SP Manweb

SP Manweb plc
Type	Private
Industry	Electricity generation, transmission, distribution
Founded	1947 (as MANWEB); January 1996 (as SP Manwweb plc)
Defunct	10 December 1993
Products	Electricity
Parent	Iberdrola
Website	https://www.spenergynetworks.co.uk/

SP Manweb, previously MANWEB, is the regional electricity supplier and distributor for Merseyside, North Wales and parts of Cheshire. It is now part of SP Energy Networks, itself a subsidiary of the Spanish energy company Iberdrola.

Nationalised industry[]

It was originally created in 1947, as the nationalised Merseyside and North Wales Electricity Board in the Electricity Act 1947, but was privatised in December 1990 to become Manweb plc. MANWEB was responsible for the purchase of electricity from the electricity generator (the Central Electricity Generating Board from 1958) and its distribution and sale of electricity to customers.

The key members of the Board were: Chairman Josiah Eccles (1948–54), Chairman D.G. Dodds (1964, 1967), Deputy Chairman D.G. Gwyn (1964, 1967), Full Time Member E.J. Lollar (1964, 1967).^[1]

The total number of customers supplied by the board was:^[2]^[3]

MANWEB Customers, 1949–89
Year	1948/9	1960/1	1965/6	1970/1	1975/6	1978/9	1980/1	1985/6	1987/8	1988/9
No. of customers, 1,000s	632	946	1,028	1,099	1,175	1,220	1,246	1,308	1,276	1,285

The amount of electricity, in GWh, sold by MANWEB over its operational life was as follows:^[2]^[3]

Post privatisation[]

It was purchased by Scottish Power in January 1996, and subsequently become SP Manweb plc. The name Manweb continued to be used alongside the Scottish Power logo on home and retail publications until the middle of 2007, when it was replaced by ScottishPower.

However, the Merseyside, Cheshire and North Wales electricity distributor continues as SP Manweb plc, which is managed along with the Scottish transmission operators SP Distribution plc and SP Transmission plc, as SP Energy Networks. A fourth company, SP Power Systems Ltd, maintains the distribution networks for each of these companies.^[4]

References[]

^ Electricity Council publicity brochures 1964 and 1967
^ ^a ^b Electricity Council (1980). Handbook of Electricity Supply Statistics 1979. London: Electricity Council. pp. 58 63. ISBN 0851880762.
^ ^a ^b Electricity Council (1990). Handbook of Electricity Supply Statistics 1989. London: Electricity Council. pp. 51 56. ISBN 085188122X.
^ "Energy Networks: About Us". spenergynetworks.co.uk. 19 December 2020. Retrieved 19 December 2020.