Operations
Town gas had traditionally been produced by carbonising (roasting) coal. The majority of gas made by the North Thames Gas Board in 1949 still used this method. In addition water gas was produced by passing steam through white-hot coke.[1] During the 1950s the price of coal, a major feed-stock for gas-making, rose considerably doubling from 64s.3d. (£3.21) per ton in 1950 to 123s.11d. (£6.20) per ton in 1959.[4] The board had to increase its domestic gas price from 1s 4d. per therm in 1951 to 2s 1.85d. per therm in 1957, an increase of 62%. In contrast the domestic price for electricity rose by only 22% in the 1950s and domestic oil prices increased by only 12%.[4] The board found it difficult to further penetrate the domestic and commercial space heating, central heating and other markets. The board instigated new more efficient and cost-effective processes for gas-making including a ‘Gas Integrale’ plant at Kensal Green in 1955, and a plant using low-grade coal at Bromley in 1960.[1] The board also developed process for reforming oil to produce gas including plants at Southall and Romford and butane/air plants at Beckton, Bromley and Fulham.[12] These new processes shifted the production of gas away from coal carbonisation to gas/oil reforming. The board was also instrumental in the pioneering import of liquefied natural gas, which was first landed at a pilot plant built by North Thames Gas Board on Canvey Island in February 1959.[13] The scheme was successful in supplying natural gas to other gas boards for use as a reformer feed-stock. The North Thames Gas Board, acting for the Gas Council, then designed and built a full-scale methane terminal on Canvey capable of processing 700,000 tons per year of natural gas from Algeria, commissioned in 1964.[1] The national transportation and distribution pipeline from Canvey formed the backbone of the National Transmission System for transporting North Sea gas after it was first landed in Yorkshire in 1967. The board was also responsible for the 1966 pilot scheme on Canvey to convert all domestic, commercial and industrial to natural gas. The conversion programme was extended across Britain over the period 1967–77.[1]
The technical transformation of gas manufacture and processing resulted in a significant reduction in the number of board employees, from about 25,000 in the 1950s to 8,000 in 1988.[4]
The financial turnover (in £ million) of the board between 1962 and 1971 was:[14] { "version": 2, "width": 400, "height": 200, "data": [ { "name": "table", "values": [ { "x": 1962, "y": 79 }, { "x": 1963, "y": 81 }, { "x": 1964, "y": 82 }, { "x": 1965, "y": 82 }, { "x": 1966, "y": 83 }, { "x": 1967, "y": 86 }, { "x": 1968, "y": 91 }, { "x": 1969, "y": 91 }, { "x": 1970, "y": 92 }, { "x": 1971, "y": 104 } ] } ], "scales": [ { "name": "x", "type": "ordinal", "range": "width", "zero": false, "domain": { "data": "table", "field": "x" } }, { "name": "y", "type": "linear", "range": "height", "nice": true, "domain": { "data": "table", "field": "y" } } ], "axes": [ { "type": "x", "scale": "x" }, { "type": "y", "scale": "y" } ], "marks": [ { "type": "rect", "from": { "data": "table" }, "properties": { "enter": { "x": { "scale": "x", "field": "x" }, "y": { "scale": "y", "field": "y" }, "y2": { "scale": "y", "value": 0 }, "fill": { "value": "steelblue" }, "width": { "scale": "x", "band": "true", "offset": -1 } } } } ], "padding": { "top": 30, "bottom": 30, "left": 30, "right": 30 } } In 1967 the board experienced the worst deficit in its history (£3.35 million).[4]
The growth in gas consumption and the number of customers over the period 1950-1971 is shown in the following tables.[4] In 1972 with the programme of natural gas conversion 58% complete, the board operated only six gas works: Beckton, Bromley, Fulham, Romford, Slough and Southall, and 34 gas holders (gasometers).[14] The total send-out of gas for the year was 1.028 e9thm-UK and the intake of natural gas was 939 e6thm-UK.[14]
