City of London Electric Lighting Company Limited
| Privately held company | |
| Industry | Electricity generation and supply |
| Fate | Nationalisation |
| Predecessor | City of London (Pioneer) Electric Lighting Company |
| Successor | British Electricity Authority |
| Founded | 11 July 1891 |
| Defunct | 31 March 1948 |
| Headquarters | Falcon House, Aldersgate Street, City of London EC1 |
|
Area served
|
City of London and St Saviour's Southwark |
|
Key people
|
see text |
| Products | AC & DC electricity supplies, electric lighting, sale and rental of domestic and commercial electrical goods |
| Revenue | see tables |
The City of London Electric Lighting Company Limited was a British electricity undertaking. It was formed in July 1891 to generate and supply electricity to the City of London and part of north Southwark. It owned and operated Bankside power station on the south bank of the river Thames. The company provided and stimulated demand for electricity, increased its generating capacity, and competed and co-operated with other electricity undertakings in London. The company was dissolved on 1 April 1948 when the British electricity industry was nationalised.
In 1889 the Corporation of London invited tenders from electrical plant manufacturers to provide electric lighting throughout the 1.25 square miles of City of London. The Laing, Wharton and Down Construction Syndicate Limited undertook to supply the eastern district of the City and the Anglo-American Brush Electrical Engineering Company Limited to supply the central and western districts. Provisional Orders were obtained under the Electric Lighting Act 1888; these enabled any company or person to supply electricity and to install a system of supply. The Laing syndicate built a power station in the City at Wool Quay between the Custom House and the Tower of London and the Brush company a power station at Meredith Wharf on Bankside on the south bank of the Thames. The Wool Quay site had little space for expansion and the generating station was closed in 1893, the equipment was sold or transferred to Bankside. The two contractors obtained consent from the Board of Trade to transfer their contracts to a new company formed on 5 February 1891 called the City of London (Pioneer) Electric Lighting Company with a capital of £50,000. Supplies of direct current electricity for street lamps in Queen Victoria Street commenced from Bankside power station on 25 June 1891.
The City of London Electric Lighting Company Limited (CLELCo) was formed on 11 July 1891 with a capital of £800,000. The assets of the City of London (Pioneer) Electric Lighting Company were transferred to the new company for £95,000, the company also purchased the Provisional Orders of the Laing syndicate and the Brush company.
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