SWEB Energy, formerly South Western Electricity Board (SWEB) was a British state-owned

regional electricity company Public electricity suppliers (PES) were the fourteen electricity companies created in Great Britain when the electricity market in the United Kingdom was privatised following the Electricity Act 1989. The Utilities Act 2000 subsequently split th ...

operating in

South West England South West England, or the South West of England, is one of the nine official regions of England, regions of England in the United Kingdom. Additionally, it is one of four regions that altogether make up Southern England. South West England con ...

which was

privatised Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation wh ...

by the Thatcher government. Although sold many times, the 'SWEB' brand name survived until 2006. The

distribution network operator A distribution network operator (DNO), also known as a distribution system operator (DSO), is the operator of the electric power distribution system which delivers electricity to most end users. Each country may have many local distribution netwo ...

for the former SWEB area is now

National Grid Electricity Distribution National Grid plc is a British multinational electricity and gas utility company headquartered in London, England. Its principal activities are in the United Kingdom, where it owns and operates electricity and natural gas transmission networks ...

. The incumbent electricity retail company is

EDF Energy EDF Energy is a British integrated energy company, wholly owned by the French state-owned EDF (Électricité de France), with operations spanning electricity generation and the sale of natural gas and electricity to homes and businesses throug ...

South Western Electricity Board (SWEB)

The board was responsible for the purchase of electricity from the electricity generator (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 ...

from 1958) and its distribution and sale of electricity to customers. The key people on the board were: Chairman A.N. Irens (1964, 1967), Deputy Chairman S.F.C. Whitmore (1964, 1967), and full-time member C.E. Knight (1964, 1967). The total number of customers supplied by the board over its operational life was: The amount of electricity, in GWh, sold by South Western Electricity Board was:

Company timeline

In 1990, SWEB Energy was formed from the privatisation of the South Western Electricity Board. In 1995, SWEB Energy was bought by the American utility

Southern Company Southern Company is an American gas and electric utility holding company based in the Southern United States. It is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with executive offices located in Birmingham, Alabama. As of 2021 it is the second largest ut ...

. In 1999, the company was bought by the

PPL Corporation PPL Corporation is an energy company headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The company is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange as and is part of the S&P 500. As of 2022, the compa ...

distribution company

Western Power Distribution Western Power Distribution is a trade name formerly used by four electricity distribution companies in the United Kingdom: WPD South West (operating in South West England), WPD South Wales (in South Wales) and WPD Midlands (two companies, in t ...

and was split into two. Western Power itself (officially known as WPD South West) dealt with the local distribution, metering and substations, and the 'SWEB' brand name was continued as a retail energy utility. In June 1999, SWEB was sold to French-owned

. The acquisition was authorised by the European Commission in Jul.1999.Commission clears acquisition of SWEB (United Kingdom) by EdF (France)
European Commission, Press Release, Jul.20.1999 EDF discontinued the 'SWEB' brand name on 5 June 2006.

References

External links

HISTELEC NEWS
South Western Electricity Historical Society documents {{Authority control Electric power companies of the United Kingdom Former nationalised industries of the United Kingdom Utilities of the United Kingdom