Sculcoates power station supplied electricity to Kingston upon Hull and the wider East Yorkshire area from 1898. An earlier 1893 station in Dagger Lane had operated public lighting in Hull Old Town. Sculcoates power station was built and operated by Kingston upon Hull Corporation on a site in Sculcoates Lane adjacent to the Beverley and Barmston Drain. The power station was increased in size as demand for electricity grew, it was redeveloped several times: including major rebuilds in 1927–29 and in 1938–1952. The power station was closed in 1976 and was subsequently demolished.

In 1880 Kingston upon Hull Corporation sought a Local Act of Parliament to allow it, or third parties, to generate and supply electricity for public lighting in the Old Town. This authority was obtained in the Hull (Corporation) Electric Lighting Act 1880 (43 & 44 Vict. c. cxxv).^[1] This was only the second such legal authorisation in the United Kingdom following the Liverpool (Corporation) Electric Lighting Act 1879. A street lighting scheme was built in Hull, however, the lights proved to be unreliable and were discontinued in 1884.^[2]

In 1890 Kingston upon Hull Corporation applied for a Provisional Order under the Electric Lighting Acts to generate and supply electricity to the town.^[3] This was granted by the Board of Trade and was confirmed by Parliament through the Electric Lighting Orders (No.6) Act 1890 (54 & 55 Vict. c. cxci).^[4] The Hull Corporation electricity undertaking constructed a power station in 1893 in Dagger Lane. The electricity undertaking initially had 33 consumers, this increased to 271 in 1894 and to 679 in 1898.^[2]

To meet increasing demand for electricity a new power station was built in Sculcoates Lane (53°45'48.9"N 0°20'41.7"W) which allowed power to be supplied to west of the Old Town and to the east side of the River Hull.^[2] The station was located where the King George Docks railway line crosses the Beverley and Barmston Drain. The railway enabled the delivery of coal to the station and the drainage channel provided cooling water.^[5]

The first Sculcoates plant comprised Willans engines coupled directly to Siemens and Holmes dynamos.^[3] There were also Crompton-Howell and Epstein accumulators to maintain current when demand exceeded the generating capacity. In 1898 the generating capacity was 880 kW. There were calculated to be 43,534 lamps of 8 candle power.^[3]

The power station was extended several times over the first half of the twentieth century.

In 1898 maximum electricity demand was 687 kW, there were 679 customers, and the undertaking sold 467.352 MWh of electricity.^[3]

The extension of the undertaking in 1911 entailed the expenditure of £99,322.^[10] This was broken down as follows:

• Buildings £19,808
• Machinery £37,297
• Extensions to mains £20,188
• High-tension mains £14,243
• Motors for rental £4,996

This scheme was financed by a 17-year loan.^[10]

The operating data for 1921–23 is shown in the table:^[6]

It was noted in the inter-war period that all the streets in many prosperous Southern towns and in some Northern towns such as Birkenhead, Derby and Hull had been wired for electricity.^[11]

To meet increasing demands for electricity the supply area served by Sculcoates power station was expanded. The area of supply encompassed Sutton (1914), Hessle (1915), Sculcoates Rural District (1922), and Beverley, Hedon, and Cottingham, and parts of Patrington, Sculcoates, and Skirlaugh Rural Districts in 1929.^[2] In 1932 there were nearly 49,000 consumers, rising to 95,000 in 1946. The supply area was over 160 square miles (414 km²).^[2]

Under the terms of the Electricity (Supply) Act 1926 (16–17 Geo. 5 c. 51)^[12] the Central Electricity Board (CEB) was established in 1926.^[13] The CEB identified high efficiency ‘selected’ power station that would supply electricity most effectively; Sculcoates was designated a selected station. The CEB also constructed the national grid (1927–33) to connect power stations within a region. Bulk supplies were sold to the South East Yorkshire Light and Power Company, which supplied a large part of the East Riding. The Central Electricity Board took bulk supplies from the Sculcoates station: in 1939 almost one quarter of the units generated was sold to the Board.^[2]

Sculcoates power station was decommissioned and disconnected from the national grid on 25 October 1976.^[18] The buildings and chimneys were subsequently demolished. The area has been redeveloped as housing.

• Timeline of the UK electricity supply industry
• List of power stations in England