Newport power stations

The Newport power stations supplied electricity to the town of Newport and the surrounding area from 1895 to the late 1970s. The original power station was in Llanarth Street which supplied electric lighting; a larger station, known as the East power station, was built in Corporation Road from 1903. They were owned and operated by Newport Corporation prior to the nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry in 1948. The East power station was redeveloped in the 1920s and 1940s to meet the increased demand for electricity.

Newport power stations
CountryWales
LocationNewport
Coordinates51°35′11″N 02°59′08″W
StatusDecommissioned
Construction began1892
Commission date1895
Decommission date
  • 1970s
Owner(s)Newport Corporation
(1895–1948)
British Electricity Authority
(1948–1955)
Central Electricity Authority
(1955–1957)
Central Electricity Generating Board
(1958–1972)
Operator(s)as owner
Thermal power station
Primary fuelCoal
Turbine technologySteam turbines
Cooling sourceEstuary water
Power generation
Units operational2 × 30 MW 2 × 10 MW
Make and modelFraser-Chalmers/GEC, Escher Wyss-Brown-Boveri
Nameplate capacity80 MW
Annual net output400,000 MWh (1954)

History

In 1891 Newport 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 and was confirmed by Parliament through the Electric Lighting Orders Confirmation (No. 11) Act 1891 (54 & 55 Vict. c. cv).[1] The original power station was built in Llanarth Street, Newport (51°35'12"N 02°59'35"W)[2] and it first supplied electricity on 14 October 1895.[3] Further equipment was added to meet the rising demand for electricity; by the 1920s it had a generating capacity of 600 kW.[4]

A larger power station was built in Corporation Road (51°35'11"N 02°59'08"W)[2] this was known as the East power station, on the east side of the River Usk. This supplied electricity to the Newport Corporation Tramways. The power station was expanded with new generating plant between 1925 and 1929 and again in 1941 and 1948.[5] These additions brought the generating capacity to 80.5 MW. The East power station operated until the late 1970s

Equipment specification

The initial installation of plant at the Llanarth Street site in 1895 comprised horizontal compound engines coupled by ropes to Hall dynamos. The plant had a rating of 350 kW.[3]

The station was supplied with coal via a siding off the nearby dockside railway sidings.[2]

By 1922 the plant at Llanarth Street comprised boilers delivering 28,000 lb/h (3.53 kg/s) of steam to 2 × 300 kW reciprocating engines.[4]

Plant in 1923

By 1923 the generating plant at the East power station comprised:[4]

Coal-fired boilers generating up to 150,000 lb/h (18.9 kg/s) of steam which was supplied to:

Generators:

  • 1 × 200 kW reciprocating engine with DC generator
  • 1 × 300 kW reciprocating engine with DC generator
  • 2 × 500 kW reciprocating engines with DC generators
  • 1 × 1,500 kW steam turbo-alternator AC
  • 1 × 3,000 kW steam turbo-alternator AC
  • 1 × 3,750 kW steam turbo-alternator AC
  • 1 × 5,000 kW steam turbo-alternator AC.

These machines gave a total generating capacity of 14,750 kW comprising 13,250 kW of alternating current (AC) plus 1,500 kW of direct current (DC).[4]

Electricity supplies to consumers were:[4]

  • 200 & 100 Volts, single phase, 87.5 Hz AC (from Llanarth Street)
  • 200 & 100 Volts, single phase, 50 Hz AC
  • 400 & 230 Volts, 3-phase, 50 Hz AC
  • 460 & 230 Volts DC
  • 500 V DC Traction current

Plant in 1924–48

New plant was commissioned at the East power station in 1925 and 1929 (known as the low pressure plant), and again in 1941 and 1948 (high pressure plant). This comprised:[5]

  • Low pressure boilers:
    • 1 × Babcock & Wilcox 60,000 lb/h (7.56 kg/s) boiler, steam conditions 260 psi and 560 °F (17.9 bar, 293 °C)
    • 2 × Babcock & Wilcox 80,000 lb/h (10.08 kg/s) boilers, steam conditions 260 psi and 670 °F (17.9 bar, 312 °C)
  • High pressure boilers:
    • 2 × Babcock & Wilcox 150,000 lb/h (18.9 kg/s) boilers, steam conditions 625 psi and 875 °F (43.1 bar, 468 °C)
    • 2 × Babcock & Wilcox 180,000 lb/h (22.7 kg/s) boilers, steam conditions 625 psi and 875 °F (43.1 bar, 468 °C)

The boilers supplied steam to:

  • High pressure generators:
    • 2 × 30 MW Fraser-Chalmers/GEC turbo-alternator, generating at 6.2 and 11.8 kV, installed in 1941  and 1948
  • Low pressure generators:
    • 1 × 10 MW Escher Wyss-Brown-Boveri turbo-alternator, generating at 6.2 kV, installed in 1925
    • 1 × 10 MW Escher Wyss-GEC Bellis turbo-alternator, generating at 6.2 kV, installed in 1929
    • 1 × 0.5 MW Allen-GEC house set

The station was supplied with coal via a siding off the nearby railway line.[2]

Condenser cooling water was drawn from the tidal river at 5 million gallons per hour (6.31 m3/s).[5]

Operations

Operating data 1898

Operating data for 1898 included:

  • Electricity sold: to consumers 99,410 kWh; for public lamps 96,522 kWh; total 195,932 kWh[3]
  • No. of lamps on circuits: 11,994
  • No. of Public lamps: 42
  • Revenue from sales of electricity was £3,467; the cost of generation was £1,599.[3]

Operating data 1921–23

The electricity supply data for the period 1921–23 was:[4]

Newport power station supply data 1921–23
Electricity Use Units Year
1921 1922 1923
Lighting and domestic MWh 2,136 2,276 2,620
Public lighting MWh 604 576 607
Traction MWh 1,798 1,616 1,792
Power MWh 3,895 4,583 8,163
Bulk supply MWh 0 0 0
Total use MWh 8,432 9,052 13,183

The electricity loads on the system were:[4]

Year 1921 1922 1923
Maximum load kW 4,765 5,085 7,840
Total connections kW 17,086 22,311 23,700
Load factor Per cent 28.5 28.6 26.3

Revenue from sales of current (in 1923) was £126,084; the surplus of revenue over expenses (1923) was £60,763.[4]

By the late 1930s the supply area was 53 square miles (137 km2) and there were 25,000 consumers.[6] The Corporation tramways ceased operating in September 1937.

Operating data 1946

Newport power station operating data for 1946 is:[7]

Generating capacity MW Load factor per cent Max output load MW Electricity supplied MWh Thermal efficiency per cent
58.75 47.0 65.01 221,938 19.96

The British electricity supply industry was nationalised in 1948 under the provisions of the Electricity Act 1947 (10 & 11 Geo. 6 c. 54).[8] The Newport electricity undertaking was abolished, ownership of Newport power station was vested in the British Electricity Authority, and subsequently the Central Electricity Authority and the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB).[9] At the same time the electricity distribution and sales responsibilities of the Newport electricity undertaking were transferred to the South Wales Electricity Board (SWEB).

Operating data 1954–72

Operating data for the period 1954–72 was:[5][10][11]

Newport power station operating data, 1954–72
Year Running hours or load factor (per cent) Max output capacity MW Electricity supplied GWh Thermal efficiency per cent
Low pressure
1954 3647 22 33.799 11.02
1955 2530 18 22.940 11.73
1956 2349 18 15.825 11.20
1957 1530 18 9.859 10.04
1958 1040 18 6.391 8.47
High pressure
1954 8589 57 364.417 24.56
1955 8263 57 309.144 24.50
1956 7261 57 286.102 24.98
1957 6317 57 227.823 24.74
1958 5323 57 172.669 24.02
Total output
1961 23.4 % 75 153.476 22.01
1962 15.1 % 75 99.478 18.88
1963 21.48 % 75 141.119 20.88
1967 11.1 % 75 73.001 9.03
1972 5.5 % 57 27.368 14.24

The output from the stations in MWh is shown on the graph.

Newport supply district

Following nationalisation Newport became an electricity supply district, covering 79.2 square miles (205 km2) with a population of 135,160 in 1958. The number of consumers and electricity sold in the Newport district was:[5]

Year 1956 1957 1958
Number of consumers 40,108 41,103 41,923
Electricity sold MWh 381.468 385.845 420,562

In 1958 the number of units sold to categories of consumers was:[5]

Type of consumer No. of consumers Electricity sold MWh
Domestic 37,345 53,940
Farms 311 1,451
Commercial 3,869 22,556
Industrial 393 340,515
Public lighting 5 2,100
Traction 0 0
Total 41,923 420,562

Closure

Newport power station was decommissioned in the late 1970s.[12] Some of the power station buildings were converted for commercial use and the area has been redeveloped with residential and commercial premises.

See also

References
  1. "Local Acts 1891". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  2. Ordnance Survey 25 inch England and Wales Monmouthshire XXVIII.16 (Betws; Newport), revised 1917, published 1920
  3. Garcke, Emile (1898). Manual of Electrical Undertakings 1898-99 vol. 3. London: P. S. King and Son. pp. 260–263.
  4. Electricity Commissioners (1925). Electricity Supply – 1920–23. London: HMSO. pp. 66–69, 302–07.
  5. Garrett, Frederick (1959). Garcke's Manual of Electricity Supply vol. 56. London: Electrical Press. pp. A-79–80 A-128 B-207.
  6. Grace’s guide to British Industrial history. "Grace's guide to British Industrial history Newport Corporation East Power Station". Grace’s guide to British Industrial history. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  7. Electricity Commissioners (1947). Generation of Electricity in Great Britain year ended 31 December 1946. London: HMSO. p. 12.
  8. "Electricity Act 1947". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  9. Electricity Council (1987). Electricity supply in the United Kingdom: a Chronology. London: Electricity Council. pp. 45, 60, 69, 73. ISBN 085188105X.
  10. CEGB Annual report and Accounts, 1961, 1962 & 1963
  11. CEGB Statistical Yearbook, 1967 & 1972
  12. Newport station is listed in the CEGB Statistical yearbook 1972 but not in the 1978 edition
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