Pre-Privatisation

The commercial supply of electricity for public use in the province began in 1892 and from then until the 1930's the industry grew in response to a number of private initiatives.

The Electricity (Supply) Act (Northern Ireland) 1931 established the Electricity Board for Northern Ireland (E.B.N.I), which along with the Corporation Electricity Departments and the Joint Electricity Authority, was responsible for the province's electricity until 1973.

In 1973 the three bodies were amalgamated to form the Northern Ireland Electricity Service (NIES). NIES was a public utility and had four power stations which are based at Coolkeeragh, Ballylumford, Kilroot and Belfast. It was responsible for the entire generation, transmission, distribution and supply of electricity throughout Northern Ireland until the spring of 1992.