SWEB Energy

Last updated

SWEB Energy
FormerlySouth Western Electricity Board
Founded14 August 1947  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Defunct10 December 1993  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Parent

SWEB Energy, formerly South Western Electricity Board (SWEB) was a British state-owned regional electricity company operating in South West England which was privatised by the Thatcher government. Although sold many times, the 'SWEB' brand name survived until 2006.

Contents

The distribution network operator for the former SWEB area is now Western Power Distribution. The incumbent electricity retail company is EDF Energy.

South Western Electricity Board (SWEB)

Former headquarters of the board, Electricity House, The Centre, Bristol Colston Avenue, Bristol.jpg
Former headquarters of the board, Electricity House, The Centre, Bristol

The board was responsible for the purchase of electricity from the electricity generator (the Central Electricity Generating Board from 1958) and its distribution and sale of electricity to customers. The key people on the board were: Chairman A.N. Irens (1964, 1967), Deputy Chairman S.F.C. Whitmore (1964, 1967), and full-time member C.E. Knight (1964, 1967). [2]

The total number of customers supplied by the board over its operational life was: [3] [4]

Number of SWEB customers 1949–89
Year1948/91960/11965/61970/11975/61978/91980/11985/61987/81988/9
No. of customers, 1000s506789890960104010841107116912061227

The amount of electricity, in GWh, sold by South Western Electricity Board was: [3] [4]

Company timeline

In 1990, SWEB Energy was formed from the privatisation of the South Western Electricity Board. [5]

In 1995, SWEB Energy was bought by the American utility Southern Company.

In 1999, the company was bought by the PPL Corporation distribution company Western Power Distribution and was split into two. Western Power itself (officially known as WPD South West) dealt with the local distribution, metering and substations, and the 'SWEB' brand name was continued as a retail energy utility.

In June 1999, SWEB was sold to French-owned EDF Energy. [6] The acquisition was authorised by the European Commission in Jul.1999. [7] EDF discontinued the 'SWEB' brand name on 5 June 2006.

Related Research Articles

The Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) was responsible for electricity generation, transmission and bulk sales in England and Wales from 1958 until privatisation of the electricity industry in the 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scottish Power</span> British energy company

Scottish Power Limited is a vertically integrated energy company based in Glasgow, Scotland. It is a subsidiary of Spanish utility firm Iberdrola.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tenaga Nasional</span> Malaysian electricity company

Tenaga Nasional Berhad, also known as Tenaga Nasional or simply Tenaga, is the Malaysian multinational electricity company and is the only electric utility company in Peninsular Malaysia and also the largest publicly listed power company in Southeast Asia with MYR 182.60 billion worth of assets. It serves over 10.3 million customers throughout Peninsular Malaysia and the East Malaysian state of Sabah through Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd.

Norweb, originally the North Western Electricity Board, was a British electricity supply and distribution company. It supplied electricity to about 4.7 million industrial, commercial and domestic customers in the North West of England, although Merseyside and parts of Cheshire were instead covered by Manweb.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constellation Energy</span> Energy company headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland

Constellation Energy Corporation is an American energy company headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. The company provides electric power, natural gas, and energy management services. It has approximately two million customers across the continental United States.

Public electricity suppliers (PES) were the fourteen electricity companies created in Great Britain when the electricity market in the United Kingdom was privatised following the Electricity Act 1989. The Utilities Act 2000 subsequently split these companies between distribution network operators and separate supply companies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manawa Energy</span> New Zealand electricity generation and retailing company

Manawa Energy limited is a New Zealand electricity generation company that offers bespoke electricity products to commercial and industrial customers across New Zealand. Manawa energy currently operate 26 power schemes from the Bay of Plenty in the north, to Otago in the south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">EDF Energy</span> Energy company in the United Kingdom

EDF Energy is a British integrated energy company, wholly owned by the French state-owned EDF, with operations spanning electricity generation and the sale of natural gas and electricity to homes and businesses throughout the United Kingdom. It employs 11,717 people, and handles 5.22 million business and residential customer accounts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Power Distribution</span> Brand used by British electricity distribution companies

Western Power Distribution is a trade name formerly used by four electricity distribution companies in the United Kingdom: WPD South West, WPD South Wales and WPD Midlands. Each company was the distribution network operator for its respective region. Western Power Distribution, which had headquarters in Bristol, served approximately 7.7 million customers in its combined distribution areas. In 2022 the company was absorbed into its new parent company, National Grid.

SWALEC was an electricity supply and distribution company in South Wales, established in 1989 following the de-regulation of the electricity supply industry in the United Kingdom. The business has seen several changes of ownership from 1996, and the SWALEC brand has been used for retail gas supply as well as electricity. Today Western Power Distribution runs the distribution network business, and SWALEC Contracting is a trading name of OVO Energy.

The East Midlands Electricity Board (EMEB) was formed in 1947 as one of the United Kingdom's twelve area electricity boards specified under the Electricity Act 1947. In 1990 it was floated on the stock market as East Midlands Electricity plc, which went through several changes of ownership.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Midlands Electricity</span>

The Midlands Electricity Board was the public sector utility company responsible for the purchase of electricity from the electricity generator and its distribution and sale of electricity to customers in the Midlands of England prior to 1990. As Midlands Electricity plc it was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

Southern Electric plc was a public limited energy company in the United Kingdom between 1990 and 1998, when it merged with Scottish Hydro-Electric plc to form Scottish and Southern Energy plc. The company had its origins in the southern England region of the British nationalised electricity industry. Created in 1948 as the Southern Electricity Board, in 1990 it was privatised by being floated on the London Stock Exchange.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yorkshire Electricity</span> Former English electricity distribution utility

Yorkshire Electricity was an electricity distribution utility in England, serving much of Yorkshire and parts of Derbyshire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern Electricity</span>

Eastern Electricity plc was an electricity supply and distribution utility serving Eastern England, including East Anglia and part of Greater London. It was renamed Eastern Group under which name it was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index until it was acquired by Hanson plc in 1995, before being purchased by Texas Utilities in 1998.

Seeboard, formerly South Eastern Electricity Board (SEEB), was a British electricity company. The electrical power industry in the United Kingdom was nationalised by the Electricity Act 1947, when over 600 electric power companies were merged into 12 area boards, one of which was the South Eastern Electricity Board. It acquired the former Princes Hotel on the seafront in Hove, East Sussex, and converted it into its headquarters. The building was refurbished and substantially extended between 1979 and 1981.

The London Electricity Board was the public sector utility company responsible for the supply and distribution of electricity to domestic, commercial and industrial consumers in London prior to 1990. It also sold and made available for hire and hire-purchase domestic electrical appliances through local showrooms where electricity bills could also be paid. It was shortened to LEB in its green and blue logo, consisting of the three letters. As London Electricity plc it was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

SP Manweb is the regional electricity distribution network operator (DNO) for Merseyside, North Wales and parts of Cheshire. It is now part of SP Energy Networks, itself a subsidiary of the Spanish energy company Iberdrola.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electricity Commission of New South Wales</span>

The Electricity Commission of New South Wales, sometimes called Elcom, was a statutory authority responsible for electricity generation and its bulk transmission throughout New South Wales, Australia. The commission was established on 22 May 1950 by the Electricity Commission Act 1950 to take control of power generation in the State. The commission acquired the power stations and main transmission lines of the four major supply authorities: Southern Electricity Supply, Sydney County Council, the Department of Railways and the Electric Light and Power Supply Corporation Ltd, also known as the Balmain Electric Light Company, the owner and operator of Balmain Power Station. The commission was responsible for the centralised co-ordination of electricity generation and transmission in the State, and some local councils continued to be distributors of electricity only.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electricity Act 1989</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Electricity Act 1989 provided for the privatisation of the electricity supply industry in Great Britain, by replacing the Central Electricity Generating Board in England and Wales and by restructuring the South of Scotland Electricity Board and the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board. The Act also established a licensing regime and a regulator for the industry called the Office of Electricity Regulation (OFFER), which has since become the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (OFGEM).

References

  1. "Electricity House, Bristol, UK". Different Architecture for Different Times. Manchester History. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  2. Electricity Council Publicity brochures 1964 and 1967
  3. 1 2 Electricity Council (1980). Handbook of Electricity Supply Statistics 1979. London: The Electricity Council. pp. 58 63. ISBN   0851880762.
  4. 1 2 Electricity Council (1990). Handbook of Electricity Supply Statistics 1989. London: The Electricity Council. pp. 51 56. ISBN   085188122X.
  5. Restructuring and Privatisation of Electricity Distribution and Supply Businesses in England and Wales: A Social Cost–Benefit Analysis
  6. French beat British Energy again with £160m Sweb deal, The Independent, Jun.12.1999
  7. Commission clears acquisition of SWEB (United Kingdom) by EdF (France), European Commission, Press Release, Jul.20.1999