| Grimsby power station | |
| Country: | England |
| Location: | Grimsby |
| Status: | Decommissioned and demolished |
| Commissioned: | 1901 |
| Decommissioned: | Late 1960s |
| Owner: | Grimsby Corporation (1894–1948) British Electricity Authority (1948–1955) Central Electricity Authority (1955–1957) Central Electricity Generating Board (1958–1970) |
| Operator: | As owner |
| Th Fuel Primary: | Coal |
| Th Fuel Secondary: | Fuel oil |
| Th Technology: | Steam turbines |
| Ps Chimneys: | 5 |
| Ps Cooling Towers: | 3 x wood, 3 x concrete |
| Ps Cooling Source: | Cooling towers |
| Ps Units Operational: | 1 x 3 MW, 2 x 10 MW, 1 x 15 MW |
| Ps Units Manu Model: | Metropolitan-Vickers, Brush-Ljungstrom |
| Ps Units Decommissioned: | All |
| Ps Electrical Capacity: | 38 MW |
| Ps Annual Generation: | 128 GWh (1954) |
Grimsby power station supplied electricity to the town of Grimsby, England and the surrounded area from 1901 to the late 1960s. It was owned and operated by Grimsby Corporation prior to the nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry in 1948. The power station was redeveloped in the 1920s and 1930s to meet the increased demand for electricity.
In 1894 Grimsby 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. 2) Act 1894 (57 & 58 Vict. c. l).[1] The power station was built in Moss Road Grimsby (53°33'47"N 0°04'57"W)[2] and it first supplied electricity in 1901.
The initial installation of plant in 1901 had a rating of 460 kW.[3]
By 1923 the generating plant comprised:[4]
These machines gave a total generating capacity of 2,500 kW of alternating current plus 2,420 kW direct current.
Electricity supplies to consumers were 460 & 230 Volts DC.
New plant was commissioned in 1924, 1929, 1932 and 1939. This comprised:
The boilers supplied steam to:
The completed total installed generating capacity was 38 MW.
Condenser cooling water was cooled in three wood and three concrete cooling towers with a combined capacity of 2.47 million gallons per hour (3.12 m3/s). [5]
In 1960 internal combustion engines was installed at Grimsby power station with a capacity of 2.0 MW.
The operating data for the period 1921–23 was:
| Units | Year | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1921 | 1922 | 1923 | |||
| Lighting and domestic use | MWh | 1,484 | 1,539 | 1,657 | |
| Public lighting use | MWh | 283 | 292 | 321 | |
| Traction | MWh | 638 | 553 | 597 | |
| Power use | MWh | 1,634 | 2,888 | 4,772 | |
| Total use | MWh | 4,039 | 5,273 | 7,347 | |
| Load and connected load | |||||
| Maximum load | kW | 2,327 | 2,914 | 3,330 | |
| Total connections | kW | 8,702 | 10,818 | 10,268 | |
| Load factor | Per cent | 25.4 | 28.4 | 34.9 | |
| Financial | |||||
| Revenue from sales of current | £ | – | 78,899 | 77,418 | |
| Surplus of revenue over expenses | £ | – | 28,316 | 3,300 | |
Grimsby power station operating data for 1946 is:[9]
The British electricity supply industry was nationalised in 1948 under the provisions of the Electricity Act 1947 (10 & 11 Geo. 6 c. 54).[10] The Grimsby electricity undertaking was abolished, ownership of Grimsby power station was vested in the British Electricity Authority, and subsequently the Central Electricity Authority and the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB). At the same time the electricity distribution and sales responsibilities of the Grimsby electricity undertaking were transferred to the Yorkshire Electricity Board (YEB).Operating data for the period 1954–67 was:[11]
| 1954 | 8385 | 34 | 128.189 | 17.39 | |
| 1955 | 6577 | 34 | 82.521 | 15.96 | |
| 1956 | 6033 | 34 | 76.041 | 16.33 | |
| 1957 | 5936 | 34 | 73.944 | 16.26 | |
| 1958 | 6448 | 34 | 107.529 | 16.45 | |
| 1961 | 33.8 % | 34 | 100.528 | 16.57 | |
| 1962 | 41.5 % | 34 | 123.492 | 17.03 | |
| 1963 | 43.11% | 34 | 128.386 | 16.40 | |
| 1967 | 18.1 % | 35 | 53.878 | 15.39 |
| Year | Load factor per cent | Max output capacity MW | Electricity supplied GWh | Thermal efficiency per cent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 16.0 | 2 | 0.608 | 29.72 | |
| 1962 | 16.9 | 2 | 2.964 | 34.89 | |
| 1963 | 18.47 | 2 | 3.236 | 33.54 | |
| 1967 | 10.9 | 2 | 1.910 | 31.65 |
| Year | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of consumers | 56,017 | 57,672 | 58,936 | |
| Electricity sold MWh | 218,435 | 246,842 | 278,508 |
Grimsby power station was decommissioned in the late 1960s.[12] The buildings were subsequently demolished and the area has been redeveloped with industrial and commercial units.