Abstract
SEVERAL of the large factories in Great Britain have been considering whether it is an economical proposition to close down their generating stations and take their electric supply from the Grid. As the facilities offered by the public supply increase and the price diminishes, the advantages in its favour are rapidly increasing. Messrs. Lever Bros., of Port Sunlight, who were well known to have one of the largest and most efficient private plants in the country, have now entered into an arrangement whereby their power station becomes associated with the Grid, and will, under the direction of the Central Board, be operated by the Birkenhead Station. The load taken will be 40 million units a year, which is equivalent to the needs of a large town. The consumption of Birkenhead itself is 41 million units and the consumption of towns such as Oxford, Peterborough and Plymouth are less than 40 million units. Port Sunlight, the centre of the great soap and similar products manufacturing business, has an area of about 2,000 acres, and several other firms have established factories on the estate. The demand is likely to increase in the future. Among other large firms which have recently changed over from a private to a public supply are the steelworks of Stewarts and Lloyds at Corby, those of Firth Brown at Sheffield and the thread mills of J. and P. Coats at Paisley
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Closing Down of Private Electric Generating Stations. Nature 136, 578–579 (1935). https://doi.org/10.1038/136578c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/136578c0