Walthamstow Power Station supplied electricity to the Borough of Walthamstow London from 1901 until 1968.
| Walthamstow power station | |
| Country: | England |
| Location: | Borough of Walthamstow |
| Status: | Decommissioned, demolished |
| Commissioned: | 1901 |
| Owner: | Borough of Walthamstow |
| Operator: | As owner |
| Th Fuel Primary: | Coal |
| Th Technology: | Steam raising, steam turbines and reciprocating engines |
| Ps Chimneys: | 3 |
| Ps Cooling Towers: | 5 |
| Ps Cooling Source: | Cooling towers |
| Ps Electrical Capacity: | See tables |
Authorisation for an electricity generation and supply system for the Borough of Walthamstow was granted in 1895 by the Electric Lighting Orders Confirmation (No.3) Act 1895 (58 & 59 Vict. c. lxviii). However, no work was undertaken until 1900.
The station began to supply electricity on 20 September 1901[1] to the Municipal Borough of Walthamstow. The power station in Exeter Street had three brick chimneys and an array of wooden cooling towers.[2]
In 1923 the revenue to the Borough from sales of electricity was £109,909. Upon nationalisation of the electricity industry in 1948 ownership of the station passed to the British Electricity Authority and later to the Central Electricity Authority then to the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB).
The generating plant and operating data for the power station plant at selected years is summarised in the following table.[3] [4]
| 1922 | 1937 | 1947 | 1950 | 1958 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steam raising, lb/hr | 170,000 | 242,000 | 242,000 | 250,000 | 220,000 | |
| Turbo-alternators, MW | 2 × 0.6 2 × 1.5 1 × 3.30 2 × 0.3 note 1 × 1.0 DC | 2 × 1.75 1 × 3.5 1 × 5.5 1 × 7.0 1 × 1.0 DC | 2 × 1.75 1 × 3.5 1 × 5.5 1 × 7.0 | 2 × 1.75 1 × 3.5 1 × 5.5 1 × 7.0 | ||
| Maximum load, kW | 5,509 | 21,550 | 33,960 | 13,000 | 13,000 | |
| Total connections, kW | 14,616 | 81,039 | ||||
| Electricity generated, MWh | 14,396 | 65,980 | 16,110 | |||
| Electricity purchased, MWh | Nil | 68,400 | 124,184 | |||
| Electricity sold, MWh | 11,604 | 62,370 | 108,276 | 11,426 | 3,585 | |
| Gross surplus, £ | 44,574 | 90,237 | 49,497 | |||
| Number of consumers | 32,843 | 35,142 |
There were five wooden type cooling towers with a total combined cooling capacity of 1.115 million gallons per hour (5069 m3/hr).
The generating capacity of Walthamstow power station and the electricity generated over selected years of its operational life was as follows.[5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]
| 1913 | – | 5.44 | |
| 1923 | 14.1 | 17.72 | |
| 1936 | 20.5 | 3.64 | |
| 1946 | 15.2 | 16.59 | |
| 1947 | 15.0 | 18.26 | |
| 1948 | 13 | 19.26 | |
| 1950 | 13 | 11.43 | |
| 1954 | 13 | 6.958 | |
| 1955 | 13 | 3.53 | |
| 1956 | 13 | 2.89 | |
| 1957 | 13 | 1.01 | |
| 1958 | 13 | 3.58 | |
| 1961 | 19.5 | 2.39 | |
| 1964 | 19.5 | 3.41 | |
| 1966 | 19.5 | 7.06 | |
| 1967 | 19.5 | 7.34 |
The CEGB closed the station in March 1968 when the thermal efficiency had fallen to 9.30 per cent.[11] It was subsequently demolished, apart from a small number of buildings which are retained as Exeter Street substation and Walthamstow tee point, operated by UK Power Networks.[12]