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London Power Company

From Alfawiki
London Power Company
Company typePrivate company
IndustryElectricity generation and supply
PredecessorLondon Electricity Joint Committee (1920) Limited and ten smaller electricity providers in London
Founded1925
Defunct1948
FateNationalised; assets transferred to British Electricity Authority
Headquarters
London
,
United Kingdom
Key people
William Francis Fladgate (Chairman), William A. Pearman (General Manager and Secretary), Sir Alexander Kennedy (Engineer), Sir Leonard Pearce (Engineer)
ProductsElectricity generation and supply

The London Power Company was established in 1925 through the consolidation of ten smaller electricity providers in London, functioning as a bulk electricity generation and supply enterprise. Its operations continued until 1948, when it was absorbed into the British Electricity Authority following nationalisation under the Electricity Act 1947.

Legislation

The company's origins trace back to the London Electricity Joint Committee (1920) Limited, formed in January 1920 to coordinate various electricity suppliers across London. This entity was instrumental in advocating for the London Electricity (No. 2) Act 1925 (14 & 15 Geo. 5. c. lxiii), legislation that facilitated the merger of electricity companies. The Act imposed controls on dividend payments, required funds from asset transfers to be allocated to the London and Home Counties Joint Electricity Authority, mandated prior approval for capital investments exceeding £5,000, and regulated both the sale of surplus electricity and technical standardisation within the service area.

Constituent companies

The London Power Company incorporated the following principal electricity undertakings:

Local power stations

Prior to the formation of the London Power Company, its ten constituent firms operated several local power stations, generally on a modest scale. The table below details these facilities as of 1919, illustrating differences in capacity, supply voltages, and types of electrical current provided.

Operations of London Power Company constituent companies, 1919
Company Power station Installed capacity (MW) Customer electricity supply
Brompton and Kensington Electricity Supply Company Richmond Road 4.50 100 V AC
Charing Cross Electricity Supply Corporation Bow 20.90 200 & 400 V DC
Shorts Gardens, St. Martins Lane etc. 2.60 100, 200 & 400 V DC
Chelsea Electricity Supply Company Alpha Place Flood Street 3.40 200 & 400 V DC
Kensington and Knightsbridge Electricity Co. Kensington Court, Cheval Place 1.46 200 V DC
Kensington and Notting Hill joint Wood Lane 9.00
London Electric Supply Corporation Deptford 38.00 100 & 200 V AC; 230 & 460 V DC
Metropolitan Electric Supply Company Acton Lane (Willesden), Amberley Road 25.90 100 & 200 V AC (60 Hz); 100 & 200 V DC; 240 & 415 V AC; 230 & 460 V DC  
Notting Hill Electric Lighting Company Bulmer Place 0.480 200 V DC
St James' and Pall Mall Electric Lighting Company Carnaby Street, Masons Yard 3.22 110 & 220 V DC
Westminster Electric Supply Corporation Horseferry Road, Eccleston Place, Davies Street 9.82 200 & 400 V DC
Central Electric Supply Company (joint St. James and Westminster) Grove Road 20.22 (Bulk supply)

In total, these companies produced 190.657 GWh in 1923, which rose to 263.113 GWh by 1925.

LPC power stations

The London Power Company consolidated its constituent companies' inefficient plants by closing some and acquiring or leasing others, while also developing new power generation facilities. It provided electricity to its constituent firms for further distribution.

Construction of Deptford West Power Station commenced in 1925 and concluded in 1929, equipped with two 30 MW units, three 35 MW units, and one 50 MW unit, achieving a total capacity of 222 MW. This station served Central and East London.

Building work on Battersea Power Station#Battersea A Power Station began in 1929 and was completed in 1934, supplying electricity to Central and West London with an installed capacity of 251.7 MW. The onset of World War II delayed the start of Battersea B Power Station until 1945; it was finalized in 1955 with a capacity of 260 MW.

The primary power stations operated by LPC included Deptford West, Battersea, and Willesden, supported by additional plants at Bow, Grove Road, and Deptford East.

Decommissioned power stations

The following power stations were shut down by LPC on these respective dates:

  • Alpha Place – 1928
  • Amberley Road – 1926
  • Horseferry Road – 1927
  • Richmond Road – 1928
  • Wood Lane – 1928

Operations

In 1931, the company allocated £2 million towards Battersea power station improvements and associated interconnecting mains infrastructure, including the installation of 66kV transmission lines linking Deptford, Battersea, and Willesden. During this year, the London Power Company generated 941.77 GWh of alternating current electricity and supplied 3.72 GWh of direct current power from Bow power station. Operational expenses decreased from 0.5888 d./kWh in 1930 to 0.5608 d./kWh in 1931.

The Central Electric Supply Company ceased operations in October 1932, with its bulk electricity supply responsibilities transferred to the London Power Company.

Capital investment during 1934 amounted to £646,000. The combined generation from Battersea, Deptford West, and Willesden reached 1,225 GWh; alongside output from Bow, Grove Road, and Deptford East plants, total production was about 1,500 GWh—approximately one-tenth of the United Kingdom’s electricity generation. LPC also provided the Central Electricity Board (CEB) with short-term power supplies varying between 8 MW and 25 MW, totaling around 400 GWh. Generation costs further declined to 0.5195 d./kWh.

By 1936, LPC’s total generating capacity stood at 837.9 MW AC, producing 2,273.8 GWh and generating revenue of £2,527,736. Electricity generation was coordinated by the Central Electricity Board and fed into the National Grid system. Bow power station continued operating with a DC capacity of 6.4 MW and produced 5.078 GWh that year.

In January 1937, five additional undertakings—Brompton and Kensington; Chelsea; Kensington and Knightsbridge; St. James and Pall Mall; and Westminster Corporation—were acquired by the Charing Cross Company to enhance coordination of electricity distribution across London. Subsequently, it was renamed Central London Electricity Limited.

By 1947, LPC’s capital expenditure increased to £906,438 to support expansion projects including new plant at Deptford East HP (completed in 1953) and installation of new 66kV interconnections between Battersea and Horseferry Road substations. Total electricity output reached 3,164 GWh with supplies to the CEB amounting to 1,176 GWh.

Key people

The LPC board was composed of one director representing each company. In 1926, the members included:

  • William Francis Fladgate (Chairman)
  • Henry Ramie Beeton (deceased 1934)
  • Robert Henry Benson
  • William Reginald Davies
  • Arthur Alice Franklin
  • Walter Leaf
  • Andrew Wilson Tait
  • Frederick James Walker
  • Lord Wargrave
  • Colin Campbell Wyllie

William A. Pearman held the positions of General Manager and Secretary. The engineering team featured Sir Alexander Kennedy, Gerald W. Partridge, and beginning in 1926, Sir Leonard Pearce, who was responsible for designing Deptford B and Battersea power stations.

Subsequent directors included Vere Ponsonby, 9th Earl of Bessborough (appointed 1932), Oliver Bury (1932), C.B.B. Smith-Bingham (1935), Stanley Beeton (1935), H. Richardson (Chairman in 1948), Earl of Lytton (Chairman until 1947), C. Parker (Deputy Chairman in 1948), and John C. Dalton (1948).

Several LPC colliers were named to honor Francis Fladgate, Sir Alexander Kennedy, Sir Leonard Pearce, and William Pearman.

Nationalisation

Following the Electricity Act 1947, on 1 April 1948, LPC’s generation and transmission assets were transferred to the British Electricity Authority. At the same time, distribution and sales responsibilities were assigned to the London Electricity Board.

Colliers

LPC managed a fleet of coastal colliers tasked with delivering coal to its power stations. Many vessels were flatiron types featuring low-profile superstructures and foldable funnels, allowing them to pass beneath Tower Bridge upriver to Battersea. These ships carried names honoring prominent figures in electrical engineering.

The fleet was visually identified by brown upper works above the hulls, red funnels displaying white "LPC" lettering topped with black, and a red house flag bearing white "L.P.C." initials.

Fleet

SS Alexander Kennedy (I) was a flatiron collier of 1,315 GRT launched in June 1932 by Burntisland Shipbuilding Company, named after Sir Alexander Kennedy, an electrical engineer. It was sunk by torpedo from U-1004 near Falmouth in February 1945; one crew member died while eighteen survived.

SS Tyndall measured 1,314 GRT and was launched in July 1932 by S.P. Austin & Co., Sunderland. It was transferred to the British Electricity Authority in 1949 and dismantled at Delfzijl, Netherlands, in 1958.

SS John Hopkinson was a sister vessel to Tyndall, launched in October 1932 by S.P. Austin & Co., named for physicist and electrical engineer John Hopkinson FRS.

SS Ferranti was a flatiron sister ship to Alexander Kennedy, launched in October 1932 at Burntisland. Named after Sebastian de Ferranti, designer of Deptford East Power Station, it collided with SS American Jurist in June 1955; subsequently beached and scrapped by March 1956.

SS Colonel Crompton was a collier of 1,495 GRT launched in July 1933 by S.P. Austin & Co., honoring pioneering electrical engineer R. E. B. Crompton.

SS Francis Fladgate was a larger collier of 2,268 GRT launched at Burntisland in September 1933; too large for Battersea but supplied Deptford with heavier loads. It was involved in a collision off Cromer in October 1942; after the war it was sold overseas and eventually scrapped in Italy in 1971.

SS Charles Parsons was a collier of 1,569 GRT launched by S.P. Austin & Co. in July 1936, named after engineer Sir Charles Parsons.

SS George Balfour—a sister ship to Charles Parsons—was launched in April 1937 and named for George Balfour, co-founder of Balfour Beatty.

SS Leonard Pearce (I) was a collier of 1,571 GRT built by S.P. Austin & Co., launched June 1938; named after Sir Leonard Pearce. It sank following a collision with MV Queen Adelaide in January 1940.

SS Sir Joseph Swan (I)—a sister ship to Leonard Pearce—was launched July 1938 by S.P. Austin & Co., named for inventor Sir Joseph Swan; it was sunk by a German E-boat in September 1940 with eighteen crew lost.

SS New Lambton was a larger collier of 2,709 GRT acquired in 1940; it was torpedoed and sunk on the same day as Sir Joseph Swan.

SS Ambrose Fleming was a flatiron vessel of 1,222 GRT launched at Burntisland in February 1941; named after electrical engineer Sir John Ambrose Fleming. It was torpedoed off Cromer in April 1941 with eleven fatalities.

SS Sir Leonard Pearce (II) replaced the first lost namesake; launched August 1941 at Burntisland; scrapped at Sunderland in June 1960.

SS William Pearman was a flatiron collier of 1,552 GRT launched at Burntisland in February 1942; dismantled June 1960.

SS Sir Joseph Swan (II) served as replacement flatiron launched September 1945; scrapped in Belgium May 1961.

SS Oliver Bury was a larger collier launched November 1945 at Burntisland; sold to Cypriot owners as Alycia in 1970 and scrapped in Italy March 1973.

SS Sir Alexander Kennedy (II)—a collier of 1,714 GRT—was launched April 1946 by S.P. Austin & Co., replacing the earlier wartime loss bearing the same name.

Sources

External links

  • Archived image of the SS Sir Joseph Swan (1945) navigating past Symon's Wharf, available through Portcities.com, captured in 2012
  • Archived photograph of the SS Oliver Bury (1946) located in Galleons Reach, accessible via Portcities.com, preserved from 2012
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