Ramsgate power station supplied electricity to the town of

Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town and civil parish in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in eastern Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2021 it had a population of 42,027. Ramsgate' ...

, Kent, England and the surrounding area from 1905 to 1958. The station was operated by the Ramsgate and District Electric Supply Company Limited until the

nationalisation 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 contrasts with priv ...

of the British electricity supply industry in 1948. The

coal-fired power station A coal-fired power station or coal power plant is a thermal power station which burns coal to generate electricity. Worldwide there are about 2,500 coal-fired power stations, on average capable of generating a gigawatt each. They generate ...

had a maximum electricity generating capacity of 2 MW.

History

The Ramsgate and District Electric Supply Company Limited (incorporated in 1903) applied for a provisional order under the Electric Lighting Acts to generate and supply electricity to the town and local area. The 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 Business and 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. 3) Act 1904 (

4 Edw. 7 This is a complete list of acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the year 1904. Note that the first parliament of the United Kingdom was held in 1801; parliaments between 1707 and 1800 were either Parliament of Great Britain, parliam ...

. c. clxxvi). The company built the Ramsgate power station () in Prince's Road, Ramsgate. This was adjacent to the corporation refuse destructor. New plant was installed and the output of the power station was uprated to meet the increased demand for electricity. In 1937 the

County of London Electric Supply Company The County of London Electric Supply Company Limited (C.L.E.S.Co) was a British electricity undertaking. It was incorporated as a public company in 1891 to generate and supply electricity to parts of south west London and two parishes adjacent t ...

purchased the Ramsgate and District Electric Supply Company from Edmundsons Electricity Corporation. The Ramsgate Company's capital was £150,000. 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 contrasts with ...

in 1948 under the provisions of the

Electricity Act 1947 The Electricity Act 1947 ( 10 & 11 Geo. 6. c. 54) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which nationalised, or bought into state control, the electricity supply industry in Great Britain. It established a central authority called t ...

( 10 & 11 Geo. 6. c. 54). The Ramsgate electricity undertaking was abolished, ownership of the 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 res ...

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 Ramsgate electricity undertaking were transferred to the

South Eastern Electricity Board Seeboard, formerly South Eastern Electricity Board (SEEB), was a England, British electricity company. The electrical power industry in the United Kingdom was nationalised by the Electricity Act 1947, when over 600 electric power companies were me ...

(SEEBOARD). Ramsgate power station was closed and decommissioned on 1 April 1958 by the CEGB and was subsequently demolished. The site is occupied by an electricity sub-station.

Equipment specification

Plant in 1923

By 1923 the generating plant comprised: * Coal-fired boilers generating up to 20,400 lb/h (2.57 kg/s) of steam which was supplied to: * Generators: ** 1 × 90 kW steam reciprocating engine

direct current Direct current (DC) is one-directional electric current, flow of electric charge. An electrochemical cell is a prime example of DC power. Direct current may flow through a conductor (material), conductor such as a wire, but can also flow throug ...

(DC) ** 1 × 200 kW steam reciprocating engine DC ** 1 × 300 kW steam reciprocating engine DC These machines gave a total generating capacity of 590 kW DC. Electricity supplies available to consumers were at 480 and 240 Volts DC.

Operations

Operating data 1921–23

The electricity supply data for the period 1921–23 was: Electricity Loads on the system were: Revenue from the sale of current (in 1923) was £19,649; the surplus of revenue over expenses was £10,048.

Operating data 1946

In 1946 Ramsgate power station supplied 1,659 MWh of electricity; the maximum output load was 2,148 kW.

Operating data 1954–58

Operating data for the period 1954–58 was:

References

{{Reflist Coal-fired power stations in England Demolished power stations in the United Kingdom Former power stations in England Ramsgate