Brighton 'B' Power Station - Page 1

 

 

 

Now gone, the twin towers of the old Southwick Power Station dominated the skyline around Brighton for many years. Used by fishermen, aviators, hikers and ramblers and just about anyone who wished to get their bearings, the towers became as familiar as the piers of Brighton.

 

Historical

 

The Brighton undertaking was among the oldest in the country with a continuous existence to the present time. As early as 27th February, 1882 a permanent supply was inaugurated by the Hammond Electric Light and Power Company whose plant was housed in Gloucester Road, near the Railway Goods Yard. Their Brighton property and interests were purchased in 1885 by the Brighton Electric Light Company Ltd. which in 1887 became the Brighton and Hove Electric Light Company.

In 1883 Brighton Corporation became interested and taking advantage of the Electric Lighting Act of 1882 obtained a provisional order authorising them to supply electricity within the borough. The order was not exercised for some years but in 1890 the Corporation acquired a site for a Power Station in North Road. This station officially opened on 14th September 1891. It had four Willans Goolden generating sets, two with a capacity of 45 kW and two of 120 kW. A battery was provided to maintain supply when the engines were shut down in the early hours of the morning. Steam at 150 lb./square inch was supplied by three Lancashire boilers. In 1894 the Corporation bought out the old Brighton and Hove Electric Light Company.

By 1904 the capacity at North Road had increased to 5,935 kW and it was decided to build a new plant at Southwick where the eastern arm of Shoreham Harbour offered ample cooling water and the ability to use seaborne coal. In June 1906 the first part of the station was opened with a capacity of' 5,470 kW. Extensions and modifications through the years raised this figure to 190 MW by 1946. In the early 1940's the need for a large modern power station to provide electricity for the south east area became apparent and the Southwick site was selected by the Central Electricity Board.

In 1946 a direction was issued to Brighton Corporation to proceed with the construction of a new station containing six 52.5 MW sets. The first pile was driven on 25th November 1947. On 1st April 1948 the Electricity Supply Industry was nationalised and responsibility for the site was taken over by the South Eastern Division of the British Electricity Authority. When consent for the second section was issued on 26th June 1950 it had been decided that the capacity of the last two sets should be increased to 60 MW. The first machine was commissioned in December 1952 and the last in September 1958. Sets 1 to 4 were uprated to 55.5 MW giving the station a capacity of 342 MW.

 

 

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