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 use of electricity; outlines developments in the structure of the industry including key organisations and facilities; and records the legislation and regulations that have governed the UK electricity industry.
The first part is a chronological table of significant events; the second part is a list of local acts of Parliament illustrating the growth of electricity supplies.
Significant events
The following is a list of significant events in the history of the electricity sector in the United Kingdom.| Year | Event |
| 1860s–70s | Public demonstrations of electric lighting in Britain stimulate interest in the new technology, such as the temporary illumination of Bristol's Clifton Suspension Bridge in December 1864 to mark its opening. |
| 1879 | The Liverpool (Corporation) Electric Lighting Act 1879 is the first electric lighting act to be enacted in the UK, giving the Liverpool Corporation powers to light streets by electricity. |
| 1882 | The Electric Lighting Act 1882 allows the setting up of supply systems by persons, companies or local authorities. Local authorities had the right to take over the assets of companies in their area after 21 years, which discouraged enterprise. |
| 1882 | The Edison Electric Light Station opens as the world's first coal-fired power station at 57 Holborn Viaduct, London, producing 110 volt DC for street lighting. It ran at a loss and closed in 1886. |
| 1888 | The Electric Lighting Act 1888 amends the 1882 act, making the setting up of a supply company easier, and extending the reversion to local authority period to 42 years, with optional 10-year extensions. |
| 1890 | The Belfast Electric Lighting Order 1890, confirmed by the Electric Lighting Orders Confirmation (No. 7) Act 1890 gives the County Borough of Belfast the authority to generate and sell electricity throughout the city. |
| 1890 | The Electric Lighting (Scotland) Act 1890 |
| 1891 | London Electric Supply Corporation opens Deptford Power Station, the UK's first AC power system, designed by Sebastian Ziani de Ferranti. |
| 1893 | Bristol Corporation Electricity Committee opens its first generating station, at Temple Back, on 28 August. |
| 1894 | Electricity is supplied to Londonderry under the provisions of the Londonderry Electric Lighting Order 1891 confirmed by the Electric Lighting Orders Confirmation (No. 3) Act 1891. Further powers were given by the Londonderry Corporation Act 1918. |
| 1899 | The Electric Lighting (Clauses) Act 1899 introduces common principles for provisional orders, and prohibits the amalgamation of undertakings and the supply of electricity outside a prescribed area. |
| 1901 | Newcastle upon Tyne Electric Supply Company opens Neptune Bank Power Station, the first in the UK to supply three-phase electric power. |
| 1902 | The Electric Lighting (Scotland) Act 1902 |
| 1904 | The London Electric Lighting Areas Act 1904 amends the service areas of utilities. |
| 1905 | Start-up of Lots Road Power Station to supply London's underground electric railways. |
| 1906 | Start-up of Greenwich power station by the London County Council to power London's tramway system. |
| 1908 | The London Electric Supply Act 1908 transfers the purchasing powers of local authorities to the London County Council. |
| 1909 | The Electric Lighting Act 1909 regulates planning consent for building power stations. |
| 1910 | The London Electric Supply Act 1910 constitutes the London County Council purchasing authority for utilities to which the 1908 act did not apply. |
| 1919 | Williamson Report and Birchenough Report leads to the Electricity (Supply) Act 1919. Establishes the Electricity Commission and appoints Electricity Commissioners to provide central coordination, regional organisation and to centralise generation in large power stations owned by joint electricity authorities. |
| 1919 | Ministerial oversight of the electricity industry is transferred from the Board of Trade to the newly established Ministry of Transport. |
| 1922 | The Electricity (Supply) Act 1922 grants financial powers to joint electricity authorities; four were established in the following years. |
| 1924 | The UK's first hyperbolic reinforced concrete cooling tower is constructed by L. G. Mouchel & Partners at Lister Drive power station in Liverpool. |
| 1925 | The London Electricity (No. 1) Act 1925 allows the amalgamation of four electricity undertakings in south and east London. |
| 1925 | The London Electricity (No. 2) Act 1925 allows the amalgamation of ten electricity undertakings, mainly in south and west London, and the formation of the London Power Company to centralise the generation of electricity in a small number of large power stations, e.g. Willesden, Bow, Deptford and Battersea. |
| 1925 | The Statutory Gas Companies (Electricity Supply Powers) Act 1925 facilitates the supply of electricity by permitting gas companies to supply electricity. |
| 1926 | Weir Report leads to the Electricity (Supply) Act 1926, which creates the Central Electricity Board and the National Grid operating at 132 kV. |
| 1927 | The London and Home Counties Joint Electricity Authority Act 1927 conferrs additional powers on the London and Home Counties Joint Electricity Authority. |
| 1928 | The Electricity (Supply) Act 1928 makes minor amendments to the 1919 act. |
| 1931 | The Electricity (Supply) Act (Northern Ireland) 1931 creates a state-appointed Electricity Board for Northern Ireland. |
| 1932 | Construction of the 132 kV crossing over the River Thames between Dagenham and Woolwich. The 487 ft towers become the tallest in the UK; the span is 3060 ft. |
| 1932 | The Railway (Standardisation of Electrification) Order 1932 allows only the 1,500 V DC system for overhead current collection and 750 V DC for conductor rail. |
| 1933 | The 132 kV National Grid starts operating as an interconnected set of regional grids. |
| 1933 | Commissioning of Battersea A power station by the London Power Company. |
| 1933 | The Electricity (Supply) Act 1933 makes minor amendments to the 1919 and 1922 acts. |
| 1935 | The Electricity (Supply) Act 1935 regularises grid tariffs for marginal power stations and allows the CEB to supply electricity to railways directly. |
| 1936 | The Electricity Supply (Meters) Act 1936 permits the appointment of inspectors to 'officially certify as appropriate for the measurement of supplies of electricity' the electricity meters installed in consumers' premises. |
| 1938 | The 132 kV National Grid became integrated. |
| 1939 | The Fuel and Lighting Order 1939 requires consumers to reduce their use of electricity and gas to 75 per cent of peacetime levels. |
| 1940 | The Special Enactments (Extension of Time) Act 1940 suspends the right of local authorities to acquire company electricity undertakings, which may have harmed development and led to fragmentation. |
| 1941 | Ministerial oversight of the electricity industry is transferred from the newly established Ministry of War Transport back to the Board of Trade. |
| 1942 | Establishment of the Ministry of Fuel and Power to provide strategic oversight of the coal, gas, electricity and oil industries. |
| 1943 | The Hydro-Electric Development (Scotland) Act 1943 nationalises the development of Highland water resources and establishes the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board to design, construct and manage hydro-electricity projects in the Highlands of Scotland. |
| 1947 | The Electricity Act 1947 merges 625 electricity companies, to be vested in twelve area electricity boards, whilst the generation and 132 kV National Grid are vested with the British Electricity Authority. |
| 1947 | The Control of Turbo-alternators Order 1947 standardises steam-driven sets to two sizes: 30 MW and 60 MW. The order was revoked in 1950. |
| 1948 | The Electricity (Supply) Act (Northern Ireland) 1948 establishes the Northern Ireland Joint Electricity Committee and transfers the electricity 'property, rights and assets' from the Ministry of Commerce to the Electricity Board for Northern Ireland. |
| 1949 | The UK's first large scale use of the 'unit boiler' with reheat at Dunston B power station, with a boiler dedicated to a turbo-alternator set. |
| 1952 | The ±100 kV DC submarine cable link between UK and France is commissioned, designed to transfer 160 MW in either direction between Dungeness and Boulogne. It was decommissioned in 1982. |
| 1952 | The North Wales Hydro-Electric Power Act 1952 extends the catchment area of the Dolgarrog and Meantwrog stations and allowed a 10 MW extension to Dolgarrog station. |
| 1952 | The Electricity Supply (Meters) Act 1952 extends the transitional period of the Electricity Supply (Meters) Act 1936 to 30 June 1958. |
| 1953 | The first section of the 275 kV grid commissioned, a 41-mile single circuit between Staythorpe and West Melton. |
| 1954 | The Electricity Reorganisation (Scotland) Act 1954 transfers control of electricity supplies in Scotland to the Secretary of State for Scotland. |
| 1954 | The Atomic Energy Authority Act 1954 establishes the Atomic Energy Authority to provide oversight of the field of atomic energy in the UK. |
| 1954 | The Rights of Entry (Gas and Electricity Boards) Act 1954 defines the rights of electricity suppliers to enter premises. |
| 1955 | On 1 April the British Electricity Authority becomes the Central Electricity Authority. The Scottish area boards are merged into South of Scotland Electricity Board and the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board. |
| 1955 | The North Wales Hydro-Electric Power Act 1955 empowers the Central Electricity Authority to construct hydro-electric power stations at Ffestiniog and Rheidol. |
| 1956 | Commissioning of the UK's first 100 MW turbo-alternator at Castle Donington power station, which eventually had six 100 MW units. |
| 1956 | The Herbert Committee reports on the organisation and efficiency of electricity supply in the UK. The committee's criticism of the dual role of generating power and supervising the industry leads to the Electricity Act 1957. |
| 1957 | The Electricity Act 1957 dissolves the Central Electricity Authority and replaces it by the Central Electricity Generating Board and the Electricity Council. |
| 1957 | Commissioning of the UK's first cyclone-fired boiler at Barking C power station, built by Babcock & Wilcox and delivering 540,000 lb/hr of steam. |
| 1958 | The new chairman of the Central Electricity Generating Board Christopher Hinton, Baron Hinton of Bankside begins the procurement of the new 2,000 MW power stations and 400kV grid system known as the Hinton Heavies. |
| 1959 | The Electricity (Borrowing Powers) Act 1959 limits the borrowing powers of the Electricity Council, the CEGB and the area boards to £1,800 million. |
| 1959 | The first 275 kV cables are commissioned, connecting a generator transformer at Drakelow B power station to the National Grid. |
| 1959 | Commissioning of the UK's first 200 MW turbo-alternator at High Marnham power station with advanced steam conditions of 2,350 psi at 1,050 °F. High Marnham is Europe's first 1,000 MW power station. |
| 1960 | A proposed 2,000 MW power station at Holme Pierrepoint is rejected by the planning inspector on amenity grounds. |
| 1961 | The Electricity (Amendment) Act 1961 enables the Central Electricity Generating Board to manufacture radioisotopes in association with its nuclear reactors – previously the Electricity Act 1957 had barred the body from carrying out functions other than the production of electricity. |
| 1962 | Commissioning of the UK's first commercial nuclear power stations, the 275 MW Berkeley power station in Gloucestershire in June, and the 300 MW Bradwell station in Essex in July. |
| 1962 | Commissioning of the UK's first 275 MW turbo-alternator at Blyth B power station. |
| 1963 | The Electricity and Gas Act 1963 increases the borrowing powers of the Electricity Council, electricity boards, the Gas Council and area gas boards. |
| 1965 | Introduction of the first phase of the 400 kV Supergrid from West Burton power stations in Nottinghamshire to Sundon in Bedfordshire. The 150-mile line has a capacity of 1,800 MVA. |
| 1965 | Three cooling towers at Ferrybridge C power station collapse. The design had underestimated wind-loading; the CEGB instigates a programme of cooling tower reinforcement. |
| 1965 | Commissioning of the UK's first 350 MW turbo-alternators at Drakelow C and Blyth B power stations. |
| 1966 | Commissioning of the 580 MW Sizewell A nuclear power station in Suffolk. |
| 1966 | Commissioning of the UK's first 500 MW turbo-alternator at Ferrybridge C power station. This became a standard size, planned to be used in 49 units at 14 new power stations. |
| 1966 | The first single stack chimney with four flues in one stack is completed at Eggborough power station. |
| 1966 | The first 275 kV substation in London at Tottenham. |
| 1967 | One of the 65 MW units at Hams Hall C power station is experimentally converted to burn natural gas in addition to coal. The station was fully converted to dual coal/gas firing in 1971. |
| 1967 | The Electricity (Supply) Act (Northern Ireland) 1967 establishes the Northern Ireland Joint Electricity Authority, with wider powers to supervise and control generation, transmission and the preparation of generating plant programmes. |
| 1968 | The Gas and Electricity Act 1968 further increases the borrowing powers of the Gas Council and area gas boards, the Electricity Council, and Scottish electricity boards. |
| 1969 | The first of the new 2,000 MW generating units is officially opened by the Minister of Power, Roy Mason, at West Burton. |
| 1971 | The CEGB is reorganised to give more authority to the five operating regions; project groups and specialist departments are merged into the Generation Development and Construction Division. |
| 1972 | The Electricity Act 1972 raises the limit on the borrowing powers of the Electricity Council and the electricity boards in England and Wales to £5,200 million. |
| 1973 | The Fuel and Electricity (Control) Act 1973 controls the production, supply, acquisition and use of certain substances and of electricity. |
| 1973 | The North Wales Hydro Electric Power Act 1973 empowers the Central Electricity Generating Board to construct a hydroelectric power station at Dinorwig. |
| 1974 | Commissioning of the UK's first 660 MW turbo-alternator at Drax power station. |
| 1974 | Barton, Newton Abbot, Plymouth 'A', and Letchworth power stations are decommissioned on 18 March. |
| 1975 | Battersea A power station decommissioned on 17 March. |
| 1976 | The Energy Act 1976 allows the Secretary of State, for conservation purposes, to regulate or prohibit the production, supply, acquisition or use of petroleum, natural gas, petroleum products, electricity any other substance used as fuel. |
| 1976 | The UK's first advanced gas-cooled reactor nuclear power stations are commissioned, at Hinkley Point B in Somerset and Hunterston B in Strathclyde. |
| 1976 | The CEGB announces the decommissioning of 2,884 MW of excess generating capability: 23 power stations closed and 18 partly closed on 25 October. |
| 1976 | Barking 'B', Brighton 'A', Castlemeads, Cowes, and Portishead 'A' power stations decommissioned on 15 March. |
| 1976 | Hackney 'B', Peterborough, Burton, Coventry, Leicester, Meaford 'A', Northampton, Worcester, Bradford, Darlington, Wolverhampton, Ferrybridge 'A', Neepsend, Sculcoates, Sunderland, York, Blackburn, Lancaster, Ribble 'B', Stockport, Trafford, and Stuart Street power stations decommissioned on 25 October. A total of 1,967 MW decommisioned in 1976. |
| 1977 | A further 650 MW of generating capacity is decommissioned in March: six stations closed and two partially closed. |
| 1977 | Lincoln, Llynfi, and Hayle power stations are decommissioned on 21 March. A total of 227 MW. |
| 1978 | Economy 7 night-time tariffs are introduced. |
| 1978 | Rotherham, Ocker Hill, Stourport 'A', and Woolwich power stations are decommissioned on 30 October 1978. A total of 226 MW. |
| 1978 | The Nuclear Safeguards and Electricity (Finance) Act 1978 grants the CEGB £50 million to build the second phase of Drax power station. |
| 1979 | The Electricity (Scotland) Act 1979 consolidates previous enactments for the supply of electricity in Scotland. |
| 1979 | The first use of gas turbines for main power generation at Letchworth, Ocker Hill, Taylors Lane and Watford (Hertfordshire) power stations. These were 70 MW generators using Rolls-Royce Olympus jet engines. Previously, gas turbines had been used as auxiliary units, supplying station auxiliaries and for peak-shaving. |
| 1979 | Bolton power station decommissioned on 19 March. |
| 1979 | Harts Head and Warrington power stations decommissioned on 29 October. A total of 152 MW is decommissioned during 1979. |
| 1980 | Carlisle, Kearsley, Blackburn Meadows, Ironbridge A, and Kingston power stations decommissioned on 27 October – a total of 544 MW. |
| 1981 | The CEGB decommissions 3,400 MW of generating capacity, permanently closing 2,082 MW in 16 power stations, with 1,320 MW retained unused in reserve. |
| 1981 | Prototype assisted draft cooling tower commissioned at Ince B power station using 36 fans in place of three conventional cooling towers. |
| 1981 | Bold 'A', Fleetwood, Dunston, Huddersfield, Mexborough, Hams Hall 'B', Nottingham, Barking, Blackwell Point, Little Barford 'A', and Uskmouth 'A' power stations decommissioned on 26 October. A total of 1,585 MW. |
| 1982 | Walsall power station decommissioned on 1 March. |
| 1982 | Spondon power station decommissioned on 1 October. |
| 1982 | Chatterton 'B', Thornhill, Nechells 'B', and Rye House power stations decommissioned on 1 November. A total of 906 MW for 1982. |
| 1983 | The Energy Act 1983 allows small-scale private generators. |
| 1983 | Acton Lane, Battersea, Deptford, Goldington, West Ham, Staythorpe 'A', Doncaster, North Tees 'C', and Skelton Grange 'A' power stations decommissioned on 31 October 1983. A total of 1,229 MW. |
| 1984 | A cooling tower at Fiddler's Ferry power station collapses in high winds. Investigations showed this was due to an imperfection in the shape of the shell above the ring beam. |
| 1986 | The ±270 kV DC submarine cable link between UK and France is commissioned, capable of transferring 2,000 MW. |
| 1988 | The UK accepts the EC's Large Combustion Plant Directive to address environmental damage from acid rain. |
| 1988 | The Electricity (Financial Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1988 increases the borrowing powers of the Scottish electricity boards to £3,000 million. |
| 1989 | The Electricity Act 1989 provides for the privatisation of the electricity industry, and introduces the Fossil Fuel Levy to support the nuclear power industry. The act establishes the Office of Electricity Regulation to promote competition in the industry and to protect consumers' interests. |
| 1990 | Beginning of the privatization of the Central Electricity Generating Board. The assets of the CEGB are broken up into three new companies: Powergen, National Power and National Grid Company. Later, the nuclear component within National Power will be removed and vested in another state-owned company called Nuclear Electric. |
| 1991 | Scottish industry privatised. |
| 1992 | Electricity supply in Northern Ireland privatised. Premier Power formed. On 1 March the Office of Director General of Electricity Supply for Northern Ireland is established under the Electricity Order 1992. |
| 1993 | Supply industry in Northern Ireland privatised. |
| 1994 | Value-added tax of 8% imposed on domestic energy. |
| 1995 | Major assets of Nuclear Electric and Scottish Nuclear are merged, including the UK's eight most advanced nuclear plants, forming a new private company, British Energy. |
| 1995 | National Grid Company plc becomes part of National Grid Group plc. |
| 1997 | Pembroke Power Station closes, the first of the 500 MW Hinton Heavies. |
| 2000 | Section 1 of the Utilities Act 2000 establishes the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets which merges and abolishes the Office of Electricity Regulation and Office of Gas Supply. |
| 2000 | Section 62 of the Utilities Act 2000 empowers the Secretary of State to impose obligations on all licensed electricity suppliers for a proportion of their total supply of electricity to consumers to be from renewable sources. |
| 2000 | The Isle of Man to England Interconnector is commissioned, at 104 km the longest AC submarine power cable in the world. |
| 2001 | The Central Electricity Generating Board (Dissolution) Order 2001 formally winds-up the CEGB. The Electricity Council (Dissolution) Order 2001 formally winds-up the Electricity Council. |
| 2002 | National Grid Group plc merges with Lattice Group, to form National Grid Transco plc. The National Grid and the gas National Transmission System are now managed by a single holding company. |
| 2003 | The Energy (Northern Ireland) Order 2003 establishes the Northern Ireland Authority for Energy Regulation and abolishes the offices of Director General of Gas for Northern Ireland and Director General of Electricity Supply for Northern Ireland. The Electricity (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2003 provides for financial assistance to British Energy plc. |
| 2004 | The Energy Act 2004 establishes the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and defines responsibilities for the decommissioning and cleaning up of civil nuclear installations and sites. |
| 2005 | National Grid Transco plc renamed National Grid plc. |
| 2007 | From 1 November, Northern Ireland generators must sell their electricity into the Single Electricity Market, an all-island market with the Republic of Ireland from which suppliers purchase electricity at a single market rate. |
| 2008 | The Energy Act 2008 establishes the Renewables Obligation to support generating electricity from renewable sources; makes provisions for the decommissioning and clean-up of nuclear sites; and the provision of smart meters. |
| 2009 | After becoming the UK's largest electricity generation company, British Energy is bought by Électricité de France, a state-owned company. |
| 2010 | The Energy Act 2010 requires the government to prepare reports on the progress made on the decarbonisation of electricity generation in Britain and the development and use of carbon capture and storage; and to create schemes for energy suppliers to give benefits to customers to reduce fuel poverty. |
| 2011 | BritNed, the 450 kV DC submarine inter-connector cable between the UK and the Netherlands, is commissioned. It is 260 km long and has a capacity of 1,000 MW. |
| 2012 | The East–West Interconnector, the ±200 kV DC submarine and underground power cable between Pentir, North Wales and Arklow, County Wicklow, is commissioned. It is 261 km long and has a capacity of 500 MW. |
| 2012 | Kingsnorth Power Station ceases generation on 17 December, the next Hinton Heavy to face closure. |
| 2013 | Didcot Power Station ceases generation on 22 March. |
| 2013 | Fawley Power Station closes on 31 March. |
| 2015 | Ironbridge Power Station is switched off on 20 November. |
| 2016 | Ferrybridge Power Station closes on 31 March. |
| 2016 | Rugeley Power Station closes. |
| 2018 | Eggborough Power Station stops generating on 23 March. |
| 2018 | The Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Act 2018 |
| 2019 | The 400 kV DC NEMO inter-connector connecting the UK with Belgium is commissioned on 31 January. It is 140 km long and has a capacity of 1,000 MW. |
| 2019 | Cottam Power Station stops generating on 30 September, the latest of the Hinton Heavies to close. Aberthaw power station closes on 13 December. |
| 2020 | Fiddler's Ferry power station closes on 31 March. |
| 2021 | IFA-2, a 204 km 1,000 MW ± 320 kV DC subsea electrical interconnector between France and the United Kingdom is commissioned in January. ElecLink, a 51 km system of 1,000 MW ± 320 kV DC cables within the north running tunnel of the Channel Tunnel between France and the United Kingdom, is energised 1 on September. |
| 2022 | Hunterston B nuclear power station closes on 7 January. |
| 2023 | West Burton power station closes on 31 March. |
| 2024 | Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station, the last to be coal-fired, closes on 30 September. |