Yorkshire Electric Power Company

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Yorkshire Electric Power Company was a public limited company set up to generate and transmit electricity in West Yorkshire. It was formed in 1901 to provide a cheap and abundant power supply for industry, built power stations and transmission lines across about 1,800 square miles, and served commercial, industrial and later domestic customers. The company was dissolved on 31 March 1948 when the UK electricity industry was nationalised.

Key facts:
- Type: Public Limited Company
- Industry: Electricity generation and transmission
- Predecessor: Yorkshire Electric Power Syndicate Limited
- Founded: 26 July 1901
- Defunct: 31 March 1948
- Fate: Abolished by nationalisation
- Successor: British Electricity Authority
- Headquarters: Leeds, England
- Area served: West Yorkshire
- Production output: 1,176 GWh (1947)
- Operating income: £1,137,771 (1947)

Origins and early development:
In the late 1890s, influential firms in West Yorkshire backed the idea of a local electric power company. Parliament passed the Yorkshire Electric Power Act 1901, and the company was incorporated on 26 July 1901 with initial capital of £2 million to supply electricity across the West Riding of Yorkshire. A subsidiary, Electrical Distribution of Yorkshire Limited, was created in 1905 to enable supply for any use, not just lighting.

Power stations and expansion:
The company built four initial power stations at Mirfield, Methley, Wath and Bingley and carried out extensive overhead transmission work. It expanded its powers through Acts in 1910, 1914, 1918, 1922 and 1927. Thornhill near Mirfield became a major “selected” station in the national grid, with capacity eventually reaching about 75 MW. Ferrybridge (A) opened in 1926–27, with later B and C units at the site. Mexborough power station started in 1945 with around 120 MW. Barugh began in 1913 with smaller gas-fired units totaling about 14 MW. By the mid‑1930s the company’s area had grown to about 2,481 square miles, with thousands of miles of mains supplying many industries and towns.

Nationalisation:
The national grid was developed in the 1920s, and the company’s Thornhill and Barugh plants were integrated into the system. In 1948, under the Electricity Act 1947, the Yorkshire Electric Power Company was abolished. Its power stations were transferred to the British Electricity Authority (later the Central Electricity Authority and then the Central Electricity Generating Board), and its distribution and sales activities were taken over by the Yorkshire Electricity Board. The company’s infrastructure helped shape electrification in the region long after nationalisation.