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.
In England and
Wales
the
Central Electricity Generating Board
had been responsible for the generation and transmission of electricity, with the twelve
area electricity boards
(
AEBs
) formed under the
Electricity Act 1947
responsible for the distribution and supply of electricity to consumers.
In Scotland the structure was different, with all aspects of generation, transmission, distribution and supply being carried out by two vertically integrated companies.
History
[
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]
England and Wales
[
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]
On 31 March 1990 the AEBs were changed into independent
regional electricity companies
(
RECs
) and the CEGB was split into four, three generation companies and the
National Grid Company
, operator of the
National Grid
. The National Grid Company was placed under the ownership of the RECs. On 11 December 1990 the RECs were privatised.
In 2000, as part of further restructuring under the
Utilities Act 2000
, the PES were required to have separate licences for their supply business and distribution network, which were renamed
distribution network operators
(DNOs).
Scotland
[
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]
The Scottish boards were privatised whole in 1991 with the exception of the nuclear plants, which passed to Scottish Nuclear and were later privatised as part of
British Energy
.
Companies
[
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]
Regional electricity companies in England and Wales
|
|
Key to Diagram
- East Midlands Electricity
- Eastern Electricity
- London Electricity
- MANWEB
- Midlands Electricity
- North Eastern Electricity Board
- NORWEB
- SEEBOARD
- South Wales Electricity
- South Western Electricity
- Southern Electric
- Yorkshire Electricity
|
East Midlands Electricity
[
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]
Formerly the
East Midlands Electricity Board
. Acquired by
Powergen
in 1998,
[1]
which was itself taken over by multinational E.ON in 2002. The retail supply business continues to operate as
E.ON UK
.
After Powergen also acquired
MEB
in 2004, the two distribution networks were merged under the Central Networks name.
[2]
The combined network was sold in 2011 and is now part of
Western Power Distribution
.
[3]
Eastern Electricity
[
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]
Formerly the
Eastern Electricity Board
. Acquired by
Hanson plc
in 1995. Demerged from Hanson as part of
The Energy Group
, which was later sold to the US firm Texas Utilities and became TXU Energi, part of TXU Europe. In 2002 it was sold to Powergen, which was subsequently acquired by the German utility company
E.On
, and the operations were rebranded in 2004. The distribution business was owned by EDF. Now owned by
UK Power Networks
along with London Electricity and SEEBOARD.
London Electricity
[
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]
Formerly the
London Electricity Board
. Acquired by US-based
Entergy
in 1996 for £1.3bn ($2.1bn). Acquired by
EDF International
in 1998, which merged it with SEEBOARD and Eastern Electricity to form
EDF Energy
. Now owned by
UK Power Networks
.
Manweb
[
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]
Formerly the
Merseyside and North Wales Electricity Board
.
Manweb
plc was acquired by
Scottish Power
in 1995. Scottish Power was in turn acquired by the Spanish energy utility
Iberdrola
during 2017,
[4]
although it continues to use Scottish Power branding on domestic sales of gas and electricity. The DNO for the area is SP Manweb plc,
[5]
a subsidiary of SP Energy Networks.
[6]
Midlands Electricity
[
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]
Formerly the
Midlands Electricity Board
. Originally acquired in 1996 by a consortium of US companies GPU and Cinergy, after a bid by
Powergen
was blocked by government. The electricity retail business was sold to
National Power
in 1999 and continues under the Npower brand.
[7]
[8]
The distribution business that remained was purchased by Powergen in 2004
[2]
and merged with that of East Midlands Electricity to form Central Networks. In 2011 the combined operation was sold and became part of
Western Power Distribution
.
[3]
Northern Electric
[
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]
Formerly the
North Eastern Electricity Board
. The electricity distribution business is operated by
CE Electric UK
, a subsidiary of
MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company
. The successor company to the retail supply business is
npower UK
.
NORWEB
[
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]
Formerly the
North Western Electricity Board
. Merged with
North West Water
in 1995 to form
United Utilities
, the electricity businesses of which were subsequently sold, with the retail supply arm of Norweb becoming part of TXU Energi (now part of
E.On
) and the distribution network becoming
Electricity North West
.
Scottish Hydro-Electric
[
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]
The
North of Scotland Hydro Board
became Scottish Hydro-Electric plc before merging with
Southern Electric
to form
Scottish & Southern Energy
(later trading simply as 'SSE') in 1998.
[9]
During 2020, SSE's retail business was sold to
Ovo Energy
.
[10]
The distribution networks in Scotland and the south of England remain part of SSE plc and now trade under the name Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks.
[11]
Scottish Power
[
edit
]
The
South of Scotland Electricity Board
became
Scottish Power
plc.
[12]
In 2007 it was acquired by the Spanish energy utility
Iberdrola
,
[4]
although it continues to use Scottish Power branding on domestic sales of gas and electricity. Its DNO subsidiary is SP Distribution plc,
[13]
under SP Energy Networks.
[6]
SEEBOARD
[
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]
Formerly the
South Eastern Electricity Board
. Owned by
UK Power Networks
along with Eastern Electricity and London Electricity. It markets to the public as part of
CK Infrastructure Holdings
(CKI).
South Wales Electricity
[
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]
Formerly the
South Wales Electricity Board
, later known as
SWALEC
. The business was purchased by
Welsh Water
in 1996, but the company formed as a result -
Hyder plc
- soon encountered serious financial difficulties
[14]
which led to its break-up.
The electricity retail business was initially sold to
British Energy
in June 1999
[15]
and then again in 2000 to Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE plc). During 2020, SSE's retail business was sold to
Ovo Energy
.
[10]
The distribution network was ultimately acquired by
Western Power Distribution
during September 2000.
[16]
South Western Electricity
[
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]
Formerly the
South Western Electricity Board
, it was acquired by London Electricity (owned by EDF) in 1999. The distribution business is part of Western Power Distribution and the retail business is part of
EDF Energy
.
Southern Electric
[
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]
Formerly the
Southern Electricity Board
, the company merged with Scottish Hydro-Electric plc to form
Scottish & Southern Energy
in 1998.
[9]
During 2020, SSE's retail business was sold to
Ovo Energy
.
[10]
The distribution network remains part of SSE plc and now trades under the name Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks.
[11]
Yorkshire Electricity
[
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]
Formerly the
Yorkshire Electricity Board
. Sold to Innogy (now npower) in 2001, and to the German utility RWE the following year. Now
RWE npower
, but most domestic marketing is under the npower brand.
See also
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References
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