Dunston Power Station

Dunston power station
Dunston B Power Station Viewed from southwest
Location of Dunston power station in Tyne and Wear
Official name	Dunston A and B power stations
Country	England
Location	Dunston
Coordinates	54°57′37″N 1°39′32″W / 54.96028°N 1.65889°W / 54.96028; -1.65889Coordinates: 54°57′37″N 1°39′32″W / 54.96028°N 1.65889°W / 54.96028; -1.65889
Status	Demolished
Construction began	1908 (A station) 1930 (B station) 1947 (Gas turbine)
Commission date	1910 (A station) 1933-51 (B station) 1955 (Gas turbine)
Decommission date	1975-81
Owner(s)	Newcastle-upon-Tyne Electric Supply Company (1910–1947) British Electricity Authority (1948–1954) Central Electricity Authority (1954–1957) Central Electricity Generating Board (1957–1981)
Thermal power station
Primary fuel	Coal
Secondary fuel	Natural gas
Power generation
Units operational	A station: Two 7.2 MW AEG, one 6.25 MW Brown Boveri, one 13.2 MW Brown Boveri and later one 15 MW C. A. Parsons and Company gas turbine B station: Six 50 MW C. A. Parsons and Company
Nameplate capacity	1910: 33.85 MW 1951: 333.85 MW 1955: 348.85 MW 1981: 98 MW

Dunston Power Station refers to a pair of adjacent coal-fired power stations in the North East of England, now demolished. They were built on the south bank of the River Tyne, in the western outskirts of Dunston in Gateshead. The two stations were built on a site which is now occupied by the MetroCentre. The first power station built on the site was known as Dunston A Power Station, and the second, which gradually replaced it between 1933 and 1950, was known as Dunston B Power Station. The A Station was, in its time, one of the largest in the country, and as well as burning coal had early open cycle gas turbine units. The B Station was the first of a new power station design, and stood as a landmark in the Tyne for over 50 years. From the A Station's opening in 1910 until the B Station's demolition in 1986, they collectively operated from the early days of electricity generation in the United Kingdom, through the industry's nationalisation, and until a decade before its privatisation.

Dunston A had a generating capacity of 48.85 megawatts (MW) in 1955, and Dunston B had a generating capacity of 300 MW. Electricity from the stations powered an area covering Northumberland, County Durham, Cumberland, Yorkshire and as far north as Galashiels in Scotland.

With the expansion of the electric supply industry in the early 1900s, power stations were built to supply homes with electric lighting. Around Newcastle upon Tyne this led to the construction of power stations at Lemington, The Close and Carville. Two supply companies built the stations, the Newcastle-upon-Tyne Electric Supply Company (NESCo) to the east of Newcastle, and the Newcastle and District Electric Lighting Company (DisCo) to the west. To meet an increasing demand for electricity, NESCo commissioned Dunston Power Station (later Dunston A Power Station) on the Derwent Haugh, a large flood plain to the west of Gateshead, to balance the supply of the Newcastle area with the Carville station. Construction of the new station began in 1908, the work undertaken by the company of Sir Robert McAlpine. They completed the construction in the short time of 20 months, and this was to be their first in a large number of power station constructions, following the decline of the railway industry. In 1910, the station was opened and began generating electricity.