Percival Lane power station Runcorn

Percival Lane power station
Country	United Kingdom
Location	Runcorn Cheshire
Coordinates	53°19′53″N 02°45′25″W
Status	Decommissioned and demolished
Construction began	1920
Commission date	A: 1921, B: 1941
Decommission date	late 1960s
Owners	Mersey Power Company (1921–1948) British Electricity Authority (1948–1955) Central Electricity Authority (1955–1957) Central Electricity Generating Board (1958–1970)
Operator	As owner
Thermal power station
Primary fuel	Coal
Turbine technology	Steam tubines
Site area	27 acres 10.93 ha
Chimneys	A 2, B 2
Cooling towers	None
Cooling source	Canal water
Power generation
Units operational	3 x 12.5 MW, 3 x 30 MW
Make and model	12.5 MW Parsons; 30 MW English Electric
Units decommissioned	All
Nameplate capacity	110 MW (1942)
Annual net output	341 GWh (1955)

The Percival Lane power station in Runcorn was built and operated by the Mersey Power Company Limited. It comprised two stations A and B commissioned in 1921 and 1941. The station supplied electricity to commercial, industrial and domestic users over a wide area of 95 square miles around the River Mersey including Widnes, Ellesmere Port and Runcorn.

History

In 1911 the Salt Union[1] built a vacuum evaporating plant at Runcorn to produce salt from brine. Steam was generated to drive turbo-alternators. The exhaust steam from the turbines was used to evaporate brine. Only a portion of this energy was used in the salt works; the Salt Union obtained parliamentary authority to provide a public supply of electricity.[2] This was through two Electric Lighting Orders: the Runcorn Electric Lighting Order 1910 and the Widnes Electric Lighting Order 1910, both these Orders were authorised by Parliament under the Electric Lighting Orders Confirmation (No.1) Act 1910 (10 Edw. 7 & 1 Geo. 5, c. lxxv).[3] A new company, the Mersey Power Company Limited, was formed in 1911 to operate the public electricity supply.[2] In 1918 the Company resolved to build a large generating station at Percival Lane, Runcorn (53°19'53"N 2°45'25"W) to meet the expanding demand for electricity.[2] The company had local industrialists among its major shareholders and was able to promote and encourage the use of electricity by local industry.[4]

Percival Lane ‘A’ low pressure station

The first station at Percival Lane was the ‘A’ or low pressure (LP) generating station which was commissioned in 1922.

Specification

The initial configuration of plant comprised:[5]

• Boilers
  • 3 × Babcock and Wilcox boilers with chain-grate mechanical stokers. The evaporative capacity of each boiler was 45,000 lb/h (5.67 kg/s) – giving a total capacity of 135,000 lb/h (17.0 kg/s). The working pressure was 270 psi (18.62 bar) and steam was superheated to 670 °F (354 °C).[5][6] A cross section through the boiler house shows the layout of equipment.[7] The boilers supplied steam to:
• Alternators
  • 2 × 12.5 MW Parsons tandem reaction turbo-alternators, generating current at 6.45 kV. The machines have a steam consumption of 10 lb per kWh (4.53 kg/kWh), exhausting to twin surface condensers.[8]
• Ancillary equipment[8]
  • Turbine-driven feed water pumps delivering 175,000 lb/h (22.05 kg/s) of water
  • Induced and forced draught fans the former driven by a 97 h.p. (72.3 kW) motor
  • An 800 tonne coal storage bunker, supplied by a gravity bucket conveyor with a capacity of 40 tonnes per hour
  • Ash handling using a suction plant driven by a 120 h.p. (89.5 kW) motor or by a water trough drag-link conveyor
  • Circulating water system: 14,000 gal per min (1.06 m^3/s), pumped by 350 h.p. (261 kW) pumps from the Manchester Ship Canal through 38-inch (0.965 m) diameter pipes
  • Alternator ventilating fans delivering 50,000 cu. ft. (1416 m^3) of air per minute.
  • Coal was supplied via sidings on a branch line from the London, Midland and Scottish Railway at Runcorn.

Electrical equipment[8]

A switch house contained Reyrolle compound-filled gear, which had a rupturing capacity of 750,000 kVA (33 kV switchgear) and 350,000 kVA (6.6 kV switchgear). The 33 kV switchgear controlled two 132/33 kV main step-down transformers, two 6.6/33 kV step-up transformers, and 33 kV lines to Chester. The 6.6 kV switchgear controlled the three generators, the interconnecting and station transformers, and the various trunk feeders. A reactor house contained single-phase British Thomson-Houston reactors. The outdoor transformers had a ratio of 6/33 kV, those for the three Ellesmere Port lines were arranged in three banks, connected delta-star. Other transformers were associated with the two 25 mile (40.2 km) lines to Crewe and the 100 mile (161 km) line to Maentwrog, North Wales. The distribution system included the provision of 161 miles (259 km) of cables and 47 sub-stations.[2]

Supplies of electricity to consumers were available at 3-phase, 50 Hz, 6.0 kV, 3.0 kV and 440 Volts for industrial consumers and single phase 250 Volts for domestic consumers.[5]

Operations

The loads and connections on the supply system in 1921-23 were:[5]

Load and connection Percival Lane A 1921-23

Year	Maximum load kW	Total connections kW	Load factor %
1921	4,900	13,050	59.4
1922	3,700	17,360	32.1
1923	7,430	19,650	45.1

In 1922 the Mersey Power Company Limited obtained further statutory powers through the Ellesmere Port and Whitby and District Electricity Special Order 1922.[9] The area of supply of the Mersey Company expanded to about 95 square miles (246 km^2).[9]

To meet increased demand, in 1926 a further four Babcock and Wilcox boilers and one further 12.5 MW Parsons turbo-alternator were commissioned.[6]

The electricity sold 1921 to 1926[5][2]

Electricity use Percival Lane A

Use	Usage MWh
	1921	1922	1923	1925	1926
Lighting and domestic	252.31	354.68	490.77
Public lighting	–	–	–
Traction	–	–	–
Power	23,729.7	8,583.57	21,679.64
Total	23,982.02	8,938.26	22,170.40	45,725.00	50,760.00

The electricity sold by the Mersey Power Company in GWh from 1923–36 was as follows.[9][10]

The effect on sales of electricity during depression 1929 to 1933 is demonstrated in the graph. The sale of electricity generated an income to the company of £45,930 in 1922 and £72,853 in 1923. This gave a surplus of revenue over expenses of £2,863 in 1922 and £15,382 in 1923.[5] Subsequent company profits were £32,974 (1925); £59,297 (1926); £65,116 (1927).[11]

In 1923 another generating station was operated by the company. This was the Weston Point gas-fired station comprising two 750 kW gas fired generators.[5]

National Grid

Under the terms of the Electricity (Supply) Act 1926 (16-17 Geo. 5 c. 51)[12] the Central Electricity Board (CEB) was established. The CEB identified high efficiency ‘selected’ power station that would supply electricity most effectively; Percival Lane was designated a selected station.[13] The CEB also constructed the national grid (1927–33) to connect power stations within a region. Percival Lane was a critical part of the grid as it formed the connecting point between the North West England and North Wales schemes and the Central England scheme.[8]

The grid enabled the company to provide bulk supplies of electricity to the Mid-Cheshire Electricity Supply Company and to the North Wales Power Company.[13]

Percival Lane ‘B’ high pressure station

The ‘B’ or high pressure station was built on an adjacent site in 1940–41.[14]

Specification

• 6 × 187,500 lb/h (23.62 kg/s), Babcock & Wilcox boilers delivering steam at 425 psi and 825 °F (29.31 bar and 441 °C).[5] This gave a total evaporative capacity of 1,405,000 lb/h (177.0 kg/s). The steam was fed to:
• 3 × English Electric 30 MW turbo-alternators, generating at 11 kV.

In 1946 Percival Lane power station sent out 603.89 GWh of electricity, operated at a load factor of 60.8 per cent, and had a thermal efficiency of 2.65 per cent.[15]

Nationalisation

Upon nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry in 1948 under the provisions of the Electricity Act 1947 (10-11 Geo. 6 c. 54)[16] The Mersey Power Company was abolished, ownership of Percival Lane power station was vested in the British Electricity Authority, and subsequently the Central Electricity Authority and the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB).[17] At the same time the electricity distribution and sales responsibilities of the Mersey electricity undertaking were transferred to the North Western Electricity Board (NORWEB).[17]

Post-nationalisation operation

Operating data for post-nationalisation Percival Lane power station is summarised in the following tables.[6][18][19][20]

Percival Lane A LP power station operations 1954–63

Year	Running hours (or load factor %)	Output capacity MW	Electricity supplied GWh	Thermal efficiency %
1954	1226	24	13.30	11.31
1955	1260	24	15.50	12.53
1956	395	24	2.86	9.03
1957	131	24	0.723	5.23
1958	86	24	0.21	2.06
1961	0.5 %	24	0.99	6.06
1962	2.8 %	24	5.82	2.8
1963	4.04 %	24	8.50	11.49
1967	(1.2 %)	24	2.542	9.99

The decline in output from the A station is evident in the fourth column.

The operating parameters for Percival Lane B HP power station were as follows.[6][18][19][20]

Percival Lane B HP power station operations 1954–63

Year	Running hours (or load factor %)	Output capacity MW	Electricity supplied GWh	Thermal efficiency %
1954	6421	86	297.10	22.76
1955	6812	86	324.82	22.49
1956	6072	86	250.79	21.81
1957	5212	86	206.49	21.34
1958	3668	86	127.59	21.80
1961	12.9 %	86	97.19	19.33
1962	20.6 %	86	155.56	20.47
1963	17.01 %	86	128.13	20.54
1967	17.2 %	86	129.74	19.34

In April 1950 one of the 12.5 MW Parsons turbo-alternators in the A station was transferred to Wallasey power station.[6]

The Percival Lane power station closed in the late 1960s and was subsequently demolition.[21] The 132 kV substation, built to connect Percival Lane to the national grid, is still operational.[22]

See also

• Timeline of the UK electricity supply industry
• List of power stations in England
• Rocksavage power station

References

1. The Salt Union was an association of salt producers in the Cheshire area
2. "Mersey Power Company". Grace's Guide. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
3. "Electric Lighting Acts 1910". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
4. Hannah, Leslie (1979). Electricity before Nationalisation. London: Macmillan. p. 175. ISBN 0333220862.
5. Electricity Commissioners (1925). Electricity Supply – 1920–23. London: HMSO. pp. 180–83, 454–59.
6. Garrett, Frederick C., ed. (1959). Garcke's Manual of Electricity Supply vol. 56. London: Electrical Press. pp. A-83, A-130.
7. Warburton, Raymond (1981). A history of the development of the steam boiler, with particular reference to its use in the electricity supply industry. Loughborough University (thesis).
8. "Institution of Mechanical Engineers: Visits to Works, 1934". Grace's Guide. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
9. "The Mersey Power Company Limited" (PDF). manweb remembered. 1932. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
10. Mersey Power Company, company reports, The Times, various dates 1927-36
11. "The Mersey Power Company". The Times. 16 October 1928. p. 24.
12. "Electricity (Supply) Act 1926". legislation.gov. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
13. The Mersey Power Company Limited, publicity brochure dated November 1932
14. "Percival Lane Power Station, Runcorn, 1946". Britain from above. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
15. Electricity Commission, Generation of Electricity in Great Britain year ended 31st December 1946. London: HMSO, 1947.
16. "Electricity Act 1947". legislation.gov. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
17. Electricity Council (1987). Electricity supply in the United Kingdom: a Chronology. London: Electricity Council. pp. 45, 60. ISBN 085188105X.
18. Central Electricity Generating Board, Annual Report and Accounts 1961, London CEGB
19. Central Electricity Generating Board, Annual Report and Accounts 1962, London CEGB
20. Central Electricity Generating Board, Annual Report and Accounts 1963, London CEGB
21. The exact closure date has not been established, but the station is not in the CEGB Statistical Yearbook 1972
22. Open Infrastructure Map. "Open Infrastructure Map". Open Infrastructure Map. Retrieved 5 August 2020.