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Glasgow University Archive Services, Ygorra

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Advertisement for Glasgow Corporation Electricity Department in Ygorra, 1931.

The earliest use of electricity for illumination in Glasgow was in 1879, when the newly-opened St Enoch's Railway Station was lit by six electric lamps. In 1890 the Corporation acquired powers under the 1882 and 1883 Electric Lights Acts to supply electricity within the city and royal burgh for public and private uses. Using these powers the Corporation, (initially under the Gas Department but from 1897 under the Electricity Department) began constructing a network of power and generating stations, the first of which was the power station in Waterloo Street which opened in 1893.

The success of the new service led to a rapid increase in demand and by 1914 there were 50,000 domestic consumers, rising to 145,000 by the 1930s. In 1948 the electricity supply was taken over by the British Electricity Authority, by which time the number of consumers had grown to 240,000.

Reference: Glasgow University Archive Services, DC198/2/10

Glasgow University Archive Services

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