The site in Staffordshire consisted of two power stations - Rugeley A and Rugeley B. Construction of the A station started in 1956 and was officially opened by Lord Robens of Woldingham and Sir Christopher Hinton seven years later on October 1st 1963. Two of the station's generating units were decommissioned in 1994, with the other three following in 1995. Having burned nearly 42 million tonnes of coal in its lifetime, Rugeley A was finally demolished later on that year.
Construction of Rugeley B power station began in 1965, with completion of the station in 1972. With both stations in operation, 850 people were employed at the stations in 1983. The two stations were initially operated by the Central Electricity Generating Board, but following privatisation in 1990, were handed over to National Power. The Lea Hall colliery was closed on January 24th 1991, meaning all coal burned in the stations needed to be delivered by rail.
In July 1996 the Rugeley B power station was bought by Eastern Generation, itself acquired by TXU Europe. Rugeley B was subsequently sold to International Power PLC in July 2001. It remains under the same ownership, though International Power later merged with GDF Suez in 2011.
In February 2016 it was announced that the power station would close in the summer of 2016. An announcement by owners, Engie blamed a deterioration in market conditions which included a fall in market prices and increasing carbon costs. The closure will result in the loss of 150 jobs.
Rugeley Power Station ceased all operations on Wednesday 8 June 2016. Decommissioning will be begin in June 2016. All buildings and structures on site are due for demolition lasting until around summer 2019.
