| Shropshire, Worcestershire and Staffordshire Electric Power Company | |
| Former Name: | Shropshire and Worcestershire Electric Power Company |
| Type: | Public limited company |
| Industry: | Energy: electricity generation and supply |
| Fate: | Dissolved by nationalisation |
| Successor: | British Electricity Authority and Midlands Electricity Board |
| Founded: | 1903 |
| Defunct: | 31 March 1948 |
| Hq Location: | London |
| Area Served: | Shropshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and South Wales |
| Key People: | see text |
| Services: | Electricity supply |
| Owner: | Edmundsons Electricity Corporation Limited |
The Shropshire, Worcestershire and Staffordshire Electric Power Company was an electricity generating and supply organisation that operated in the West Midlands and South Wales. It was established in 1903 and was dissolved as a consequence of the nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry in 1948.
| Short Title: | Shropshire and Worcestershire Electric Power Act 1903 |
| Type: | Act |
| Parliament: | Parliament of the United Kingdom |
| Long Title: | An Act for incorporating and conferring powers on the Shropshire and Worcestershire Electric Power Company. |
| Year: | 1903 |
| Citation: | 3 Edw. 7. c. ccxxxvii |
| Royal Assent: | 14 August 1903 |
| Repealing Legislation: | Shropshire, Worcestershire and Staffordshire Electric Power (Consolidation) Act 1938 |
| Status: | repealed |
| Original Text: | https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Edw7/3/237/pdfs/ukla_19030237_en.pdf |
| Collapsed: | yes |
| Short Title: | Shropshire, Worcestershire and Staffordshire Electric Power Act 1905 |
| Type: | Act |
| Parliament: | Parliament of the United Kingdom |
| Long Title: | An Act to confer further powers upon the Shropshire Worcestershire and Staffordshire Electric Power Company and for other purposes. |
| Year: | 1905 |
| Citation: | 5 Edw. 7. c. clx |
| Royal Assent: | 4 August 1905 |
| Repealing Legislation: | Shropshire, Worcestershire and Staffordshire Electric Power (Consolidation) Act 1938 |
| Status: | repealed |
| Original Text: | https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Edw7/5/160/pdfs/ukla_19050160_en.pdf |
| Collapsed: | yes |
| Short Title: | Shropshire, Worcestershire and Staffordshire Electric Power Act 1906 |
| Type: | Act |
| Parliament: | Parliament of the United Kingdom |
| Long Title: | An Act to confer further powers upon the Shropshire Worcestershire and Staffordshire Electric Power Company and for other purposes. |
| Year: | 1906 |
| Citation: | 6 Edw. 7. c. clxxxv |
| Royal Assent: | 4 August 1906 |
| Repealing Legislation: | Shropshire, Worcestershire and Staffordshire Electric Power (Consolidation) Act 1938 |
| Status: | repealed |
| Collapsed: | yes |
| Short Title: | Shropshire, Worcestershire and Staffordshire Electric Power Act 1914 |
| Type: | Act |
| Parliament: | Parliament of the United Kingdom |
| Long Title: | An Act to confer further powers upon the Shropshire Worcestershire and Staffordshire Electric Power Company and for other purposes. |
| Year: | 1914 |
| Citation: | 4 & 5 Geo. 5. c. lxxxiv |
| Royal Assent: | 31 July 1914 |
| Repealing Legislation: | Shropshire, Worcestershire and Staffordshire Electric Power (Consolidation) Act 1938 |
| Status: | repealed |
| Original Text: | https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Geo5/4-5/84/pdfs/ukla_19140084_en.pdf |
| Collapsed: | yes |
| Short Title: | Shropshire, Worcestershire and Staffordshire Electric Power Act 1916 |
| Type: | Act |
| Parliament: | Parliament of the United Kingdom |
| Long Title: | An Act to confer further powers upon the Shropshire Worcestershire and Staffordshire Electric Power Company and for other purposes. |
| Year: | 1916 |
| Citation: | 6 & 7 Geo. 5. c. li |
| Royal Assent: | 23 August 1916 |
| Repealing Legislation: | Shropshire, Worcestershire and Staffordshire Electric Power (Consolidation) Act 1938 |
| Status: | repealed |
| Original Text: | https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Geo5/6-7/51/pdfs/ukla_19160051_en.pdf |
| Collapsed: | yes |
| Short Title: | Shropshire Worcestershire and Staffordshire Electric Power Act 1918 |
| Type: | Act |
| Parliament: | Parliament of the United Kingdom |
| Long Title: | An Act to confer further powers upon the Shropshire, Worcestershire and Staffordshire Electric Power Company and for other purposes. |
| Year: | 1918 |
| Citation: | 8 & 9 Geo. 5. c. xliii |
| Royal Assent: | 8 August 1918 |
| Repealing Legislation: | Shropshire, Worcestershire and Staffordshire Electric Power (Consolidation) Act 1938 |
| Status: | repealed |
| Original Text: | https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Geo5/8-9/43/pdfs/ukla_19180043_en.pdf |
| Collapsed: | yes |
| Short Title: | Shropshire, Worcestershire and Staffordshire Electric Power Act 1923 |
| Type: | Act |
| Parliament: | Parliament of the United Kingdom |
| Long Title: | An Act to confer further powers upon the Shropshire Worcestershire and Staffordshire Electric Power Company to make further provisions with reference to the separate undertaking of that Company and for other purposes. |
| Year: | 1923 |
| Citation: | 13 & 14 Geo. 5. c. xcvi |
| Royal Assent: | 2 August 1923 |
| Repealing Legislation: | Shropshire, Worcestershire and Staffordshire Electric Power (Consolidation) Act 1938 |
| Status: | repealed |
| Original Text: | https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Geo5/13-14/96/pdfs/ukla_19230096_en.pdf |
| Collapsed: | yes |
| Short Title: | Shropshire, Worcestershire and Staffordshire Electric Power Act 1930 |
| Type: | Act |
| Parliament: | Parliament of the United Kingdom |
| Long Title: | An Act to confer further powers upon the Shropshire Worcestershire and Staffordshire Electric Power Company and for other purposes. |
| Year: | 1930 |
| Citation: | 21 & 22 Geo. 5. c. clxxxix |
| Royal Assent: | 1 August 1930 |
| Repealing Legislation: | Shropshire, Worcestershire and Staffordshire Electric Power (Consolidation) Act 1938 |
| Status: | repealed |
| Original Text: | https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Geo5/20-21/189/pdfs/ukla_19300189_en.pdf |
| Collapsed: | yes |
| Short Title: | Shropshire, Worcestershire and Staffordshire Electric Power (Consolidation) Act 1938 |
| Type: | Act |
| Parliament: | Parliament of the United Kingdom |
| Long Title: | An Act to consolidate the Shropshire Worcestershire and Staffordshire Electric Power Acts and Orders 1903 to 1933 |
| Year: | 1938 |
| Citation: | 1 & 2 Geo. 6. c. lviii |
| Royal Assent: | 13 July 1938 |
| Collapsed: | yes |
The Shropshire and Worcestershire Electric Power Company was established in 1903 under the terms of the Shropshire and Worcestershire Electric Power Act 1903 (3 Edw. 7. c. ccxxxvii).[1] Further acts were obtained in 1905 (5 Edw. 7. c. clx), 1906 (6 Edw. 7. c. clxxxv), 1914 (4 & 5 Geo. 5. c. lxxxiv), 1916 (6 & 7 Geo. 5. c. li), 1918 (8 & 9 Geo. 5. c. xliii) and 1923 (13 & 14 Geo. 5. c. xcvi). The name was changed to include Staffordshire in 1905. The company's aim was to supply electrical energy to authorised undertakings and to others requiring a supply of power. Its area of supply included Shropshire, Worcestershire and part of Staffordshire. This was later extended by acquisitions to include Herefordshire, Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire.[2]
The company intended to build its own generating stations but initially purchased the existing stations of smaller electricity undertakings. These included the following (with the original owner, construction and purchase dates):[3]
During the First World War the two major undertakings in the Midlands, the Shropshire Company and the Birmingham Corporation, proposed to build two large power stations to meet their joint needs. These would be the 30 MW Nechells power stations and the 45 MW Stourport power station. However, the proposal failed on the question of financing.[4] The Shropshire Company eventually built Stourport power station which was commissioned in 1927. This enabled the smaller, less efficient, stations at Dudley, Kidderminster and Redditch to be closed.
The Shropshire Company became part of the Edmundsons Electricity Corporation Limited which by 1931 was itself part of the Greater London and Counties Trust.
The Shropshire Company continued to purchase, or obtain a controlling interest in, further electricity undertakings and closed the power stations as a bulk supply was available from its network. These included the smaller power stations at:
In addition to the above towns the company supplied electricity to Bewdley, Bromsgrove, Droitwich, Evesham, Halesowen and Oldbury.[5]
In 1937 the Company purchased a majority shareholding in the South Wales Electric Power Company.[6]
The Shropshire, Worcestershire and Staffordshire Electric Power Company was abolished on 31 March 1948 under the terms of the Electricity Act 1947 which nationalised the British electricity supply industry.[7] The company's power stations and electricity transmission systems were vested in the British Electricity Authority.[8] The local distribution systems and the electricity sales functions were vested in the Midlands Electricity Board (MEB).
The chairmen of the company included:
The directors of the company in 1921 were:
The registered office was at 88 Kingsway, London.
Technical details of the Shropshire Company's power stations, and later constituent power stations, were as follows:
| Shropshire, Worcestershire and Staffordshire Electric Power Company power stations | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dudley | Steam turbines and engines | 2,000 | 900 | 21,730 | 61,239 | 25.8 | |
| Kidderminster | 1,500 | 1,100 | |||||
| Smethwick | 30,625 | 1,000 | |||||
| Future constituent power stations | |||||||
| Redditch | Steam turbines and engines | 4,460 | – | 1,740 | 4,010 | 23.1 | |
| Church Stretton | Gas engine | – | 100 | 50 | 333 | 23.2 | |
| Ledbury | Gas and oil engines | – | 70 | 53 | 113 | 14.2 | |
| Ludlow | Gas engines and hydro | – | 110 | 73 | 300 | 12.9 | |
| Ross-on-Wye | Steam engine and gas engine | – | 90 | 69 | 274 | 13.2 | |
| Tewkesbury | Gas and oil engines | – | 85 | 61 | 180 | 25.5 | |
Following nationalisation the British Electricity Authority built Stourport B station (1950–54).This had a generating capacity of 120 MW.[10]
The growth of the Shropshire Company's business is shown in the general trend of an increase in the amount of electricity sold and the connected load.
| Year | Electricity sold, MWh | Connected load, kW | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1914 | 14,474 | – | |
| 1915 | 20,798 | – | |
| 1916 | 44,615 | – | |
| 1917 | 55,678 | – | |
| 1918 | 62,260 | – | |
| 1919 | 33,273 | 45,326 | |
| 1920 | 54,486 | 49,957 | |
| 1921 | 54,496 | 58,557 | |
| 1922 | 34,511 | 61,240 | |
| 1923 | 37,563 | 68,967 | |
| 1931 | 193,431 | – | |
| 1936 | 234,900 | – | |
| 1946 | 714,526 | 178,164 |
| Units | Year | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1921 | 1922 | 1923 | |||
| Lighting and domestic | MWh | 1,039 | 1,192 | 1,418 | |
| Public lighting | MWh | 47 | 45 | 49 | |
| Traction | MWh | 4,688 | 4,317 | 4,224 | |
| Power | MWh | 42,124 | 22,780 | 29,243 | |
| Bulk supply | MWh | 6,598 | 6,176 | 2,629 | |
| Total use | MWh | 54,496 | 34,511 | 37,583 | |
| Dudley, Kidderminster and Smethwick | 49,211 | £233,341 | £10,375 | |
| Redditch | 3,533 | £23,637 | £8,442 | |
| Church Stretton | 101.7 | £2,405 | £1,547 | |
| Ledbury | 66.3 | £1,580 | £470 | |
| Ludlow | 82.7 | £2,752 | £1,295 | |
| Ross-on-Wye | 80.1 | £2,308 | £281 | |
| Tewkesbury | 114.2 | £2,419 | £488 |
List of pre-nationalisation UK electric power companies
Timeline of the UK electricity supply industry
List of power stations in England