Timeline of the UK electricity supply industry

This timeline outlines the key developments in the United Kingdom electricity industry from the start of electricity supplies in the 1870s to the present day. It identifies significant developments in technology for the generation, transmission and use of electricity; outlines developments in the structure of the industry including key organisations and facilities; and records the legislation and regulations that have governed the UK electricity industry.  

The first part is a chronological table of significant events; the second part is a list of local acts of Parliament (1879–1948) illustrating the growth of electricity supplies.

Significant events

The following is a list of significant events in the history of the electricity sector in the United Kingdom.

Local legislation timeline

In addition to the public general acts on electricity supply given in the above table, there were also local acts. The Electric Lighting Acts 1882 to 1909 permitted local authorities and companies to apply to the Board of Trade for provisional orders and licences to supply electricity. The orders were confirmed by local Electric Lighting Orders Confirmation Acts. Local authorities and companies could also obtain local acts for electricity supply. A sample of local acts is given in the table below. Note that local acts have a chapter number for the relevant year in lower-case Roman numerals.

See also

• Energy policy of the United Kingdom
• Energy use and conservation in the United Kingdom
• Energy switching services in the UK
• UK enterprise law

References

Sources

• Cochrane, R.; Schaefer, M. (1990). The CEGB Story. London: CEGB.
• Duncan, Ben (1996). "Public Service Obligations in a Competitive Electricity Market" (Microsoft Word document).
• "Gas and Electricity Act 1968", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 3 July 1968, 1968 c. 39
• "Electricity Act 1989", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 27 July 1989, 1989 c. 29
• Electricity Supply in the United Kingdom: A Chronology. London: Electricity Council. 1987. ISBN 085188105X.
• Eyles, William E. (December 2005). "Electricity in Bath 1890 – 1974" (PDF). Histelec News (Supplement 31). South Western Electricity Historical Society. — explains the 1882 Act
• Hannah, Leslie (1979). Electricity Before Nationalisation, A Study in the Development of the Electricity Supply Industry in Britain to 1948. London & Basingstoke: Macmillan Publishers for the Electricity Council. ISBN 0-8018-2145-2.
• Hannah, Leslie (1982). Engineers, Managers and Politicians. London: Macmillan. ISBN 0333220870.
• Luckin, Bill (1990). Questions of Power: Electricity and the Environment in Inter-war Britain. Manchester: Manchester University Press. ISBN 9780719033025.
• Pedroche, Ben (2013). London's Lost Power Stations and Gasworks. Stroud: The History Press. ISBN 9780752487618.
• Sheail, John (1991). Power in Trust: The Environmental History of the Central Electricity Generating Board. Oxford: Clarendon. ISBN 0198546734.
• "UK Electricity Networks" (PDF). Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology. 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-05-19. — "Postnote" 163