A century in power: the history of Deptford Power Station
A century in power: the history of Deptford Power Station
- Author(s): K.J. Williams
- DOI: 10.1049/ic:20010161
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- Author(s): K.J. Williams Source: 29th Annual Weekend Meeting History of Electrical Engineering, 2001 page ()
- Conference: 29th Annual Weekend Meeting History of Electrical Engineering
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- DOI: 10.1049/ic:20010161
- Location: Chatham Maritime, UK
- Conference date: 29 June-1 July 2001
- Format: PDF
Deptford Power Station, "The Light" has a history that dates back to the earliest days of electricity supply in the UK, beginning more than 100 years ago. The story of how the electricity supply industry began is a long one; this article looks at one small, but very significant, part of it. Deptford was the first power station in the world to operate high-voltage alternating current (HVAC) systems on a large scale. Deptford was a model on which all future power stations were based, and it has been said that it marked the awakening of the electricity supply industry in Great Britain. Deptford was initially planned to take the lion's share of the lighting business in London, with an initial capability supplying 250000 lamps. However, when the plant finally came online, the number of lamps connected was only around 40000. Deptford was chosen because it was easily accessible by road, rail and water for the supply of fuels. The early operation of Deptford Power Station, or the Light as it became affectionately known, was plagued by technical setbacks. These setbacks were overcome and the plant expanded and power output increased until it was finally closed down in 1983. (4 pages)
Inspec keywords: history; steam power stations
Subjects: Other general electrical engineering topics; Steam power stations and plants
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