Trading REMIT Visit us Contact us ABOUT US INVESTORS BIOMASS SUSTAINABILITY EDUCATION NEWS CAREERS Home About us Our history About us Corporate governance Our businesses Our history Our strategy Our history Originally built, owned and operated by the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB), Drax Power Station was constructed and commissioned in two stages. Stage one (units 1, 2 and 3) was completed in 1974, some 12 years later in 1986 stage two (units 4, 5 and 6) was completed. It is the last coal-fired power station to be built in the UK. Each of the units has a capacity of 660MW when burning coal, giving a total capacity of just under 4,000MW, making Drax the largest power station in the UK. In 1988, Drax became the first power station to invest in the retrofit of flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) equipment, making Drax the cleanest coal-fired power station in the UK. In 1990, the electricity industry of England and Wales was privatised under the Electricity Act 1989. Three generating companies and 12 regional electricity companies were created. As a result of privatisation, Drax Power Station came under the ownership of National Power, one of the newly formed generating companies. Over the years that followed privatisation, the map of the industry changed dramatically. One significant change was the emergence of vertically integrated companies, combining generation, distribution and supply interests. In certain cases, it became necessary for generation assets to be divested, and so in 1999 Drax Power Station was acquired by the US-based AES Corporation for £1.87 billion. A partial re-financing of Drax was completed in 2000, with £400 million of senior bonds being issued by AES Drax Holdings, and £267 million of subordinated debt issued by AES Drax Energy. Increased competition, over-capacity and new trading arrangements contributed to a significant drop in wholesale electricity prices, which hit an all-time low in 2002. Many companies experienced financial problems, and Drax Power Station’s major customer went into administration, triggering financial difficulties for Drax. Following a series of standstill agreements with its creditors, the AES Corporation and Drax parted company in August 2003. During the restructuring, a number of bids were received from companies wishing to take a stake in the ownership of Drax, but creditors voted overwhelmingly to retain their interest in Drax. In December 2003, the restructuring was completed and Drax came under the ownership of a number of financial institutions. Almost exactly two years later, on 15 December 2005, Drax underwent a re-financing and shares in Drax Group plc were listed on the London Stock Exchange for the first time. Downstream in the supply chain, in March 2009 Drax acquired Ipswich-based Haven Power Limited, an electricity supply company established specifically to serve the energy needs of business customers. Since then Haven has seen significant growth in sales to small and medium sized enterprises, and industrial and commercial customers. In July 2012, Drax announced that it had the mandate, means and expertise to transform the business into a predominantly biomass-fuelled generator through burning sustainable biomass in place of coal. Drax has plans to convert three of its six generating units to burn biomass. The first of the three units was successfully converted in April 2013, and the new biomass receipt, storage and distribution systems to support the converted units were officially launched in December 2013. Upstream in the supply chain, the Company has a presence in the US focused on developing wood pellet plants for the self-supply of sustainable biomass. Drax Biomass International is currently developing two wood pellet plants, one in Louisiana and one in Mississippi, and a port facility in Louisiana to facilitate the export of wood pellets. Become a supplier Meet our people Information for... About us Investors Community Government and regulatory affairs Responsibility Environment Community Health & safety Tackling climate change Inside Drax About us Our businesses Our history Haven Power Careers Site information Sitemap Visit us Privacy policy Accessibility Disclaimer Drax Power Station, Selby, North Yorkshire YO8 8PH © 2014 Drax Group plc