Radcliffe Power Station

Former coal-fired power station

53°33′13″N 2°20′22″W / 53.553529°N 2.339519°W / 53.553529; -2.339519StatusDemolishedCommission date1905Decommission date1959Operator(s)The Lancashire Electric Power CompanyThermal power station Primary fuelCoalPower generationNameplate capacity42,375kW

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Radcliffe Power Station was a coal-fired power station in Radcliffe, Greater Manchester, England.

History

The station was opened on 9 October 1905 by the Earl of Derby.^[1] It generated electricity using two 1,500 kW turbo generating sets made by British Thomson-Houston. Radcliffe Power Station was the first power station in the UK to transmit power by bare electrical conductors at 10kV.^[2] The station was fed coal by the nearby East Lancashire Railway line.

The station was progressively expanded, reaching a combined capacity of 42,375 kW following the installation of two extra 10,000 kW British Thomson-Houston generating sets in 1922.^[2]

In May 1926, The Times reported that the cost of generation per unit of electricity was .25d (approximately £0.001 today), the cost per unit sold being .483d (approximately £0.002). The station had delivered 125,727,060 units of electricity.^[3]

The station was originally operated by The Lancashire Electric Power Company but was operated by the British Electricity Authority, Central Electricity Authority and Central Electricity Generating Board after nationalisation in 1947. It was closed a few years later in 1959.^[2]

References

^ Lancashire Electric Light and Power. The Times newspaper, page 22. 19 February 1922.
^ ^a ^b ^c Frost, Roy; Neil Richardson (1993). Electricity in Manchester 1893-1993. ISBN 1-85216-075-6.
^ Lancashire Electric Light and Power. The Times newspaper, page 26. 21 May 1926.