Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Electric Power Company Limited

The Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Electric Power Company Limited provided electricity to consumers in the English midland counties of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. Electricity was supplied by the company from 1904 until its abolition upon the nationalization of the electricity supply industry in 1948.

Foundation
The Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Electric Power Company Limited was incorporated in 1901. Its legal powers derived from the provisions of the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Electric Power Act 1901 (1 Edw. 7. c. cxxi). Its aim was to supply electricity throughout the counties of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. The company was one of the pioneering power companies that were founded from around 1900. This new type of enterprise operated at a larger scale at county and regional level, rather than the local authority areas of earlier electricity undertakings. Specifically the 1901 Act authorised the company to erect power stations at Colwick near Nottingham; Warsop and Trowell near Ilkeston; and Newbold and Dunston near Chesterfield.

The company obtained further powers under the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Electric Power Act 1904 (4 Edw. 7. c. lxxvii). This enabled the company to apply for provisional orders to provide an electricity supply in specified areas. Further powers were granted under the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Electric Power Act 1906 (6 Edw. 7. c. xlvii).

Ilkeston power station
The company built a power station at Ilkeston and began supplying electricity in July 1904. By 1915 the plant at Ilkeston comprised: two 500 HP (373 kW) and one 160 HP (119 kW) engines coupled to two generators and one dynamo; one 2.5 MW steam turbine; one 0.7 MW steam alternator; one 1 MW turbo-generator; and two 250 kW converters.

Acquisition
In 1912 the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Company's entire share and loan capital was acquired by the Tramway Light and Power Company Limited. This company was founded in 1912 by the engineer George Balfour to acquire the assets and operating rights of electricity undertakings. In addition to the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire company, it acquired the neighbouring Leicestershire and Warwickshire Electric Power Company Limited, the Midland Electric Light and Power Company, plus several traction or tramway companies. The Tramway Light and Power Company was renamed the Midland Counties Electric Supply Company in 1921, see Midland Electric Light and Power Company Limited.

Spondon power station
In 1922 the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Company acquired the Spondon power station from British Celanese. Operating parameters of the company's two stations are summarised in the table.

The Ilkeston station was decommissioned in the late 1920s. The company obtained further powers under the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Electric Power Act 1929 (19 & 20 Geo. 5. c. lxxxvi). This increased the monies that the company may use on the operation and construction of new plant.

The National Grid was constructed from 1927. A 132 kV circuit provided an export route from Spondon to the wider region. The circuit comprised Hams Hill, Coventry, Leicester, Nottingham, Burton-on-Trent and Spondon.

By 1937 the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire company was operating as a power company, by generating, or otherwise acquiring, electric current for local undertakings. The extent of the electricity generation and supply is shown in the following tables. The electricity undertakings supplied by the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Company in 1937 are shown on the table. Spondon power station operations in the final years of the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Power Company are as shown in the table.

Abolition
The Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Electric Power Company Limited was abolished on 31 March 1948 under the provisions of the Electricity Act 1947 which nationalized the British electricity supply industry. The generating plant was vested in the British Electricity Authority and the distribution infrastructure in the East Midlands Electricity Board.

Generation of electricity at Spondon power station continued until it closed on 1 October 1982. For further details see Derwent Power Station.