North Eastern Electric Supply Company

North Eastern Electric Supply Company

Former type	Private
Industry	Electricity supply
Fate	Nationalised
Successor	North Eastern Electricity Board
Founded	Newcastle upon Tyne, UK (1889 (1889)) as the Newcastle upon Tyne Electric Supply Company
Founder(s)	John Theodore Merz
Defunct	April 1, 1948 (1948-04-01)
Headquarters	Newcastle upon Tyne
Number of locations	Various power stations
Area served	North East England
Key people	John Theodore Merz, Managing director

The North Eastern Electric Supply Company (often abbreviated to NESCo) was responsible for the supply of electricity to a large amount of North East England, prior to the nationalisation of the British electricity industry with the Electricity Act 1947. The company was established as the Newcastle upon Tyne Electric Supply Company (also abbreviated to NESCo) in 1889, but was renamed the North Eastern Electricity Supply company as it expanded to supply the North East region.

History

The Newcastle Upon Tyne Electric Supply Company was founded in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England, in 1889 by the industrialist John Theodore Merz.^[1] The company was one of two to be established in the Newcastle area that year, with the Newcastle and District Electric Lighting Company (DisCo) being set up by Charles Algernon Parsons. A line was roughly drawn down the city's Grainger Street, and NESCo supplied the area to the east, and DisCo to the west. NESCo opened their first power station in 1890, with the commissioning of the Pandon Dene Power Station. Merz's son, Charles Hesterman Merz worked at the Pandon Dene station and became the company's Chief Consultant Engineer. Charles Merz's design company, Merz & McLellan, which he set up with William McLellan, was responsible for much of NESCo's design work from 1898 onward. They were responsible for the design work of the pioneering Neptune Bank Power Station, which opened in 1901, and was the first power station in the United Kingdom to generate three-phase electric power distribution, and the first to supply electricity for industrial purposes, rather than just lighting. This led to the rapid expansion of NESCo, and gave the Tyneside industries an advantage over those in other areas. For the thirty years following the opening of the Neptune Bank station, NESCo became one of the leading companies in the world in power station development.^[2]

The company opened Carville Power Station in 1903 to supply power for the Tyneside Electrics. In 1905, NESCo expanded its territory by taking over the Walker and Wallsend Union Gas Company Following a series of parliamentary battles with DisCo, extended its supply and distribution area south of the River Tyne, and they opened Dunston Power Station in this new territory in 1910. By 1914, the company had expanded this area further with the absorption of the County of Durham Electrical Power Distribution Company, the County of Durham Power Supply Company and the Houghton-le-Spring and District Electric Lighting Company. Carville B Power Station opened in 1916, the most economical power station in the world at the time of its opening. Following World War I they expanded to take over the Cleveland and Durham Electric Power Company, the Northern Counties Electricity Supply Company, Durham County Electric Power Company, and Tees Power Station Company. They also took over the assets of the Durham Collieries Electric Power Company and the Hexham & District Supply Company following their liquidations. They opened the North Tees Power Station in 1921, and Dunston B Power Station in 1933.^[2]

NESCo moved into Carliol House in 1927

In 1927, the company moved into their new headquarters at Carliol House in Newcastle's city centre. The building was designed by Robert Burns Dick.^[3] Carliol House Ltd. had been set up in 1924 to build and administer the building itself. It remained a separate company until 1974, beyond the nationalisation of the company.^[2]

The North Eastern Electric Supply Company was formed following the North Eastern Electric Supply 1932, which brought the Newcastle upon Tyne Electric Supply Company and all its subsidiaries under one company.^[2] In June 1932 it acquired the Durham Electrical Power Distribution Company.^[4]

The British electricity industry was nationalised in 1948 following the Electricity Act 1947. The industry was reorganised by region and the British Electricity Authority (NESCo) was set up for the North East region and was based upon the area covered by NESCo, but also included the areas covered by DisCo, the Askrigg and Reeth Supply Company and the Hawes Electric Lighting Company. The area covered stretched from York up to the Scottish border. British Electricity Authority (NESCo) was later renamed the North Eastern Electricity Board.^[2]

References

1. ^ Hughes, Thomas Parke. "Managing Change: Regional Power Systems, 1910-30" (PDF). h-net.msu.edu. Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania. http://www.h-net.msu.edu/~business/bhcweb/publications/BEHprint/v006/p0052-p0068.pdf. Retrieved 2 July 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e} "North Eastern Electricity Board". The National Archives (United Kingdom). http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=183-dueb&cid=0. Retrieved 30 June 2011. 
3. ^ White, Paul J (21 October 2008). "Carliol-House". http://www.flickr.com/. http://www.flickr.com/photos/pauljw/2961040267/. Retrieved 2009-01-02. 
4. ^ Pears, Brian (3 August 2010). "PUBLIC SERVICES". genuki.org.uk. http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/DUR/GatesheadHistory/Ch8.html. Retrieved 27 June 2011.