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North Wales and South Cheshire Joint Electricity Authority

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North Wales and South Cheshire Joint Electricity Authority
FormerlyNorth Wales Power Company
Company typePublic company
IndustryElectricity supply
Founded1 August 1923
Defunct31 March 1948
FateNationalisation
SuccessorBritish Electricity Authority, Merseyside and North Wales Electricity Board
Area served
North Wales, Cheshire and Staffordshire
ServicesElectricity supply

The North Wales and South Cheshire Joint Electricity Authority supplied electricity to an extensive area of North Wales and parts of Cheshire and Shropshire. As constituted in 1923 the Joint Authority transferred all its rights to distribution of electricity in the area to the North Wales Power Company. The authority was effectively the power company. Both the joint authority and the power company were abolished in 1948 upon the nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry.

Background

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The North Wales and South Cheshire Joint Electricity Authority was the first Joint Electricity Authority to be constituted, on 1st August 1923, under the provisions of the Electricity (Supply) Act 1919 (9 & 10 Geo. 5. c. 100), and the Electricity (Supply) Act 1922 (12 & 13 Geo. 5. c. 46).[1] The JEA transferred some powers, rights and obligations to the North Wales Power Company, this included all rights of distribution of electricity in the area. From this time the JEA was effectively the North Wales Power Company.[1] The Power company developed several hydro-power stations and extended transmission lines to towns and industrial areas.[2]

North Wales Power Company Limited

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The North Wales Power Company Limited was registered on 30 July 1903 as the North Wales Power and Traction Company Limited. Its business was as engineers, suppliers of electricity, and owners of tramways and railways.[3] It ran 13¼miles of 1ft 11½ gauge tramways in Llandudno & Colwyn Bay, and Wrexham and district.[1][3] The company’s electricity was generated by hydro-electricity. At Cwm Dwli water was drawn from Lake Llydaw and flowed through tunnels and steel pipes to the power station in the Gwynant valley. In 1915 electricity was generated by four Pelton wheels coupled to four 1.5 MW 3-phase alternators. Electricity was supplied to quarries and in bulk to long distance consumers.[3]

The North Wales and South Cheshire Electric District Order was confirmed on 1 August 1923. The district included Anglesey, Caernarvonshire, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Merionethshire, Montgomeryshire, and parts of Cheshire, Shropshire, and Cardegoneshire.[2] The area served was about 1,000 square miles. At its first meeting on 12 October 1923 the joint electricity authority transferred to the company certain powers, rites and obligations regarding the generation and supply of electricity.[1]

In 1924 the North Wales Company issued stock to the value of £2.2 million.[2] This was used to construct several major projects: to build the Maentwrog power station with an initial capacity of 16,000 horsepower (12 MW); to increase the catchment area of the Cwm Dyli power station; to extend the transmission system to Crewe, to industrial districts, and to coastal towns.[2]

In 1929 the British Power & Light Corporation Limited acquired a controlling interest in the North Wales Power Company.[4]

Technical specifications

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The engineering and financial information on the North Wales Company in 1923 and 1937 is shown in the table.

North Wales Co. technical and financial data[5][6]
Year 1923 1937
Turbo-generators, MW 4 × 1.0

1 × 1.5

(see table below)
Maximum load, kW 6,000 35,700
Total connections, kW 11,000 73,724
Electricity generated, MWh 6,691 36,789
Electricity purchased, MWh 3,248 108,378
Electricity sold, MWh 8,459 127,844
Gross surplus, £ 31,365 261,386
Number of consumers 3,435

The technical and operational data for the constituent generating stations is shown in the tables.[6][4][7]

Electricity sent out MWh
Station name Water turbines in 1937, MW 1937 1946 1947 1948
Cwm Dyli 2 × 1.0, 1 × 1.5, 1 × 3.0 9,582 8,904 12,176 8,924
Dolgarrog No. 1 4 × 1.0 (DC) 1,421 52,443 42,037 59,468
Dolgarrog No. 2 1 × 1.2, 2 × 5.0, 1 × 6.5 35,351
Maentwrog 4 × 6.0 30,188 34,181 29,899 45,645
North Wales Power Company generating plant in 1948[7]
Name Year commissioned Head of water Water wheels Alternators MW Output MW
Cwm Dyli 1906 1,150 feet 4 (total 9,000 HP, 6.7 MW), 2 × 1.0

1 × 1.5

1 × 3.0

5.0
Dolgarrog No. 1 1909 800 feet

1,075 feet

1 1.2
Dolgarrog No. 2 1925 3 1 × 6.5

2 × 5.0

18.0
Maentwrog 1928 620 feet 4 × 6.0 24.0

Abolition

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The North Wales and South Cheshire Joint Electricity Authority and the North Wales Power Company Limited were both abolished on 31 March 1948 when the British Electricity Industry was nationalised. The generating plant and transmission systems devolved to the British Electricity Authority and the distribution systems to the Merseyside and North Wales Electricity Board.[1]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "The Merseyside and North Wales Electricity Board Area" (PDF). Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d "North Wales Power Company". The Times. 13 May 1924. p. 21.
  3. ^ a b c Garcke, Emile (1916). Manual of Electrical Undertakings 1914-15 Vol 18. London: Electrical Press Limited. p. 750.
  4. ^ a b Electricity Commission, Generation of Electricity in Great Britain year ending 31 December 1946, HMSO, London,1947
  5. ^ Electricity Commission (1925). Electricity Supply 1920-1923. London: HMSO. pp. E228-31, F514-19.
  6. ^ a b Electricity Commission (1939). Electricity Supply 1937-1938. London: HMSO. pp. E224-27 F674-79.
  7. ^ a b Garcke’s Manual of Electricity Supply 1950-51 Vol 48. London: Electrical Press Limited. 1951. pp. A-47, A-50, A-79, A-146, A-147, A-150.