Colchester power station supplied electricity to the city of

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, England and the surrounding area from 1900 to 1960. It was owned and operated by Colchester Corporation prior to the nationalisation of the electricity supply industry in 1948. The power station was redeveloped several times incorporating new plant.

History

In 1893 Colchester Corporation applied for a Provisional Order under the ''Electric Lighting Acts'' to generate and supply electricity to the then town. This was granted by the

Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

and was confirmed by Parliament through the ''Electric Lighting Orders Confirmation (No. 2) Act 1893'' (56 & 57 Vict. c. xxxv). The power station was built on Hythe Quay and first supplied electricity in 1900.

Equipment specification

By 1923 the generating plant comprised: * Coal-fired boilers generating up to 48,000 lb/h (6.05 kg/s) of

steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...

, these supplied steam to: * Generators ** 1 × 150 kW reciprocating engine driving a generator ** 1 × 250 kW reciprocating engine driving a generator ** 1 × 350 kW reciprocating engine driving a generator ** 1 × 375 kW reciprocating engine driving a generator ** 1 × 500 kW reciprocating engine driving a generator ** 1 × 750 kW reciprocating engine driving a generator These machines had a total generating capacity of 2,375 kW of direct current (DC) power. Electricity supply was at 420 & 210 Volts DC.

New plant 1955

The plant in 1955 comprised: * Boilers: ** 4 × Vickers Spearing boilers with chain grate stokers ** 1 ×

Babcock Babcock is an English surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Alpheus Babcock (1785–1842), American piano and musical instrument maker * Audrey Babcock American operatic mezzo-soprano *Barbara Babcock (born 1937), American actress * ...

boiler with chain grate stoker The total evaporative capacity was 82,000 lb/h (10.3 kg/s), steam conditions were 250 psi and 650°F (17.2 bar, 343°C), steam was supplied to: * Turbo-alternators: ** 3 × Allen’s geared 1.25 MW turbo-alternator ** 1 × Allen’s geared 3.75 MW turbo-alternator The total installed generating capacity was 7.5 MW, with an output capacity of 6 MW. Condenser cooling water was drawn from the river Colne and was cooled in two

cooling ponds Cooling is removal of heat, usually resulting in a lower temperature and/or phase change. Temperature lowering achieved by any other means may also be called cooling.ASHRAE Terminology, https://www.ashrae.org/technical-resources/free-resources/as ...

of 0.45 million gallons per hour (0.57 m³/s).

Operations

Operating data 1921–23

The operating data for the period 1921–23 is shown in the table: Under the terms of the ''Electricity (Supply) Act 1926'' (16 & 17 Geo. 5 c. 51) the

Central Electricity Board The United Kingdom Central Electricity Board (CEB) was established by the Electricity (Supply) Act 1926. It had the duty to supply electricity to authorised electricity undertakers, to determine which power stations would be 'selected' stations ...

(CEB) was established. The CEB identified high efficiency ‘selected’ power stations that would supply electricity most effectively. The CEB also constructed the national grid (1927–33) to connect power stations within a region.

Operating data 1946

Colchester power station operating data in 1946 is given below: The British electricity supply industry was

nationalised Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...

in 1948 under the provisions of the ''Electricity Act 1947'' (10 & 11 Geo. 6 c. 54). The Colchester electricity undertaking was abolished, ownership of Colchester power station was vested in the

British Electricity Authority The British Electricity Authority (BEA) was established as the central British electricity authority in 1948 under the nationalisation of Great Britain's electricity supply industry enacted by the Electricity Act 1947. The BEA was responsible for ...

, and subsequently the

Central Electricity Authority The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) was a body that managed and operated the electricity supply industry in England and Wales between 1 April 1955 and 31 December 1957. The CEA replaced the earlier British Electricity Authority (BEA) as a r ...

and the

Central Electricity Generating Board The Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) was responsible for electricity generation, transmission and bulk sales in England and Wales from 1958 until privatisation of the electricity industry in the 1990s. It was established on 1 Januar ...

(CEGB). At the same time the electricity distribution and sales responsibilities of the Colchester electricity undertaking were transferred to the

Eastern Electricity Board Eastern Electricity plc was an electricity supply and distribution utility serving eastern England, including East Anglia and part of Greater London. It was renamed ''Eastern Group'' under which name it was listed on the London Stock Exchange and ...

(EEB).

Operating data 1954–58

Operating data for the period 1954–8 is shown in the table: Colchester power station was part of the Colchester electricity supply district. This district served an area of 195 square miles and a population of 103,600 (1959). It included Colchester, West Mersea, Wivenhoe, Lexden, Winstree, Maldon, Tendering and Samford. The number of customers and the electricity sold was as follows: In 1958 the number of units sold to categories of consumers was as follows: There were 735 miles (1183 km) of high voltage mains in the district comprising 281 miles (452 km) of underground mains and 454 miles (731 km) of overhead cables.

Closure

Colchester power station was decommissioned in about 1960.Data for Colchester power station is given for 1958 in Garrett (1959), but Colchester is not on the CEGB Annual report for 1961

References

{{Reflist Coal-fired power stations in England Demolished power stations in the United Kingdom Former power stations in England Buildings and structures in Colchester (town)