Burton upon Trent power station supplied electricity to the town of Burton upon Trent and the wider area from 1894 to 1976. It was owned and operated by Burton upon Trent Corporation until the nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry in 1948. The power station was redeveloped several times: including the incorporation of new plant in the 1910s, in 1924–28 and 1941–43. The station was decommissioned in October 1976. Not to be confused with West Burton power station which is also on the River Trent. History In 1890 the Burton upon Trent Corporation applied for a Provisional Order under the Electric Lighting Acts to generate and supply electricity to the town. This was granted by the Board of Trade and was confirmed by Parliament through the Electric Lighting Orders Confirmation (No. 4) Act 1890 (53 & 54 Vict. c. clxxxix). The power station was built between Wetmore Road and the River Trent (52°48'54"N 1°37'27"W) immediately north of municipal gas works. The power station first supplied electricity in March 1894. Equipment specification The original plant at Burton upon Trent power station comprised horizontal compound engines connected by ropes to ‘Leeds and London’ dynamos. In 1898 the installed generating capacity was 240 kW, and the maximum load was 134 kW. The corporation undertaking had 104 consumers and there were 7,786 lamps on the circuits. The amount of electricity sold that year was 79,574 kWh. The revenue from the sale of electric current was £4,815 and the expenditure on generation and supply was £1,368. This gave an operating profit of £3,447 for the corporation. Post-war plant Following the First World War new plant was installed to meet growing demand for electricity. By 1923 the generating plant comprised: Coal-fired boilers generating up to 88,000 lb/h (11.09 kg/s) of steam, these supplied steam to: Generators 1 × 400 kW reciprocating engine driving AC generator 1 × 500 kW reciprocating engine driving AC generator 2 × 1,250 kW steam turbo-alternators (AC) 1 × 2,000 kW steam turbo-alternator (AC) 1 × 3,000 kW steam turbo-alternator (AC) 3 × 100 kW reciprocating engines driving DC generators. These machines gave a total generating capacity of 8,400 kW of alternating current and 300 kW of direct current. Coal was delivered at a railway siding at the power station, this was from a connection on the Derby to Birmingham line. A variety of electricity supplies were available to consumers as: