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The Derby and Notts Electric Power Company

Dated: 1920s
Taken by: W W Winter The Winter's Collection of Derby

Spondon Electric Power Station, built as a joint venture to supply Courtaulds (British Celanese) nearby and the Erewash towns. Since decomissioned.

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Submitted by Dave Trigg. on Tue, 14/01/2014 - 19:41

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The power station was built by British Celanese Limited for their own use is my understanding. It was not until it was sold to the Derby & Notts power company that excess capacity was distributed around the region. I may be wrong but doubt it.

There was a 66,000V transmission line from Spondon PS to Grassmoor substation near Chesterfield. This existed in 1960. I started as an apprentice with East Midlands Electricity Board, (which had absorbed Derby & Notts Power Co) that year and it was "old" by that time. The transmission line was a high capacity feed to a 33,000V ringmain which ran around the two counties supplying places like Ilkeston, Chesterfield, Baslow, Winster, Ashbourne and others if I remember rightly. The Winster substation exploded dramatically a couple of years or so ago when the original switchgear failed after at least 50 years of service.