Portishead Power Station
Three power stations were built at Portishead on the Severn Estuary, west of Bristol.
First Generating Station
This was a small station, opened in 1913 at Gas Lane (now Old Mill Lane), Portishead. It was established as the Clevedon, Portishead and District Electric Supply Co Ltd by Frank Christy.
Initially it had just two 50 HP Petters oil engines. After a few years they were replaced by gas engines from E. S. Hindley and Sons. One of the Petter engines went to a quarry in Devon, and can now be seen at the Internal Fire Museum of Power.
In 1923 it was decided to cease generation and to use the site for a substation. The original generating station building still existed in 2017.
The above information is drawn from an article by Peter Lamb in Industrial Archaeology News, Winter 2021.
Portishead A Power Station
1927 Construction work began under the Bristol Corporation Electricity Department
1929 Generators of 40 MW were commissioned.
1949 The station was completed, under the British Electricity Authority, with an installed capacity of 248.15 MW.
Portishead B Power Station
1956 Equipment commissioned. Consulting engineers were Sir William Halcrow and Partners. Main civil engineering contractors were C. Brand and Son, William Arrol and Co and J. Laing and Sons. Turbine-generator plant by Metropolitan-Vickers, pulverised fuel-fired boilers by Mitchell Engineering Co.
'B' Station was demolished in 1982.
In the mid 1950s Albright and Wilson built a new factory producing phosphorous and related products, taking advantage of low cost electricity.
The power station site, occupying one side of Portishead Dock, and the industrial site occupying the other side, were subsequently cleared and are now used for houses and flats, while the dock is now a marina.