Llandysul: the Power House

In a copy of a handbill, date 1914, can be seen an advertisement for a public meeting to discuss the introduction of electric power to Llandysul (figure 4).  It must have been decided that a public electrical system was desirable, for not too many years were to pass before a start was made, particularly if it is assumed that such things came to a standstill due to the war effort prior to 1918.  In the handbill, the claim is made Mr Isaac Thomas, had made a comparative analysis of the cost of candles for lighting and that electricity was cheaper by half.  Isaac Thomas, the village undertaker and cabinetmaker and a man of great intelligence, having taught himself the rudiments of physics and engineering, was in at the beginning.  It was in his name that a plot of land for the powerhouse (figure 5) was purchased on the southern bank of the Teifi opposite the Wilkes Head public house, which together with the rights to construct and maintain a leat through the Wilkes Head fields, was a necessary pre-requisite.

According to the accounts ledger, Isaac Thomas and Co. were invoiced by Gilbert Gilkes and Co. of Kendal on 03 March 1921 for £631.2s.5d and on 29 March a further sum of £728.1s.7d became due, presumably for the supply of turbines.  In April a sum of £12.0s.6d was charged for the train fare and lodging of a Mr Wildmans, which may have been expenses incurred for commissioning and testing the machinery after Isaac Thomas had installed it.  On 30 May a further of £798 was charged for the supply of goods which are unspecified, but his may be for the supply of a standby turbine, installed to cope with flood conditions on the river.  A series of entries relating to cheques in payment was made and it would seem that by 30 May 1926 a total of £2158 had been paid.

Figure 4: Handbill published in 1914 advertising a public meeting to discuss proposals for the formation of a company to produce a public supply of electricity for the area in and around Llandysul.

Negotiations for the land were well under way by March 1921, but for some reason were not competed until 1923.  Perhaps this was due to the recessionary influences mentioned above as at that time the country reverted to the Gold Standard for a short period and it would have been difficult to raise money for any kind of enterprise.  Other heavy costs were involved for in 1922 the General Electric Co. (GEC) and Siemens Bros. claiming for unspecified electrical equipment; later a large Deutz diesel engine was purchased second hand to use as a standby power source at times of summer drought when flows proved inadequate to drive the turbines.  The leat also had to be dug and costs were incurred for the installation of penstocks, a weir across the river, water control gear and switchgear which could not have been a negligible factor.  In addition were the costs involved in the acquisition of poles and their erection with the associated cable for distributing the supply.

In 1929 the Llandysul Electricity Supply Co. applied to establish an electricity generating station at Pontweli.  At a meeting of the Newcastle Emlyn R.D.C. in January 1929 it was resolved that consent be recommended.  It is obvious that this was a retrospective application, though perhaps tacit approval may have been given previously.  The application may well have been due to the activities of the Electricity Commissioners: at a meeting on 08 November 1929 it was reported that the R.D.C. had received notification dated 22 October from the Electricity Commissioners that notice had been served on Mr. Isaac Thomas under the provisions of the Electricity Act of 1884 (S.4) in respect of certain lines constructed by him in the parishes of Llandysul, Llanfihangel and Llangeler.  Within two years Isaac Thomas disposed of his interest in the Llandysul Electricity Co. to the West Cambrian Power Co. (WCPC), a subsidiary of GEC.  These events were happening in the context of the time when the government was seeking to unify the disparate systems of electricity supply and production that were then operative throughout the country.  The fact that their attempts to do so were frequently being frustrated by opposing factions ensured that any means were employed to secure their objective of an integrated national electricity supply industry.  A more detailed account is given by Leslie Hannah,68 but it does seem that some coercion was being applied by the Electricity Commissioners perhaps in order that GEC could acquire local franchises more easily.

Figure 5: Powerhouse at Llandysul viewed from downstream and showing the tailraces at low river level.  Above and to the right of the high-level tailrace (centre) is the overflow relief outlet before it was blocked recently.  (Drawing by author).

It is unclear whether Isaac Thomas had the right to sell the land and buildings.  It is quite possible that the land and buildings were acquired with funds obtained by public subscriptions, in which case Thomas was only a trustee acting on behalf of the community.  The details  of the commercial organisation of the company are certainly unclear.  Would the public, who had subscribed towards an electricity supply, have voiced any concern about its disposal so long as the supply was maintained?  By the beginning of the second world war a high tension line had been brought in from one of GEC’s coal-fired stations in South Wales and this had superseded the necessity to generate a local supply.69   This alternative supply was provided to a transformer situated in the yard behind the Wilkes Head.  It thus became possible to distribute a 240 volt alternating current supply and the power house became defunct and lay empty and derelict.  In April 1948 after nationalisation, the assets of the WCPC (the GEC subsidiary) became vested in the South Wales Electricity Board on the supply side, and the Central Electricity Generating Board on the generating side.  As it was not then generating electricity, the powerhouse itself may not legally have been within the scope of the scheme.

The WCPC was a unit formed from a group of small, private electricity supply companies in West Wales, including those at Llandysul and Newcastle Emlyn, which were taken over by GEC and managed form October 1939 on behalf of GEC by Mr. C. G. Thomas who still lives in Llandysul.

The original supply at Pontweli was provided by three Gilbert Gilkes and Gordon turbines harnessed by Bosch generators.  Two sets were capable of producing a total of 68 kilowatts, though normally run as duty and standby equipment producing 34 kilowatts direct current each.  However, when the river was running high the normal turbines’ efficiencies were reduced by the high levels in the tailrace and to allow for this a separate turbine had been installed capable of taking advantage of the increased flows and producing up to 100 kilowatts of d.c. power.  Occasionally there was too little flow in the river, and to cater for this situation a heavy fuel oil engine was installed as the prime motive force.  None of this machinery is to be seen today, for although the power house still stands, it is much altered and the basement in which the turbines were installed has been covered with a cast concrete slab and access is not now possible. The turbines are said to be still in situ.70