Public Electricity Supplier
Encyclopedia
Public electricity suppliers (PES) were the fourteen companies created when the electricity market in the United Kingdom
was privatised. In England
and Wales
the Central Electricity Generating Board
was responsible for the generation and transmission of electricity, with the 12 area electricity boards (AEB), formed under the Electricity Act 1947 being 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.
On 31 March 1990 as part of the privatisation of the electricity system in England and Wales the area electric boards were changed into independent regional electricity companies (RECs) and the CEGB was split into four companies, three generation companies and 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 1991, the vertically integrated Scottish boards were mainly privatised whole, with the exception of their nuclear plants which were passed to Scottish Nuclear, and later privatised as part of British Energy
.
In 2000, as part of further restructuring of the market under the Utilities Act 2000
, the public electricity suppliers were required to have separate licenses for their supply business and distribution networks, which were renamed as distribution network operators (DNOs).
Scottish Power
Formerly the South of Scotland Electricity Board
became Scottish Power Plc
to become Scottish & Southern
East Midlands Electricity
Formerly (pre-privatisation) East Midlands Electricity Board. Acquired by Powergen in 1998. Rebranded with MEB
as Central Networks in April 2004. The successor retail supply business is now part of E.On
.
Eastern Electricity
Acquired by Hanson plc
in 1995. Demerged from Hanson as part of The Energy Group plc
. The Energy Group 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 is owned by EDF
. Acquired by US based Entergy
in 1996 for £1.3bn ($2.1bn). Acquired by EDF International
in 1998, who merged it with SEEBOARD to form EDF Energy
.
MANWEB
Formerly Merseyside and North Wales Electricity Board. Manweb
plc was acquired by Scottish Power
in 1995, now SP Manweb plc.
Midlands Electricity
Formerly Midland Electricity Board. MEB or Midlands Electricity
was subject of a takeover bid by Powergen in 1996, however this was blocked. The company eventually did acquire the company in January 2004. In April 2004 MEB and East Midlands Electricity rebranded as Central Networks for distribution, and the domestic supply business now uses the name of its German parent E.On
. The supplier side of the former MEB business is npower
.
Northern Electric
Formerly North Eastern Electricity Board. The electricity distribution business is today operated by CE Electric UK
, a subsidiary of MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company
. The successor company to the retail supply business is npower UK
.
NORWEB
Formerly North Western Electricity Board. Merged with Northwest Water in 1995 to form United Utilities, the electricity businesses of which were subsequently sold off, 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.
. SWALEC was later acquired by Scottish & Southern Energy plc, with the distribution business now part of Western Power Distribution
Southern Electric
Formerly Southern Electricity Board merged in 1998 with Scottish Hydro-Electric plc to form Scottish & Southern Energy plc.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
was privatised. In England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
the Central Electricity Generating Board
CEGB
The Central Electricity Generating Board was the cornerstone of the British electricity industry for almost 40 years; from 1957, to privatisation in the 1990s....
was responsible for the generation and transmission of electricity, with the 12 area electricity boards (AEB), formed under the Electricity Act 1947 being 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.
On 31 March 1990 as part of the privatisation of the electricity system in England and Wales the area electric boards were changed into independent regional electricity companies (RECs) and the CEGB was split into four companies, three generation companies and 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 1991, the vertically integrated Scottish boards were mainly privatised whole, with the exception of their nuclear plants which were passed to Scottish Nuclear, and later privatised as part of British Energy
British Energy
British Energy was the UK's largest electricity generation company by volume, before being taken over by Électricité de France in 2009. British Energy operated eight former UK state-owned nuclear power stations and one coal fired power station....
.
In 2000, as part of further restructuring of the market under the Utilities Act 2000
Utilities Act 2000
The Utilities Act 2000 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that deals with the gas and electrical markets in the UK. It mainly modified the Gas Act 1995 and Electricity Act 1989. One of the greatest changes was that integrated electricity companies were required to have separate...
, the public electricity suppliers were required to have separate licenses for their supply business and distribution networks, which were renamed as distribution network operators (DNOs).
| Regional Electricity Companies in England and Wales | |
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Scottish PowerScottish PowerScottishPower Ltd. is a vertically integrated energy company with its headquarters in Glasgow, Scotland. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but in 2006 it became a subsidiary of the Spanish utility Iberdrola...
Formerly the South of Scotland Electricity BoardSouth of Scotland Electricity Board
The South of Scotland Electricity Board , was formed as a result of the Electricity Reorganisation Act 1954. On 1 April 1955, the two southern Scottish Area Electricity Boards were merged into the South of Scotland Electricity Board...
became Scottish Power Plc
Scottish Hydro-Electric
Formerly the North of Scotland Hydro Board became Scottish Hydro-Electric Plc then went on to merge with Southern ElectricSouthern Electric
Southern Electric plc was an electricity company in the UK. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange as SSE . Southern Electric merged with Scottish Hydro-Electric plc in 1998 forming SSE. Since then SSE bought SWALEC and Atlantic Electric and Gas...
to become Scottish & Southern
East Midlands ElectricityEast Midlands ElectricityThe East Midlands Electricity Board was formed in 1947, one of the 12 area electricity boards specified under the Electricity Act 1947.-Supply area:...
Formerly (pre-privatisation) East Midlands Electricity Board. Acquired by Powergen in 1998. Rebranded with MEBMidlands Electricity
The Midlands Electricity Board was the public sector utility company responsible for electricity generation and electrical infrastructure maintenance in the Midlands of England prior to 1990...
as Central Networks in April 2004. The successor retail supply business is now part of E.On
E.ON UK
E.ON UK is an energy company in the United Kingdom and a subsidiary of E.ON, the world's largest investor-owned power and gas company. As Powergen, it was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but since 1 July 2002 has been owned by E.ON AG of...
.
Eastern ElectricityEastern ElectricityEastern Electricity was an electricity supply and distribution utility serving eastern England, including East Anglia and part of Greater London...
Acquired by Hanson plcHanson plc
Hanson plc is a British based international building materials company, headquartered in Maidenhead. Traded on the London Stock Exchange and a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index for many years, the company was acquired by a division of German rival Heidelberg Cement in August 2007.-History:Hanson...
in 1995. Demerged from Hanson as part of The Energy Group plc
The Energy Group
The Energy Group plc was a British power generator and distributor. After it was demerged from Hanson plc in 1996 it was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but it was acquired by Texas Utilities in 1998....
. The Energy Group 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
E.ON UK
E.ON UK is an energy company in the United Kingdom and a subsidiary of E.ON, the world's largest investor-owned power and gas company. As Powergen, it was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but since 1 July 2002 has been owned by E.ON AG of...
, and the operations were rebranded in 2004. The distribution business is owned by EDF
London Electricity
Formerly London Electricity BoardLondon Electricity Board
The London Electricity Board was the public sector utility company responsible for electricity generation and electrical infrastructure maintenance in London prior to 1990. It was shortened to LEB in its green and blue logo, consisting of the three letters...
. Acquired by US based Entergy
Entergy
Entergy Corporation is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. It is headquartered in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana.-History:...
in 1996 for £1.3bn ($2.1bn). Acquired by EDF International
Électricité de France
Électricité de France S.A. is the second largest French utility company. Headquartered in Paris, France, with €65.2 billion in revenues in 2010, EDF operates a diverse portfolio of 120,000+ megawatts of generation capacity in Europe, Latin America, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.EDF is one of...
in 1998, who merged it with SEEBOARD to form EDF Energy
EDF Energy
EDF Energy is an integrated energy company in the United Kingdom, with operations spanning electricity generation and the sale of gas and electricity to homes and businesses throughout the United Kingdom...
.
MANWEBMANWEBMANWEB was the regional electricity supplier and distributor for Merseyside, North Wales and parts of Cheshire...
Formerly Merseyside and North Wales Electricity Board. ManwebMANWEB
MANWEB was the regional electricity supplier and distributor for Merseyside, North Wales and parts of Cheshire...
plc was acquired by Scottish Power
Scottish Power
ScottishPower Ltd. is a vertically integrated energy company with its headquarters in Glasgow, Scotland. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but in 2006 it became a subsidiary of the Spanish utility Iberdrola...
in 1995, now SP Manweb plc.
Midlands ElectricityMidlands ElectricityThe Midlands Electricity Board was the public sector utility company responsible for electricity generation and electrical infrastructure maintenance in the Midlands of England prior to 1990...
Formerly Midland Electricity Board. MEB or Midlands ElectricityMidlands Electricity
The Midlands Electricity Board was the public sector utility company responsible for electricity generation and electrical infrastructure maintenance in the Midlands of England prior to 1990...
was subject of a takeover bid by Powergen in 1996, however this was blocked. The company eventually did acquire the company in January 2004. In April 2004 MEB and East Midlands Electricity rebranded as Central Networks for distribution, and the domestic supply business now uses the name of its German parent E.On
E.ON UK
E.ON UK is an energy company in the United Kingdom and a subsidiary of E.ON, the world's largest investor-owned power and gas company. As Powergen, it was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but since 1 July 2002 has been owned by E.ON AG of...
. The supplier side of the former MEB business is npower
Npower (UK)
RWE Npower plc is a UK-based electricity and gas supply generation company, formerly known as Innogy plc. As Innogy plc it was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index...
.
Northern ElectricNorthern ElectricNorthern Electric was an electricity supply and distribution company serving north east England.-History:It had its origins as the North Eastern Electricity Board, formed as part of the nationalisation of the electricity industry by the Electricity Act 1947....
Formerly North Eastern Electricity Board. The electricity distribution business is today operated by CE Electric UKCE Electric UK
Northern Powergrid Holdings Company is an electrical distribution company based in Newcastle Upon Tyne in England...
, a subsidiary of MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company
MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company
MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company is a holding company controlled by Berkshire Hathaway.Gregory E Abel serves as president, chairman and CEO.-Investments:MidAmerican holds the following companies:*MidAmerican Energy Company*PacifiCorp*CE Electric UK...
. The successor company to the retail supply business is npower UK
Npower (UK)
RWE Npower plc is a UK-based electricity and gas supply generation company, formerly known as Innogy plc. As Innogy plc it was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index...
.
NORWEBNORWEBNorweb PLC, originally the North West Electricity Board, was a British electricity supply and distribution company. It supplied electricity to about 4.7 million industrial, commercial and domestic customers in the North West of England. The Board was originally formed in 1948 as part of the...
Formerly North Western Electricity Board. Merged with Northwest Water in 1995 to form United Utilities, the electricity businesses of which were subsequently sold off, with the retail supply arm of Norweb becoming part of TXU Energi, now part of E.OnE.ON UK
E.ON UK is an energy company in the United Kingdom and a subsidiary of E.ON, the world's largest investor-owned power and gas company. As Powergen, it was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but since 1 July 2002 has been owned by E.ON AG of...
and the distribution network becoming Electricity North West.
South Wales Electricity
Formerly South Wales Electricity Board, later known as SWALECSWALEC
SWALEC was an electricity supply and distribution company which was bought out in 1996 for £872m following the de-regulation of the electricity supply industry in the UK....
. SWALEC was later acquired by Scottish & Southern Energy plc, with the distribution business now part of Western Power Distribution