Alice is situated further inland at about 140 km by rail northwest of East London at an altitude of 524 metres and also began as a missionary station in 1824. It was named after Princess Alice, second daughter of Queen Victoria, and became a municipality in 1852. It had a population of about 3 500 in 1960.

 

KING WILLIAM’S TOWN POWER STATION

The original electric generating station at King William’s Town was erected by the King Electric Power Company. The supply of current was commenced on 23 October 1903 and the works were formally opened on 20 November 1903. Power was supplied for public street lighting and a few private consumers. Street lighting in the town had previously been by means of oil-burning lamps. The plant consisted of two Belliss/Electric Construction Co sets with Davey Paxman boilers, having a total capacity of 100 kW. In January 1905 the Town Council decided to take over the assets of the King Electric Power Co. The installation of additional plant was in hand the following year. (Minutes of the Council 10 Nov 1903 [National Archives Ref 3KWT 1/1/1/15:416, 423, 432]; The Electrician 4 Dec 1903:267, 25 Dec 1903:388, 11 Nov 1904:155, 13 Jan 1905:523; Electrical Review 1 June 1906:903)
The power station at King William’s Town was flooded to a depth of 3 feet [900 mm] during the floods of October 1905, most of the machinery being under water, and the town was without lights for several days as a result. (Daily Dispatch 12 October 1905). In 1918, the installed plant capacity was 0,2 MW and the electricity sold that year was 0,352 GWh (Merz and McLellan 1920:37).
Tenders were received in August 1924 for plant to be installed in a new power station. The tender from Reunert and Lenz was accepted for steam raising plant and two generators. The new power station was to be erected at the corner of Napier and Darling Streets, and the Prime Minister consented to lay the foundation stone at a ceremony on 2 September 1925. By September 1926 the power station was complete and in full working order. The old plant was sold. (Minutes of the Council [National Archives Ref 3KWT 1/1/1/22:20, 47, 156, 217, 289,307)
In March 1930 the Town Council proposed the installation of additional generating plant and in January 1931 tenders were accepted for two Brush Ljungström radial-flow turbo-alternators each rated at 1,5 MW. The inauguration of the new plant took place in March 1932. (Minutes of the Council 1930-32 [National Archives Ref 3KWT 1/1/1/23:256, 270, 279, 332, 342, 378, 456])
At the end of World War II (1939 to 1945), the power supply industry in South Africa was severely handicapped by the shortage of generating capacity and distribution equipment. With the return to normal commercial and industrial conditions, there was a huge upsurge in electricity requirements throughout the country. In 1946 the Municipality of East London requested ESCOM to take over ownership and operation of the West Bank Power Station, and to supply the Municipality in bulk. A number of other municipalities also approached ESCOM for supplies. ESCOM then established the Border Undertaking, which would be developed to cope with the electricity demands over an area extending to a radius of approximately 200 km from the power station at East London.ESCOM purchased West Bank Power Station from the Municipality and assumed ownership from 1 January 1947. (ESCOM Annual Reports 1945:6; 1946:6; 1947:7&53; ESCOM Twenty-five Years 1923-1948:29&30).
In January 1948, ESCOM purchased the King William’s Town Municipal Undertaking. In April 1948, the Administrator of the Cape Province also approved the acquisition by ESCOM of the Alice Municipal Electricity Undertaking. However, the available generating capacity in the newly established Border Undertaking was insufficient to meet the anticipated demand and additions to all three stations were planned. At both King William’s Town and at Alice, the majority of the former municipal employees elected to transfer to ESCOM’s service when the electricity undertakings were taken over. (ESCOM Annual Reports 1946:6, 1947:7; 1948:39&41; 1949:9&27).
At King William’s Town Power Station, the plant taken over by ESCOM consisted of:

Boilers: B&W 1 – 10 000 lb./h [1,26 kg/s] 2 – 12 000 lb./h [1,51 kg/s]
Steam Outlet: 200 lb./sq.in. [1,48 MPa (abs)] 530 °F [277 °C]
Generators: Brush 2 – 1,5 MW (radial-flow turbo-alternators) 3,8 kV
B&M 1 – 0,5 MW (triple expansion)

(ESCOM Twenty-five Years 1923 to 1948:48 and ESCOM Annual Report 1948:96)

When ESCOM took the power station over the following improvements were made:

The boiler house was extended and an additional 12 000 lb./h [1,51 kg/s] boiler installed and commissioned in May 1949.
A new workshop and stores building were constructed, and new offices purchased.
New switchgear and step-up transformers were installed, and operation changed over from 3,8 kV to 11 kV.
A new 1 MW diesel generator was installed and commissioned in March 1950, generating at 11 kV. (ESCOM Annual Reports 1949:37; 1950:96).
A 66 kV interconnector was built between East London and King William’s Town. West Bank 2 Power Station first generated power on 26 April 1956 and from 13 June 1956 King William’s Town Power Station was retained as a peak load station. Steam supplies from the station to two industrial consumers were discontinued as a consequence. From July 1956 there were two 15 MW generators and two boilers in service at West Bank 2. By the end of 1956 West Bank was supplying the whole of the Border Undertaking’s requirements. King William’s Town Power Station was kept available on standby for line outages and emergencies, the diesel generator being run regularly for trial purposes. In 1959 all boilers were emptied and dried out. The diesel generator was run for trial and a few occasions when abnormal conditions arose at West Bank. The steam plant was also used on one occasion due to a boiler outage at West Bank, and again on two occasions in 1961 to enable essential work to be carried out on the 66 kV line. The steam plant was used for two periods in August 1963 during installation of transformers at Gately Substation. In 1964 the 0,5 MW Belliss and Morcom reciprocating engine was disposed of. The steam plant was in operation for a short period in February 1966 for work on the 66 kV line and also in June when a generator at West Bank was out of service. In April 1966, the diesel generator was dismantled and sold. (ESCOM Annual Reports 1956:9,33,35&104; 1958:30; 1959:33; 1960:31; 1961:33; 1962:41; 1963:44; 1964:32; 1966:33)

Operating statistics for King William’s Town Power Station are as follows:

      *Steam plant and diesel plant in parallel (½ hour basis)
     **Steam plant only
   ***Excluding coal burnt for steam supplies to two industrial consumers (between 100 and 220 tons)