| Lister Drive power station | |
| Country: | England |
| Location: | Liverpool |
| Status: | Decommissioned and Demolished |
| Commissioned: | 1900 |
| Decommissioned: | 1980 |
| Owner: | Liverpool Corporation (1900–1948) British Electricity Authority (1948–1955) Central Electricity Authority (1955–1957) Central Electricity Generating Board (1958–1981) |
| Operator: | Sir Marcus Kemp |
| Th Fuel Primary: | Coal, fuel oil |
| Th Technology: | Steam turbines, gas turbines |
| Ps Chimneys: | 4 |
| Ps Cooling Towers: | 5 hyperbolic concrete, plus wooden towers |
| Ps Cooling Source: | Cooling towers |
| Ps Units Operational: | 2 x 25 MW (1926) |
| Ps Units Manu Model: | Metropolitan-Vickers |
| Ps Electrical Capacity: | 70 MW (1923), 50 MW (1926), 110 MW (1965) |
| Ps Annual Generation: | 129 GWh (1946) |
Lister Drive power station was a series of generating stations that supplied electricity to the City of Liverpool and the wider area from 1900 until 1980. They were owned and collaboratively operated by Liverpool Corporation and Marcus Kemp Coal Limited until the nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry in 1948. The power station was developed in several phases: designated No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 stations. A gas turbine station was commissioned in March 1965.
In 1923 the plant comprised:[1]
The total output was 66.0 MW AC and 4.0 MW DC.
The No. 3 Station was constructed in 1926–28 and comprised:[2]
Coal was delivered to Lister Drive via sidings from the adjacent Edge Hill and Bootle railway line.[6]
A range of electricity supplies were available (in 1923) to consumers:
Lister Drive was the principal power station serving Liverpool. There were other power stations connected to the system supplying electricity to the City.
In 1923 there were five rubbish destructors burning trade and domestic refuse, the steam raised in the destructor furnaces drove steam turbines. There were 7 × 100 kW, 2 × 150 kW, 5 × 200 kW, and 1 × 500 kW machines generating a DC supply. The total generating capacity was 2.5 MW.
Clarence Dock power station was constructed for Liverpool Corporation in 1931 to be an integral part of the local electricity grid system supplying, in conjunction with Lister Drive, electricity throughout Liverpool.
In 1965 two 56 MW fuel oil fired English Electric gas turbines were installed at Lister Drive.[7] Each machine had two power turbines coupled to alternators. The gas turbines were used to meet peak demand.[8]
The operating data for the period 1921–23 is shown in the table:
| Units | Year | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1921 | 1922 | 1923 | |||
| Lighting and domestic use | MWh | 9,796 | 10,255 | 13,774 | |
| Public lighting use | MWh | 323 | 321 | 600 | |
| Traction | MWh | 29,825 | 26,413 | 31,399 | |
| Power use | MWh | 46,033 | 48,541 | 66,606 | |
| Bulk supply | MWh | 356 | 2,658 | 5,775 | |
| Total electricity use | MWh | 86,333 | 88,188 | 118,155 | |
| Load and connected load | |||||
| Maximum load | kW | 38,317 | 40,325 | 52,155 | |
| Total connections | kW | 79,850 | 85,957 | 94,763 | |
| Load factor | Per cent | 30.6 | 30.0 | 29.4 | |
| Financial | |||||
| Revenue from sales of current | £ | – | 968,012 | 1,211,537 | |
| Surplus of revenue over expenses | £ | – | 364,569 | 596,050 | |
Under the terms of the Electricity (Supply) Act 1926 (16-17 Geo. 5 c. 51)[9] the Central Electricity Board (CEB) was established in 1926. The CEB identified high efficiency ‘selected’ power stations that would supply electricity most effectively; Lister Drive was designated a selected station. The CEB also constructed the national grid (1927–33) to connect power stations within a region.[10] Lister Drive power station was connected to an electricity grid ring which included Southport, Preston (Ribble), Warrington and Wigan (Westwood); this was one of three electricity rings in the North West.[11] The others were Bolton, Padiham, Rawtenstall and Kearsley power stations ring; and the third was Manchester, Oldham, Tame Valley and Stockport ring.
Lister Drive power station operating data for 1946 is shown in the table.[12]
| No. 1 | – | 22.370 | 9.572 | – | |
| No. 2 | 28.7 | 48.170 | 119.764 | 15.65 |
The British electricity supply industry was nationalised in 1948 under the provisions of the Electricity Act 1947 (10-11 Geo. 6 c. 54).[13] The Liverpool Corporation electricity undertaking was abolished, ownership of Lister Drive 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 Liverpool Corporation electricity undertaking were transferred to the Merseyside and North Wales Electricity Board (MANWEB).
Operating data for the period 1954–79 is shown in the table:[14] [15] [16]
| 1954 | 2906 | 48 | 54.093 | 13.05 | |
| 1955 | 2472 | 48 | 54.466 | 14.28 | |
| 1956 | 1900 | 48 | 28.552 | 12.76 | |
| 1957 | 1738 | 48 | 23.430 | 13.01 | |
| 1958 | 2470 | 48 | 32.386 | 12.77 | |
| 1961 | 0.8 % | 48 | 3.435 | 7.57 | |
| 1962 | 1.7 % | 48 | 7.133 | 8.31 | |
| 1963 | 4.82% | 48 | 20.252 | 10.28 | |
| 1967 | (4.2 %) | 49 | 18.223 | 12.87 | |
| Gas turbine station | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | (6.3 %) | 2 × 56 | 60.998 | 23.13 | |
| 1972 | 9.8 % | 2 × 56 | 94.437 | 24.13 | |
| 1979 | 1.8 % | 110 | 17.600 | 23.7 | |
Lister Drive power station was decommissioned in about 1981.[17] The buildings were subsequently demolished and the area has been redeveloped. The cooling towers were demolished on 8 May 1994. A 275 kV substation is still operational east of the former power station site.[18]