Scottish Gas Board facts for kids

The Scottish Gas Board was a company owned by the government. It provided gas for lighting and heating to homes and factories across Scotland. The Board started on 1 May 1949. It stopped being a separate company in 1973. Then, it became part of the larger British Gas Corporation.

What Was the Scottish Gas Board?

The Scottish Gas Board was a big organization that took over many smaller gas companies in Scotland. Its main job was to make sure everyone had gas for their homes and businesses.

The First Leader

The first chairman of the Board was Sir Andrew Clow. He set up the main offices in Edinburgh. He was in charge until April 1956. He wrote a letter to his team, sharing his thoughts on bringing together over 200 different gas companies.

Challenges When Gas Became National

Taking over so many different gas companies was a huge task. Sir Andrew Clow faced many challenges in making them work as one big system.

How Gas Companies Used to Work

Before the Board, each gas company made gas from coal and sent it through pipes to customers. They also handled sales and money. Some of these companies were very small. For example, one in Wigton was too tiny to keep running and had to close. The Board had to figure out how to connect these different companies.

Who Owned the Gas Companies?

Most of the larger gas companies were owned by local councils. These councils also owned electricity generating and supply companies, which were gas's main rivals! This meant the councils didn't really push for gas companies to compete.

Problems After World War II

After World War II, there was a big shortage of materials. It was hard to get new pipes to replace old ones or to reach new homes. Most gas pipes were made of cast iron and often leaked. A lot of gas, sometimes as much as 25%, was lost through leaks. Fixing and replacing these pipes was very important for safety.

Many gas factories were old and not well looked after. The price of coal was going up, and there weren't enough workers to do repairs.

How Gas Prices Were Set

The chairman explained that the Board had to set gas prices based on how much it cost to provide the gas. This was different from private companies, which could charge different prices to different customers to make more money. The Board wanted to be fair and charge prices that were close to the actual cost.

Losing Customers

Gas started losing customers, especially in factories, because oil prices were falling. Also, electric heating was becoming cheaper for homes.

After the war, many new houses were built in areas far from existing gas pipes. Government rules sometimes made it hard to extend gas pipes to these new homes. This made it easier for electricity companies to get new customers.

Staff and Sales Challenges

Sir Andrew Clow trusted his staff's technical skills. However, he knew they needed to learn how to sell gas better. This meant advertising, visiting customers, and talking to local councils. Before, gas companies were mostly run by engineers. Their main goal was to make and deliver gas as cheaply and safely as possible. Selling gas was a new idea for them.

Manager's Main Focus

It was very important for engineers to keep the gas supply going. If the gas supply stopped, it could be dangerous and lead to legal problems. To turn the gas back on, every home had to be visited to make sure all gas taps were off. Then, the pipes had to be cleaned out before gas was put back in. Finally, every home had to be visited again to make sure the gas was safely restored.

Because of this, managers were mostly focused on making sure gas was always available. The idea of also having to "sell" gas by talking to potential customers was very new to them. The chairman admitted that all the changes meant managers had less time to talk to their own staff, let alone customers.

Working with Unions

The chairman noted that the Board had good relationships with the workers' unions. He welcomed higher wages but felt that wage decisions were made at a national level and were sometimes higher than what Scotland's situation justified. He was sad that he had to raise gas prices as he left his job.

Final Thoughts

Sir Andrew Clow ended his time by saying that having great equipment, gas, offices, and financial systems was good. But he believed that these things wouldn't be truly valuable unless the people using them were also dedicated and wanted to make life better for everyone.

Gas Companies Taken Over by the Board

The Scottish Gas Board took over many gas companies from local councils and private owners. Here are some of the places where these companies were located: