Shropshire, Worcestershire and Staffordshire Electric Power Company

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Shropshire, Worcestershire and Staffordshire Electric Power Company
FormerlyShropshire and Worcestershire Electric Power Company
TypePublic limited company
IndustryEnergy: electricity generation and supply
Founded1903
Defunct31 March 1948
FateDissolved by nationalisation
SuccessorBritish Electricity Authority and Midlands Electricity Board
HeadquartersLondon
Area served
Shropshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and South Wales
Key people
see text
ServicesElectricity supply
OwnerEdmundsons Electricity Corporation Limited

The Shropshire, Worcestershire and Staffordshire Electric Power Company was an electricity generating and supply organisation that operated in the West Midlands and South Wales. It was established in 1903 and was dissolved as a consequence of the nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry in 1948.

History[]

The Shropshire and Worcestershire Electric Power Company was established in 1903 under the terms of the Shropshire and Worcestershire Electric Power Act 1903.[1] Further Acts were obtained in 1905, 1906, 1914, 1916, 1918 and 1923. The name was changed to include Staffordshire in 1905. The company's aim was to supply electrical energy to authorised undertakings and to others requiring a supply of power. Its area of supply included Shropshire, Worcestershire and part of Staffordshire. This was later extended by acquisitions to include Herefordshire, Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire.[2]

The company intended to build its own generating stations but initially purchased the existing stations of smaller electricity undertakings. These included the following (with the original owner, construction and purchase dates):[3][2]

  • Smethwick power station, Birmingham and Midland Tramways Limited, built 1904, purchased 1908, closed 1949
  • Dudley power station, Dudley Corporation, built 1899, purchased 1914, closed late 1930s
  • Kidderminster power station, Kidderminster and District Electric Lighting and Traction Company Limited, built 1898, purchased 1919, closed late 1920s
  • Redditch power station, Redditch Urban District Council, built 1900, purchased 1924, closed early 1930s
  • Hereford power station, Hereford Corporation, built 1899, purchased 1929, closed 1939

Stourport power station[]

During the First World War the two major undertakings in the Midlands, the Shropshire Company and the Birmingham Corporation, proposed to build two large power stations to meet their joint needs. These would be the 30 MW Netchells station and the 45 MW Stourport power station. However, the proposal failed on the question of financing.[4] The Shropshire Company eventually built Stourport power station which was commissioned in 1927. This enabled the smaller, less efficient, stations at Dudley, Kidderminster and Redditch to be closed.[2]

Developments in the 1930s[]

The Shropshire Company became part of the Edmundsons Electricity Corporation Limited which by 1931 was itself part of the Greater London and Counties Trust.[4]

The Shropshire Company continued to purchase, or obtain a controlling interest in, further electricity undertakings and closed the power stations as a bulk supply was available from its network. These included the smaller power stations at:[2]

  • Blockley power station, Blockley Electric Lighting and Manufacturing Company, built 1888, purchased 1931, closed ‘soon after’
  • Church Stretton power station, Church Stretton Electric Supply Company Limited, built 1904, purchased 1929, closed ‘soon after’
  • Fladbury power station, Fladbury Electric Light and Power Company Limited, built 1900, purchased 1925, closed 1925
  • Ledbury power station, Ledbury Electric Supply Company Limited, built 1913, purchased 1930, closed 1930
  • Ludlow power station, Ludlow Electric Light Company Limited, built 1906, purchased 1927, closed 1929
  • Ross-on-Wye power station, Ross Electric Light and Power Company Limited, built 1902, purchased 1930s
  • Tewkesbury power station, Tewkesbury Electric Light Company Limited, built 1909, purchased 1930s

In addition to the above towns the company supplied electricity to Bewdley, Bromsgrove, Droitwich, Evesham, Halesowen and Oldbury.[5]

In 1937 the Company purchased a majority shareholding in the South Wales Electric Power Company.[6]

Nationalisation[]

The Shropshire, Worcestershire and Staffordshire Electric Power Company was abolished on 31 March 1948 under the terms of the Electricity Act 1947 which nationalised the British electricity supply industry.[7] The company's power stations and electricity transmission systems were vested in the British Electricity Authority.[8] The local distribution systems and the electricity sales functions were vested in the Midlands Electricity Board (MEB).

Key people[]

The Chairmen of the company included:

  • William Leonard Madgen 1921
  • Emile Garcke 1923–30
  • F. Massingberd Rogers 1930–33
  • Sir Holberry Mensforth 1933–36
  • Brigadier-General Wade H. Hayes 1936
  • Sir Thomas Royden 1936–43

The directors of the company in 1921 were:[1]

  • William Leonard Madgen (Chairman and Managing Director)
  • Clarence Shirreff Hilton
  • Emile Garcke
  • James Albert Lycett
  • Brenchley Barrett Kingsford

The registered office was at 88 Kingsway, London.

Generating plant[]

Technical details of the Shropshire Company's power stations, and later constituent power stations, were as follows:[3]

Shropshire Electric Company power stations in 1923
Power station Generating plant type AC capacity, kW DC capacity, kW Maximum load, kW Connected load, kW Load factor %
Shropshire, Worcestershire and Staffordshire Electric Power Company power stations
Dudley Steam turbines and engines 2,000 900 21,730 61,239 25.8
Kidderminster 1,500 1,100
Smethwick 30,625 1,000
Future constituent power stations
Redditch Steam turbines and engines 4,460 – 1,740 4,010 23.1
Church Stretton Gas engine – 100 50 333 23.2
Ledbury Gas and oil engines – 70 53 113 14.2
Ludlow Gas engines and hydro – 110 73 300 12.9
Ross-on-Wye Steam engine and gas engine – 90 69 274 13.2
Tewkesbury Gas and oil engines – 85 61 180 25.5

By 1946 the Shropshire Company operated only Stourport A power station. The details for 1946 were:[9]

  • Generating capacity: 182.25 MW
  • Electricity sold: 714,526 MWh
  • Maximum load: 178,164 kW
  • Load factor: 45.8%
  • Thermal efficiency: 22.34%

Following nationalisation the British Electricity Authority built Stourport B station (1950–54).This had a generating capacity of 120 MW.[10]

Operations[]

The growth of the Shropshire Company's business is shown in the general trend of an increase in the amount of electricity sold and the connected load.[1][5][9]

Year Electricity sold, MWh Connected load, kW
1914 14,474 –
1915 20,798 –
1916 44,615 –
1917 55,678 –
1918 62,260 –
1919 33,273 45,326
1920 54,486 49,957
1921 54,496 58,557
1922 34,511 61,240
1923 37,563 68,967
1931 193,431 –
1936 234,900 –
1946 714,526 178,164

The combined electricity output from Dudley, Kidderminster and Smethwick power stations was used for the following purposes:[3]

Electricity use 1921–23
Electricity Use Units Year
1921 1922 1923
Lighting and domestic MWh 1,039 1,192 1,418
Public lighting MWh 47 45 49
Traction MWh 4,688 4,317 4,224
Power MWh 42,124 22,780 29,243
Bulk supply MWh 6,598 6,176 2,629
Total use MWh 54,496 34,511 37,583

The amount of electricity generated and the revenue from sales in 1923 were as shown:[3]

Electricity generated and revenue 1923
Power station Electricity generated, MWh Revenue from sales  of electricity Surplus of revenue over costs
Dudley, Kidderminster and Smethwick 49,211 £233,341 £10,375
Redditch 3,533 £23,637 £8,442
Church Stretton 101.7 £2,405 £1,547
Ledbury 66.3 £1,580 £470
Ludlow 82.7 £2,752 £1,295
Ross-on-Wye 80.1 £2,308 £281
Tewkesbury 114.2 £2,419 £488

See also[]

List of pre-nationalisation UK electric power companies

Timeline of the UK electricity supply industry

List of power stations in England

References[]

  1. ^ a b c "Shropshire, Worcestershire and Staffordshire Electric Power Company". The Times. 21 July 1921. p. 14.
  2. ^ a b c d "Electricity generating stations for public supply in the West Midlands 1888–1977" (PDF). 1978. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d Electricity Commissioners (1925). Electricity Supply – 1920–23. London: HMSO.
  4. ^ a b Hannah, Leslie (1979). Electricity before Nationalisation. London: Macmillan. pp. 58, 228, 247. ISBN 0333220862.
  5. ^ a b "Shropshire, Worcestershire and Staffordshire Electric Power Company". The Times. 16 June 1924. p. 19.
  6. ^ "Shropshire, Worcestershire and Staffordshire Electric Power Company". The Times. 13 April 1938.
  7. ^ "Electricity Act 1947". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  8. ^ Electricity Council (1987). Electricity supply in the United Kingdom: a Chronology. London: Electricity Council. pp. 60–61, 69, 76. ISBN 085188105X.
  9. ^ a b Electricity Commissioners (1947). Generation of Electricity in Great Britain year ended 31 December 1946. London: HMSO. p. 13.
  10. ^ Garrett, Frederick (1959). Garcke’s Manual of Electricity Supply vol. 56. London: Electrical Press. pp. A-98.
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