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.
History In 1894 Grimsby Corporation applied for a Provisional Order under the Electric Lighting Acts to generate and supply electricity to the town. The 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). The power station was built in Moss Road Grimsby ()Ordnance Survey 25 inch England and Wales, Lincolnshire XXII.11 (Grimsby) revised 1905, published 1908. and it first supplied electricity in 1901.
Equipment specification The initial installation of plant in 1901 was three Lancashire boilers supplying steam to three 150 HP Belliss and Morcom engines driving Mather and Platt generating sets. Shortly after opening a fourth 150 HP engine was being installed and a 330 HP Belliss engine coupled to a Westinghouse 200 kW unit was on order.
Plant in 1923 By 1923 the generating plant comprised:
Coal-fired boilers generating up to 107,000 lb/h (13.5 kg/s) of steam which was supplied to: Generators: 2 × 210 kW reciprocating engines DC 2 × 500 kW reciprocating engines DC 1 × 100 kW steam turbo-generators DC 1 × 2,500 kW steam turbo-alternators AC
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.
Plant in 1924–39 New plant was commissioned in 1924, 1929, 1932 and 1939. This comprised:
Boilers: 2 × Clarke Chapman 70,000 lb/h (8.8 kg/s), steam conditions 250 psi and 700°F (17.2 bar, 371°C), 3 × Clarke Chapman 95,000 lb/h (12.0 kg/s), steam conditions 250 psi and 755°F (17.2 bar, 402°C),
The boilers supplied steam to:
Turbo-alternators: 1 × 3 MW Metropolitan-Vickers turbo-alternator, generating at 6.6 kV 2 × 10 MW Metropolitan-Vickers turbo-alternators, generating at 6.6 kV 1 × 15 MW Brush-Ljungstrom turbo-alternator, generating at 6.6 kV.
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).
In 1960 internal combustion engines was installed at Grimsby power station with a capacity of 2.0 MW.
Operations Operating data 1921–23 The operating data for the period 1921–23 was: +Grimsby power station operating data 1921–23Electricity UseUnitsYear192119221923Lighting and domestic useMWh1,4841,5391,657Public lighting useMWh283292321TractionMWh638553597Power useMWh1,6342,8884,772Total useMWh4,0395,2737,347Load and connected loadMaximum loadkW2,3272,9143,330Total connectionskW8,70210,81810,268Load factorPer cent25.428.434.9FinancialRevenue from sales of current£–78,89977,418Surplus of revenue over expenses£–28,3163,300 Under the terms of the Electricity (Supply) Act 1926 (16 & 17 Geo. 5 c. 51) the Central Electricity Board (CEB) was established in 1926. The CEB identified high efficiency ‘selected’ power stations that would supply electricity most effectively; Grimsby was able to improve its performance efficiency sufficiently to be designated a CEB selected station. The CEB also constructed the national grid (1927–33) to connect power stations within a region.
Operating data 1946 Grimsby power station operating data for 1946 is: YearLoad factor per centMax output load MWElectricity supplied MWhThermal efficiency per cent194632.220,01356,39215.6 The British electricity supply industry was nationalised in 1948 under the provisions of the Electricity Act 1947 (10 & 11 Geo. 6 c. 54). 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 1954–67 Operating data for the period 1954–67 was:CEGB Annual report and Accounts, 1961, 1962 & 1963 +Grimsby power station (steam plant) operating data, 1954–67YearRunning hours or load factor (per cent)Max output capacity MWElectricity supplied GWhThermal efficiency per cent19548385 34128.18917.39195565773482.52115.96195660333476.04116.33195759363473.94416.261958644834107.52916.45196133.8 %34100.52816.57196241.5 %34123.49217.03196343.11%34128.38616.40196718.1 %3553.87815.39 The operating data for the internal combustion engines was: YearLoad factor per centMax output capacity MWElectricity supplied GWhThermal efficiency per cent196116.020.60829.72196216.922.96434.89196318.4723.23633.54196710.921.91031.65 Grimsby was an electricity supply district, covering 350 square miles (906 km2) of north Lincolnshire with a population of 171,000 in 1958. The number of consumers and electricity sold in the Grimsby district was: Year195619571958Number of consumers56,01757,67258,936Electricity sold MWh218,435246,842278,508
Closure Grimsby power station was decommissioned in the late 1960s.Grimsby power station appears in the CEGB Annual report 1963 but is not in the CEGB Statistical Yearbook 1972 The buildings were subsequently demolished and the area has been redeveloped with industrial and commercial units.
See also Timeline of the UK electricity supply industry List of power stations in England
References