British Power & Light Corporation Limited

British Power & Light Corporation Limited
Company typePublic Company
IndustryElectricity supply
Founded7 May 1929
Defunct31 March 1948
FateNationalisation
SuccessorBritish Electricity Authority
Headquarters
London
,
United Kingdom
Area served
North Wales; East Suffolk; South Somerset; Trent Valley and High Peak; West Hampshire; and Ringwood
Key people
See text
ServicesElectricity supply
RevenueSee tables

The British Power and Light Corporation Limited, also known as the British Power & Light Corporation (1929) Limited was registered in 1929 to acquire a controlling interest in electricity undertakings in North Wales; East Suffolk; South Somerset; Trent Valley and High Peak; West Hampshire; and Ringwood, Hampshire. The corporation operated for 19 years and was abolished upon the nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry in 1948.

Background

The British Power & Light Corporation Limited was registered on 7 May 1929 as a holding company by a group of British merchant bankers to assume control of, and develop, a number of electricity undertakings in England and Wales.[1]

The inaugural board of directors were:[2]

  • Henry Augustus Vernet
  • Edward de Stein
  • Constatine Evelyn Benson
  • Gerald William Partridge
  • George Victor Twiss (managing director)

The company's registered office was 27 Old Broad Street, London EC2.[2]

After establishment the British Power and Light Corporation acquired a controlling interest in two companies:[2]

  • The North Wales Power Company Limited
  • Electricity Distribution of North Wales and District Limited

In addition, it acquired the whole of the share capital of five electricity undertakings:[2]

  • East Suffolk Electricity Distribution Co. Ltd. (Orford undertaking)
  • South Somerset and District Electricity Co. Ltd.
  • Trent Valley and High Peak Electricity Co. Ltd. (Chapel-en-le-Frith and Rugeley undertakings)
  • West Hampshire Electricity Co. Ltd.
  • Ringwood Electric Supply Co. Ltd.

The British Power & Light Corporation was one of a number of electricity holding companies that had a wide and disparate geographical range of interests. Other such companies included: Christy Bros. and Company Limited; Edmundsons Electricity Corporation Limited ; Electrical Finance and Securities Company Limited; Midland Counties Electric Supply Company Limited.[3]

North Wales Companies

The North Wales Power Company had increased its sales and revenue during the 1920s:[2]

Year Electricity sold, Gwh Revenue£,
1921 7 29,263
1922 8 34,726
1923 12 59,247
1924 14 71,771
1925 19 87,787
1926 30 145,801
1927 38 168,770
1928 42 180,416

However, the company's profits had not been commensurate with its capital because of a shortage of generating plant (only 5.5 MW). This meant that electricity had to be purchased.[2]

The North Wales Power Company owned three hydro-electric power stations:[4]

  • Cwm Dyli, commissioned in 1906, output 5 MW,
  • Dolgarrog, No.1 station commissioned in 1909 and No.2 station in 1925, total output 17.6 MW,
  • Maentwrog, commissioned in 1928, output 24 MW.

To raise capital from its inception the British Power & Light Corporation offered 1,600,000 shares of £1 each on the Stock Exchange in May 1929.[2]

The gross revenue of the North Wales company from the sale of electricity rose steadily during the 1930s, as shown:[5]

North Wales company electricity sales and revenue 1932-37
Year Sales to consumers Sales to CEB (note) Sales to Distribution Co
Electricity, MWh Revenue Electricity, MWh Revenue Electricity, MWh Revenue
1932 65,486 £247,717 Nil Nil 10,219 £154,186
1933 73,563 £274,171 Nil Nil 14,017 £190,284
1934 85,462 £304,372 29,501 £92,083 17,155 £227,371
1935 97,765 £336,072 47,765 £119,126 21,782 £276,199
1936 107,550 £365,302 41,852 £118,648 26,523 £336,946
1937 118,467 £397,245 39,770 £121,137 33,475 £393,521

Note: The Central Electricity Board (CEB) was established in 1926 to construct the national grid and to control and purchase electricity from selected power stations.[6]

Operations 1937

A summary and breakdown of the operating and financial data in 1937 for the constituent companies is shown on the table.[7]

British Power & Light Corporation constituent company operations 1937
North Wales North Wales Distribution East Suffolk South Somerset Trent Valley & High Peak West    Hampshire Ringwood
Generating Capacity, MW 52.2 Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil 0.145
Electricity Generated, MWh 36,789 0 0 0 0 0 356.1
Electricity Purchased, MWh 108,376 19,248 2,422 5,085 5,699 5,134 1,042
Electricity Sold, MWh 127,844 16,796 2,153 4,504 5,243 4,415 1,277
Electricity Sold£, 408,853 195,441 24,693 40,930 40,056 49,026 11,703
No. of Consumers 3,435 39,741 3,601 4,911 5,957 7,071 1,552
Connections on system, kW 73,724 50,104 4,871 8,114 10,923 7,633 1,923
Gross surplus£, 261,388 70,869 14,890 18,987 21,818 25,866 5,507

To raise further capital, in December 1938 the British Power & Light Corporation offered £4 million of shares on the Stock Exchange.[5]

The board of directors in 1938 were:[5]

  • Edward de Stein
  • Constatine Evelyn Benson (chairman)
  • Gerald William Partridge
  • Reginald Francis Legge
  • Robert Stuart Hilton
  • George Wansbrough

The registered office was Artillery House, Artillery Row, Westminster, London SW1.[5]

Operations 1947

In its last full year of operation (1947) a summary and breakdown of the operating and financial data for the constituent companies is shown on the table.[8]

British Power & Light Corporation constituent company operations 1947
North Wales North Wales Distribution East Suffolk South Somerset Trent Valley & High Peak West    Hampshire Ringwood
Electricity Generated, MWh 51,875 Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil 166
Electricity Purchased, MWh 309,048 57,240 11,880 18,378 19,758 219,240 7,633
Electricity Sold, MWh 336,601 49,871 9,596 16058 17,992 201,800 7,599
Electricity Sold£, 1,201,026 458,519 68,602 123,824 119,058 915,044 41,227
Gross surplus£, 368,209 181,863 19,061 38,941 43,972 168,134 8,435

Abolition

The British Power & Light Corporation Limited and all its constituent Companies were abolished on 31 March 1948 when the British Electricity Industry was nationalised.[6] The generating plant and transmission systems devolved to the British Electricity Authority and the distribution systems to the appropriate geographical  Electricity Board, for example the Merseyside and North Wales Electricity Board, the Southern Electricity Board, the Eastern Electricity Board.[4]

The company was one of five electricity undertakings that operated over large geographical areas. Its assets were divided between two or more Area Electricity Boards.[3] The five companies were:

See also

References

  1. ^ Hannah, Leslie (1979). Electricity before Nationalisation. London: Macmillan. pp. 228, 341. ISBN 0333220862.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "British Power & Light Corporation (1929) Limited". The Times. 13 May 1929. p. 26.
  3. ^ a b "Electricity Act 1947". The Times. 10 March 1948. p. 23.
  4. ^ a b Garcke’s Manual of Electricity Supply vol 48 1950-51. London: Electrical Press Limited. 1952. pp. A-47, A-50, A-79.
  5. ^ a b c d "British Power & Light Corporation Limited". The Times. 1 December 1938. p. 20.
  6. ^ a b Electricity Council (1987). Electricity Supply in the United Kingdom. London: Electricity Council. pp. 45, 60. ISBN 085188105X.
  7. ^ Electricity Commission (1939). Electricity Supply 1937-38. London: HMSO.
  8. ^ Ministry of Fuel and Power (1949). Electricity Supply 1946-7. London: HMSO.