400 kV lines; 1,565 km of 275 kV lines; 1,642 km of 132 kV lines; and 80,256 km of less than 132 kV lines.[19]
Distribution areas
[edit]Electricity supply to customers was through eight Distribution Areas. The supply and other key data for 1956 were as follows:[16][1]
Distribution area | Electricity supplied to grid, MWh | Max demand, MW | Electricity sold 1956, GWh | Consumers |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ayrshire | 558,761 | 116,180 | 409,298 | 107,194 |
Clyde | 1,021,442 | 240,170 | 848,830 | 194,048 |
Dumfries and Galloway | 249,980 | 57,820 | 195,309 | 46,774 |
Edinburgh and Borders | 1,074,638 | 240,000 | 858,571 | 242,449 |
Fife | 463,369 | 86,550 | 337,321 | 98,189 |
Glasgow | 1,232,475 | 301,880 | 1,034,764 | 265,802 |
Lanarkshire | 1,334,684 | 278,250 | 1,182601 | 216096 |
Stirling | 608,293 | 109,200 | 432,119 | 95,807 |
Operating data 1949 to 1989
[edit]Key operating data for the South of Scotland Electricity Board is summarised in the table.[19]
Year | Total output capacity, MW | Maximum demand, MW | Customers, thousands | Employees | Capital expenditure, £ million | Net profit, £ million |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1949 | 885 | 956 | 8945 | 2.8 | 0.787 | |
1959 | 1656 | 1750 | 1342 | 12758 | 27.4 | 0.097 |
1969 | 3837 | 3574 | 1478 | 15121 | 61.0 | 0.632 |
1976 | 6082 | 3925 | 1550 | 13941 | 70.2 | 2.720 |
1977 | 7183 | 4307 | 1564 | 13672 | 55.2 | 22.286 |
1978 | 7572 | 4228 | 1569 | 13632 | 42.7 | 5.618 |
1979 | 7418 | 4496 | 1576 | 13730 | 52.5 | 9.532 |
1980 | 7826 | 4225 | 1585 | 13658 | 64.7 | 0.099 |
1981 | 7826 | 4106 | 1956 | 13624 | 128.5 | 16.531 |
1982 | 6316 | 4733 | 1605 | 13005 | 287.4 | 17.231 |
1983 | 6356 | 4009 | 1614 | 12720 | 316.5 | 44.101 |
1984 | 6188 | 4052 | 1628 | 12307 | 407.5 | 42.567 |
1985 | 6250 | 4154 | 1642 | 12019 | 376.0 | –11.94 |
1986 | 6230 | 4237 | 1655 | 12172 | 368.6 | 43.618 |
1987 | 6160 | 4406 | 1669 | 12339 | 364.3 | 32.225 |
1988 | 5518 | 4125 | 1682 | 12173 | 224.7 | 12.69 |
1989 | 6768 | 4026 | 1700 | 12008 | 158.3 | 1.424 |
The amount of electricity supplied by the board, in GWh, is shown on the graph.[19]
Dissolution
[edit]As a consequence of the Electricity Act 1989, which privatised the British electricity industry, the nuclear assets of the South of Scotland Electricity Board were transferred to Scottish Nuclear.[5]
In January 1990 a reactor at the Hunterston A Magnox Power Station was shut down. The second reactor was shut down on 31 March 1990, the day before the nuclear generation assets (Hunterston A, Hunterston B and Torness Power Stations) were vested with Scottish Nuclear.[5]
The remainder of the assets were privatised as ScottishPower in 1991 and the South of Scotland Electricity Board was dissolved.[5]
See also
[edit]- Energy policy of the United Kingdom
- Energy use and conservation in the United Kingdom
- Companies merged into South East Scotland Electricity Board
- Companies merged into South West Scotland Electricity Board
- North of Scotland Hydro-electric Board
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h Garrett, Frederick (1959). Garcke's Manual of Electricity Supply. London: Electrical Press. pp. C-19 to C-38.
- ^ a b c "Electricity Reorganisation (Scotland) Bill 1954". hansard.parliament.uk. 29 July 1954. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
- ^ a b c Hannah, Leslie (1982). Engineers, Managers and Politicians. London: Macmillan. pp. 266–277. ISBN 0333220870.
- ^ a b Electricity Council (1987). Electricity Supply in the United Kingdom. London: Electricity Council. ISBN 085188105X.
- ^ a b c d "The restructuring and privatisation of electricity distribution and supply businesses in England and Wales" (PDF). ifs.org.uk. 2001. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
- ^ The Electrical Review, vol. 157 (1955), p. 1255.
- ^ "Duke, Sir (Robert) Norman", Who Was Who (online ed., Oxford University Press, December 2019). Retrieved 26 April 2020.
- ^ Electrical Times, vol. 141 (1962), p. 170.
- ^ "Chairman Retiring", Coventry Evening Telegraph, 27 January 1962, p. 9.
- ^ "Elliott, Sir Norman (Randall)", Who Was Who (online ed., Oxford University Press, December 2019). Retrieved 26 April 2020.
- ^ "Allan, (Charles) Lewis (Cuthbert)", Who Was Who (online ed., Oxford University Press, December 2019). Retrieved 26 April 2020.
- ^ "Tombs, Baron, (Francis Leonard Tombs)", Who Was Who (online ed., Oxford University Press, December 2019). Retrieved 26 April 2020.
- ^ North of Scotland Hydro-electric Board, Report and Accounts (1974), p. 8.
- ^ "Berridge, (Donald) Roy", Who Was Who (online ed., Oxford University Press, December 2019). Retrieved 26 April 2020.
- ^ "Miller, Sir Donald (John)", Who Was Who (online ed., Oxford University Press, December 2019). Retrieved 26 April 2020.
- ^ a b c Electrical Journal (1958). Electricity Undertakings of the World 1957-8. London: Benn Brothers. pp. 225–226.
- ^ "Hunterston A power station".
- ^ "Torness power station".
- ^ a b c Electricity Council (1989). Handbook of Electricity Supply Statistics. London: Electricity Council. pp. 90–93. ISBN 085188122X.
Further reading
[edit]- Leslie Hannah, Engineers, Managers and Politicians: The First Fifteen Years of Nationalised Electricity Supply in Britain (London and Basingstoke: Macmillan for The Electricity Council, 1982).
External links
[edit]- THE FRASERS' RETURN (1963) (archive film sponsored by the South of Scotland Electricity Board - from the National Library of Scotland: SCOTTISH SCREEN ARCHIVE)