Area electricity board
| Regional electricity companies in England and Wales | |
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Public electricity suppliers (PES) were the fourteen electricity companies created when the electricity market in the United Kingdom was privatised following the Electricity Act 1989. The Utilities Act 2000 subsequently split these companies between distribution network operators and separate supply companies.
In England and Wales the Central Electricity Generating Board had been responsible for the generation and transmission of electricity, with the twelve area electricity boards (AEBs) formed under the Electricity Act 1947 responsible for the distribution and supply of electricity to consumers.
In Scotland the structure was different, with all aspects of generation, transmission, distribution and supply being carried out by two vertically integrated companies.
On 31 March 1990 the AEBs were changed into independent regional electricity companies (RECs) and the CEGB was split into four, three generation companies and the National Grid Company, operator of the National Grid. The National Grid Company was placed under the ownership of the RECs. On 11 December 1990 the RECs were privatised.
In 2000, as part of further restructuring under the Utilities Act 2000, the PES were required to have separate licences for their supply business and distribution network, which were renamed distribution network operators (DNOs).
The Scottish boards were privatised whole in 1991 with the exception of the nuclear plants, which passed to Scottish Nuclear and were later privatised as part of British Energy.
The South of Scotland Electricity Board became Scottish Power plc. In 2007 it was acquired by the Spanish energy utility Iberdrola, although it continues to use Scottish Power branding on domestic sales of gas and electricity.
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