St Helens power station

St Helens Corporation applied in 1894 for a provisional order under the Electric Lighting Acts to generate and supply electricity to Borough of St Helens. The {{visible anchor|St. Helens Corporation Electric Lighting Order 1894}} was granted by the Board of Trade and was confirmed by Parliament through the Electric Lighting Orders Confirmation (No. 1) Act 1894 (57 & 58 Vict. c. xlix).{{Cite web|title=Local Acts 1894|url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/changes/chron-tables/local/103|access-date=18 December 2020|website=Legislation.gov.uk}} A power station was built in Warrington Road, St Helens and was commissioned in October 1896. The corporation charged 6d./kWh and attracted just 63 customers in its first year of operation.{{Cite web|date=23 October 2014|title=St Helens Star|url=https://www.sthelensstar.co.uk/news/11555668.st-helens-journey-to-electrification/|access-date=18 December 2020}}{{Cite book|last=Garcke|first=Emile|title=Manual of Electrical Undertakings 1898-99 vol. 3|publisher=P. S. King and Son|year=1898|location=London|pages=294}}

In 1897 the corporation assumed control of St Helens Tramways which it intended to redevelop using electric traction instead of steam power. The corporation applied for a further provisional order in 1900. This was granted and confirmed by Parliament through the Electric Lighting Orders Confirmation (No. 5) Act 1900 (63 & 64 Vict. c. xlix).{{Cite web|title=Local Acts 1900|url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/changes/chron-tables/local/116|access-date=18 December 2020|website=Legislation.gov.uk}} A new power station built at Croppers Hill, St Helens ({{coord|53|27|02|N|2|44|54|W}}).Ordnance Survey 25 inch England and Wales, Lancashire CVII.4 (Eccleston; St Helens), revised 1906, published, 1908

The generating station was extended with new plant as demand for electricity grew. In 1911 a 1,500 kW turbo-alternator and condenser were installed costing £5,000.{{Cite news|date=9 April 1911|title=Lancashire|page=22|work=The Times}} In 1912 a 2,000 kW 6 kW turbo-alternator and associated boilers were installed.{{Cite news|date=21 August 1912|title=Industry and Invention|page=16|work=The Times}}

During the general strike in 1926 the local civil commissioners overruled the Labour administration of St Helen Council and allowed staff to continue to run the power station against the council's wishes.{{Cite book|last=Hannah |first=Leslie |title=Electricity before Nationalisation |publisher=Macmillan |year=1979 |isbn=0333220862 |location=London |pages=272}}

The tram system was decommissioned on 31 March 1936.{{Cite book|last=Klapper|first=Charles F.|title=The Golden Age of Tramways|publisher=Routledge and Kegan Paul|year=1962}}

The British electricity supply industry was nationalised in 1948 under the provisions of the Electricity Act 1947 (10 & 11 Geo. 6. c. 54).{{Cite web|title=Electricity Act 1947|url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo6/10-11/54/contents/enacted|access-date=18 December 2020|website=Legislation.gov.uk}} The St Helens electricity undertaking was abolished, ownership of St Helens power station was vested in the British Electricity Authority, and subsequently the Central Electricity Authority and the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB).{{Cite book|last=Electricity Council|title=Electricity supply in the United Kingdom: a Chronology|publisher=Electricity Council|year=1987|isbn=085188105X|location=London|pages=60–61}} At the same time the electricity distribution and sales responsibilities of the St Helens electricity undertaking were transferred to the Merseyside and North Wales Electricity Board (MANWEB)

Following nationalisation St Helens power station became part of the St Helens electricity supply district.{{Cite book|last=Garrett|first=Frederick|title=Garcke's Manual of Electricity Supply vol. 56|publisher=Electrical Press|year=1959|location=London|pages=A-91 A-133 B-224}}

The power station was converted to oil firing in 1963.CEGB Annual Report 1963, CEGB Statistical Yearbook 1967

St Helens power station was closed in the late 1960s.The power station is mentioned in the CEGB Statistical Yearbook 1967 but not in the 1972 edition

The plant in the original power station was rated at 145 kW and comprised Robey horizontal engines coupled directly to alternators.

By 1923 the plant comprised boilers delivering 161,000 lb/h (20.3 kg/s) of steam to:{{Cite book|last=Electricity Commissioners|title=Electricity Supply – 1920–23|publisher=HMSO|year=1925|location=London|pages=78–81, 308–13}}

• 1 × 1,000 kW steam turbo-alternator alternating current (AC)
• 1 × 2,000 kW Dick, Kerr and Company steam turbo-alternator AC
• 1 × 3,000 kW steam turbo-alternator AC
• 1 × 5,000 kW steam turbo-alternator AC
• 1 × 200 kW reciprocating engine with direct current (DC) generator
• 2 × 300 kW reciprocating engines with DC generators

These machines had a total generating capacity of 11,800 kW comprising 11,000 kW of alternating current (AC) plus 800 kW of direct current (DC) plant.

The following electricity supplies were available to consumers:

• 400 & 230 Volts, 3-phase, 50 Hz AC
• 460 & 230 Volts, DC
• 500 Volts DC, traction current

By 1954 the plant comprised:

• Boilers:
• 5 × Babcock & Wilcox 38,000 lb/h (4.79 kg/s) chain grate stoker boilers (total evaporative capacity 190,000 lb/h (23.9 kg/s)), steam conditions were 265 psi and 750°F (18.3 bar and 399°C), steam was supplied to:
• Generators:
• 1 × 5.0 MW Oerlikon turbo-alternator
• 1 × 6.5 MW Brush Ljungstrom turbo-alternator
• 1 × 12.5 MW Metropolitan Vickers turbo-alternator

The total generating capacity was 24 MW at 6.6 kV.

Condenser water was cooled in six wooden cooling towers with a total capacity of 1.11 million gallons per hour (1.40 m³/s).

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 £76,375; the surplus of revenue over expenses was £30,894.

In 1946 St Helens power station supplied 35,491 MWh of electricity; the maximum output load was 19,486 kW. The load factor was 20.8 %, and the thermal efficiency was 14.13 %.{{Cite book|last=Electricity Commissioners|title=Generation of Electricity in Great Britain year ended 31 December 1946|publisher=HMSO|year=1947|location=London|pages=13}}

Operating data for the period 1954–67 was:CEGB Annual Report 1961–63, CEGB Statistical Yearbook 1967

Following nationalisation in 1948 St Helens power station became part of the St Helens electricity supply district, covering 36 square miles (93.2 km²) with a population of 131,000 in 1958. The number of consumers and electricity sold in the St Helens district was:

In 1958 the number of units sold to categories of consumers was:

The maximum demand on the system was 93,000 kW, the load factor was 50.9 %.

• Timeline of the UK electricity supply industry
• List of power stations in England
• St Helens Corporation Tramways
• Bold power station

{{Reflist}}

{{North West Power Stations}}

Category:Demolished power stations in the United Kingdom

Category:Coal-fired power stations in England