Stone to Silicon

Energy · 1933

National grid

Britain links its power stations into one synchronized 132 kV network.

The Central Electricity Board built a national 132 kV grid from 1928 and completed it in 1933. Pooling plants let the most efficient stations run most, cut reserve needs and set the pattern for national and continental grids.

See it in the living treeWikipedia

Arcs above join it to what it stood on, arcs below to what it led to. The bar places this stretch on the tree's whole timeline.

What it built on 2

What it led to 1

Related measurements

The dashed line marks when it first worked.

UK electricity output since 1896 Latest: 3.57M MWh (1998) Source: Our World in Data

Energy sources in England & Wales since 1800 Latest: 99.9 % of primary energy (2008) Source: Our World in Data

World electricity generation Latest: 31.8k TWh (2025) Source: Our World in Data