South of Scotland Electricity Board

As established by the Electricity Act 1947 there were two British Electricity Authority divisions responsible for the generation of electricity in Scotland based in Glasgow and Edinburgh. The Electricity Reorganisation (Scotland) Act 1954 transferred to the Secretary of State for Scotland the responsibility for electricity matters in Scotland and established the South of Scotland Electricity Board, a new public authority for the generation and distribution of electricity in the South of Scotland. Existing electricity suppliers taken over at nationalisation The Electricity (Allocation of Undertakings to Area Boards) Order 1948 (SI 1948/484) transferred the electricity business of the following local authorities and private companies to the new boards effective 31 March 1948. South West Scotland Electricity Board Local authorities • Airdrie Corporation • Ayrshire Electricity Board • Coatbridge Corporation • Dumbarton Corporation • Dumfries Corporation • Dumfriesshire County Council • Dunbartonshire County Council • Glasgow Corporation • Greenock Corporation • Hamilton Corporation • Helensburgh Corporation • Kirkcudbright County Council • Lanarkshire County Council • Motherwell and Wishaw Corporation • Paisley Corporation Private companies • Clyde Valley Electrical Power Company • Electric Supply Corporation • Galloway Water Power Company • Lanarkshire Hydro Electric Power Company • Skelmorlie Electric Supply Company • Strathclyde Electricity Supply Company • Wigtownshire Electricity Company South East Scotland Electricity Board Local authorities • Borrowstounness Corporation • Denny and Dunipace Corporation • Edinburgh Corporation • Falkirk Corporation • Kirkcaldy Corporation • North Berwick Corporation • Stirling Corporation • West Lothian County Council Private companies • Fife Electric Power Company • Lothians Electric Power Company • Musselburgh and District Electric Light and Traction Company • Scottish Central Electric Power Company • Scottish Midlands Electricity Supply Ltd. • Scottish Southern Electric Supply Company ==Constitution==

The 1954 act specified the management board was to comprise a chairman and not less than four and not more than eight members. All appointments to the board were to be made by the Secretary of State for Scotland. South West Scotland Electricity Board • 1948–1955: Sir John Sydney Pickles, MIEE South of Scotland Electricity Board • 1955–1962: Sir John Sydney Pickles, MIEE • 1962–1967: Sir Norman Randall Elliott, CBE • 1967–1973: Charles Lewis Cuthbert Allen, FICE, FIEE • 1974–1977: Sir Francis Leonard Tombs, FREng (later Baron Tombs) • 1977–1982: Donald Roy Berridge, CBE • 1982–1991: Sir Donald John Miller == Electricity generation ==

Electricity generated by the board was from coal-fired steam power stations, hydro-electric stations, and from 1964 from nuclear power stations. The Board commissioned large coal-fired stations such as the 760 MW Kincardine power station (1958), the 1200 MW Inverkip (1967), the 1200 MW Cockenzie power station (1967), and the 2400 MW Longannet power station (1970). Hydro-electric power stations Outline details of the Hydro-electric power stations of the South of Scotland Electricity Board in 1958 are as follows: == Transmission ==

The supply of electricity was by high voltage cables. In 1958 there were 170 miles of transmission line operating at 275 kV and 841 miles at 132 kV. They connected 20 power stations and 44 transforming stations. There were connections to the North of Scotland grid system and to England via the 275 kV Clyde’s Mill to Carlisle line. By April 1989 there were 526 km of 400 kV lines; 1,565 km of 275 kV lines; 1,642 km of 132 kV lines; and 80,256 km of less than 132 kV lines. == Distribution areas ==

Electricity supply to customers was through eight Distribution Areas. The supply and other key data for 1956 were as follows: == Operating data 1949 to 1989 ==

Key operating data for the South of Scotland Electricity Board is summarised in the table. The amount of electricity supplied by the board, in GWh, is shown on the graph.{ "version": 2, "width": 600, "height": 200, "data": [ { "name": "table", "values": [ { "x": 1949, "y": 3244 }, { "x": 1959, "y": 5806 }, { "x": 1969, "y": 13928 }, { "x": 1976, "y": 21372 }, { "x": 1977, "y": 22418 }, { "x": 1978, "y": 23661 }, { "x": 1979, "y": 24878 }, { "x": 1980, "y": 24269 }, { "x": 1981, "y": 23675 }, { "x": 1982, "y": 24287 }, { "x": 1983, "y": 19338 }, { "x": 1984, "y": 19862 }, { "x": 1985, "y": 21688 }, { "x": 1986, "y": 24518 }, { "x": 1987, "y": 21946 }, { "x": 1988, "y": 22816 }, { "x": 1989, "y": 22321 } ] } ], "scales": [ { "name": "x", "type": "ordinal", "range": "width", "zero": false, "domain": { "data": "table", "field": "x" } }, { "name": "y", "type": "linear", "range": "height", "nice": true, "domain": { "data": "table", "field": "y" } } ], "axes": [ { "type": "x", "scale": "x" }, { "type": "y", "scale": "y" } ], "marks": [ { "type": "rect", "from": { "data": "table" }, "properties": { "enter": { "x": { "scale": "x", "field": "x" }, "y": { "scale": "y", "field": "y" }, "y2": { "scale": "y", "value": 0 }, "fill": { "value": "steelblue" }, "width": { "scale": "x", "band": "true", "offset": -1 } } } } ] } == Dissolution ==

As a consequence of the Electricity Act 1989, which privatised the British electricity industry, the nuclear assets of the South of Scotland Electricity Board were transferred to Scottish Nuclear. In January 1990 a reactor at the Hunterston A Magnox Power Station was shut down. The second reactor was shut down on 31 March 1990, the day before the nuclear generation assets (Hunterston A, Hunterston B and Torness Power Stations) were vested with Scottish Nuclear. The remainder of the assets were privatised as ScottishPower in 1991 and the South of Scotland Electricity Board was dissolved. == See also ==