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Stockport power station supplied electricity to the town of Stockport,
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and the surrounding area from 1899 to 1976. The power station was owned and operated by Stockport Corporation prior to the nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry in 1948. It was redeveloped several times to meet the increased demand for electricity.


History

In 1891 Stockport Corporation applied for a Provisional Order under the ''Electric Lighting Acts'' to generate and supply electricity to the 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 1891'' (44 & 45 Vict. c. l). The power station was built in Millgate, Stockport (53°24’44”N, 2°09’15”W) and it first supplied electricity in 1899. Further equipment was added to meet the rising demand for electricity; by 1922  it had a generating capacity of 22,000 kW. From the establishment of the
Stockport Corporation Tramways Stockport Corporation Tramways operated a tramway service in Stockport, England, between 1901 and 1951. It was preceded by a horse tramway from Levenshulme to Stockport, which opened in 1880, and was ultimately run by the Manchester Carriage an ...
in 1901 the power station supplied electric current to tram system. The trams were decommissioned in 1951. Stockport power station became a selected station in the North West England and North Wales Electricity Scheme. It was part of one of three national grid rings in the northwest. Other stations in the Stockport ring were Manchester, Tame Valley and Oldham. 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 Stockport electricity undertaking was abolished, ownership of Stockport 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 f ...
, 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 Stockport electricity undertaking were transferred to the North Western Electricity Board (NORWEB). Stockport power station was closed on 25 October 1976. The power station was subsequently demolished. Stockport Hydro is a
hydro-electric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...
generating station located at Otterspool Weir on the River Goyt at Marple, Stockport. It comprises two Archimedes screws with a total output of 68 kW. It was commissioned in October 2012 and in its first year generated 180 MWh of electricity which was fed into the national grid.


Equipment specification

By 1923 the plant comprised boilers delivering 288,000 lb/h (36.3 kg/s) of steam to: * 3 × 5,000 kW steam turbo-alternators AC * 1 × 5,500 kW steam turbo-alternator AC * 3 × 500 kW
reciprocating engine A reciprocating engine, also often known as a piston engine, is typically a heat engine that uses one or more reciprocating pistons to convert high temperature and high pressure into a rotating motion. This article describes the common fea ...
s with DC generator These machines gave a total generating capacity of 22,000 kW comprising 20,500 kW of
alternating current Alternating current (AC) is an electric current which periodically reverses direction and changes its magnitude continuously with time in contrast to direct current (DC) which flows only in one direction. Alternating current is the form in which ...
(AC) plus 1,500 kW of
direct current Direct current (DC) is one-directional flow of electric charge. An electrochemical cell is a prime example of DC power. Direct current may flow through a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through semiconductors, insulators, or eve ...
(DC). The following electricity supplies were available to consumers: * 400 & 230 Volts,
3-phase Three-phase electric power (abbreviated 3φ) is a common type of alternating current used in electricity generation, transmission, and distribution. It is a type of polyphase system employing three wires (or four including an optional neutral r ...
, 50 Hz AC * 460 & 230 Volts DC * 500 V DC Traction current


Plant in 1954

By 1954 the plant comprised: * Boilers: ** 1 ×
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20,000 lb/h (2.52 kg/s) boiler, steam conditions were 220
psi Psi, PSI or Ψ may refer to: Alphabetic letters * Psi (Greek) (Ψ, ψ), the 23rd letter of the Greek alphabet * Psi (Cyrillic) (Ѱ, ѱ), letter of the early Cyrillic alphabet, adopted from Greek Arts and entertainment * "Psi" as an abbreviation ...
and 650 °F (15.2
bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (un ...
and 343 °C), ** 1 × Babcock & Wilcox 25,000 lb/h (3.15 kg/s) boiler, steam conditions as above, ** 1 × Babcock & Wilcox 40,000 lb/h (5.04 kg/s) boiler, steam conditions as above, ** 3 ×
Simon Carves Simon Carves Engineering Ltd. is an engineering company headquartered in Manchester, England. It was founded in 1878 by Henry Simon and is a subsidiary of Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding. History Simon Carves was founded in 1878 by Henry Sim ...
150,000 lb/h (18.9 kg/s) boilers, steam conditions were 425 psi and 825 °F (29.3 bar and 441 °C), ** 1 × Simon Carves 300,000 lb/h (37.8 kg/s) boiler, steam conditions were 625 psi and 850 °F (43.1 bar and 454 °C). This was one of the UK's earliest unit boilers dedicated to a 30 MW turbo-alternator. There was a total steam raising capability of 835,000 lb/h (105.2 kg/s); steam was supplied to: * Generators: ** 1 × 12.5 MW
English Electric N.º UIC: 9094 110 1449-3 (Takargo Rail) The English Electric Company Limited (EE) was a British industrial manufacturer formed after the Armistice of 11 November 1918, armistice of World War I by amalgamating five businesses which, during t ...
turbo-alternator (installed 1926) ** 1 × 20 MW Escher Wyss turbo-alternator (installed 1931) ** 1 × 30 MW Fraser & Chalmers turbo-alternator (installed 1940) ** 1 × 30 MW Richardson Westgarth turbo-alternator (installed 1943) The total generating capacity was 92.5 MW at 6.6 kV. Condenser cooling water was drawn from the nearby
River Goyt The River Goyt is a tributary of the River Mersey in North West England. Etymology The name ''Goyt'' may be derived from the Middle English ''gote'', meaning "a watercourse, a stream". Derivation from the Welsh ''gwyth'' meaning "vein" has be ...
and there were three
cooling tower A cooling tower is a device that rejects waste heat to the atmosphere through the cooling of a coolant stream, usually a water stream to a lower temperature. Cooling towers may either use the evaporation of water to remove process heat and ...
s, with a capacity of 2.8 million gallons per hour (3.53 m3/s).


Operations


Operating data 1921–23

The electricity supply data for the period 1921–23 was: The electricity Loads on the system were: Revenue from the sale of current (in 1923) was £139,950; the surplus of revenue over expenses was £69,638.


Operating data 1946

In 1946 Stockport power station supplied 241,693 MWh of electricity, the maximum output load was 72,580 kW. The load factor was 39.8%, and the thermal efficiency was 21.67%.


Operating data 1954–72

Operating data for the period 1954–72 was:CEGB ''Annual Report'' 1961-63, CEGB ''Statistical Yearbook'' 1967 and 1972 The output of Stockport power station in MWh was as follows:


Stockport Electricity District

Following nationalisation Stockport power station became part of the Stockport electricity supply district, covering 19 square miles (49.2 km2) with a population of 159,000 in 1958. The number of consumers and electricity sold in the Stockport district was: In 1958 the number of units sold to categories of consumers was: The maximum demand was 65,700 kW, the load factor was 35.3%.


See also

*
Timeline of the UK electricity supply industry This timeline outlines the key developments in the United Kingdom electricity industry from the start of electricity supplies in the 1870s to the present day. It identifies significant developments in technology for the generation, transmission and ...
*
List of power stations in England This is a list of current and former electricity-generating power stations in England. For lists sorted by type, including proposed stations, see the see also section below. :''Note that BEIS maintaina comprehensive list of UK power stations'' ...


References

{{North West Power Stations Demolished power stations in the United Kingdom Coal-fired power stations in England