Ince Power Station
near Ellesmere Port, Cheshire
Ince 'A' was a coal-fired power station equipped with four GEC 60-MW turbo alternators, giving the station a total generation capacity of 240 MW.
1954 The first generating unit was commissioned in November
Other generating sets were commissioned in March 1955, December 1955, and finally September 1956
During the station's construction it was realised that the station should be capable of dual firing with heavy fuel oil.
1957 Ince A was formally opened
1960s Ince A was burning oil.
Ince 'B' was conceived as part of a plan to build large oil-fired power stations in the 1960s, when oil was cheap. In the early 70s, the swing to oil reversed.
The construction of Ince B took place at a time when many factors were against it. At the time, the transmission system was not adequate to handle the flow of electricity from the North, to the high demand area of the South East. The CEGB decided to enter into long term, fixed-price coal contracts with the National Coal Board in return for a guaranteed usage. This limited the amount of oil required to meet demand, and Ince was last in the chain to be offered load. The Parsons' 500MW electrical rotors were found to have a generic fault requiring lengthy returns to the manufacturers works. The two national spares were soon absorbed. Since coal was now the preferred fuel, Ratcliffe was given priority over Ince when the failures became overwhelming.
Labour disputes extended the construction process; it was decided to minimise the number of site contractors; a fully reimbursable construction contract was devised for use at Ince.
1984 Opening of Ince 'B' power station
Mid-1980s The 'A' Station was closed and demolished
1997 The 'B' Station ceased generating electricity and was demolished some years later.
See Also
Sources of Information
- Ince B history Pages/History.htm
- [1] Ince Power Station