SWALEC

SWALEC (South Wales Electricity Board) was an electricity supply and distribution company which was bought out in 1996 for £872m following the de-regulation of the electricity supply industry in the UK.

SWALEC
Subsidiary
IndustryEnergy
ProductsElectricity
ParentSouth Wales Electricity Board
Websitewww.swalec.co.uk 

History

Before privatisation in 1990, it was the South Wales Electricity Board (SWEB), formed originally from the nationalisation and merger of local authority and private electricity companies.

The SWEB was responsible for the purchase of electricity from the electricity generator (the Central Electricity Generating Board from 1958) and its distribution and sale of electricity to customers. The key members of the Board were: Chairman W.D.D. Fenton (1964, 1967), Deputy Chairman H. Pryce-Jones (1964, 1967), Full time member W.E. Richardson (1964, 1967).[1]

The total number of customers supplied by the Board was:[2][3]

SWEB customers, 1949–89
Year 1948/9 1960/1 1965/6 1970/1 1975/6 1978/9 1980/1 1985/6 1987/8 1988/9
No. of Customers, 1000s 418 653 717 763 805 831 846 878 895 908


The amount of electricity, in GWh, sold by South Wales Electricity Board was:[2][3]

Post privatisation

The purchaser, newly privatised company Welsh Water, rebranded itself as Hyder. The business plan was to make significant logistical savings by combining the field activities of electricity and water supply operations by co-locating in a reduced suite of offices and operational depots.

SSE was the sponsor of Wales WRU Challenge Cup, named the SSE Cup, and the name continues to be attached to a range of league competitions and trophies administered by the Welsh Rugby Union.[4]

In 1997 SWALEC Gas was set up to take advantage of the deregulation of the gas market in the UK which took place in stages from 1997 to 1998. An advertising campaign was launched featuring Wimbledon F.C. and Wales footballer Vinnie Jones.

In February 2000, the retail electricity and gas business under the SWALEC brand was sold to British Energy for a reported £105m. The sale included the SWALEC retail brand, whilst Hyder retained the SWALEC electricity distribution business (i.e., running the electricity network) which was renamed Infralec.

In August 2000 Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) agreed to buy the electricity and gas supply from British Energy for a reported price of £210m.

In September 2000, Western Power Distribution bought Hyder for £565 million, sold Welsh Water and renamed Infralec to WPD South Wales.

The Swalec brand name is still used by SSE for the supply of electricity and gas in Wales.

References
  1. Electricity Council publicity brochures 1964 and 1967
  2. Electricity Council (1980). Handbook of Electricity Supply Statistics 1979. London: Electricity Council. pp. 58 63. ISBN 0851880762.
  3. Electricity Council (1990). Handbook of Electricity Supply Statistics 1989. London: Electricity Council. pp. 51 56. ISBN 085188122X.
  4. "Swalec Cup". wru.co.uk. Welsh Rugby Union. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
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