Shoreham Power Station in West Sussex, which produces enough flexible electricity to power more than 700,000 households, has been acquired by Drax Group as part of a £702 million deal involving four Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) power stations.

The gas-fired power station is part of a portfolio of hydro, pumped-storage and gas power generation assets sold by Iberdrola to Drax, which owns the UK’s largest power station (at Selby in North Yorkshire).

The deal adds a total of 2.6GW of generating capacity to Drax’s portfolio, reinforcing its position at the heart of the UK’s energy system. In addition to Shoreham, it includes power stations in Hertfordshire, Kent and Lancashire.

Drax will now be able to generate enough power for more than 8.3 million homes.

Andy Koss, Drax Power CEO (www.drax.com), said: “As a British energy company, we’re really proud to be the new owners of these critical power stations.

“We’re looking forward to working with our new colleagues at each of the sites and playing an increasingly important role in the UK’s power system.

“We’ve been to meet the team at Shoreham Power Station and have been impressed with the skill and expertise there.

“This power station generates very flexible power, which not only keeps the lights on for thousands of households but also provides crucial system support services to the grid, maintaining secure supplies and enabling more renewables like wind and solar onto the system.”