Bankside Power Station

Bankside Power Station is a decommissioned electricity generating station located on the south bank of the River Thames, in the Bankside area of the Borough of Southwark, London. It generated electricity from 1891 to 1981. It was also used as a training base for apprenticeships from all over the country. It trained both craft and engineering students using specialised machine shops for the training. Since 2000 the building has been used to house the Tate Modern art museum and gallery.

The pioneer Bankside power station was built at Meredith Wharf Bankside in 1891. It was owned and operated by the City of London Electric Lighting Company and supplied electricity to the City and to part of north Southwark. The generating equipment was installed by the Brush Electrical Engineering Company and comprised two pairs of 25 kW Brush arc-lighters and two 100 kW single phase alternators generating at 2 kV and 100 Hz. This equipment first supplied direct current electricity to arc lamp street lights in Queen Victoria Street on 25 June 1891. Alternating current for domestic and commercial consumers was first supplied on 14 December 1891, this was a single-phase, 100 Hz, three-wire, 204/102 Volt system. Electricity cables were carried over Southwark bridge and Blackfriars bridge.

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