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102-692: The Aberystwyth Cliff Railway ( Welsh : Rheilffordd y Graig ) opened on 1 August 1896. It is a 778 feet (237 m) long funicular railway in Aberystwyth and is the second longest funicular railway in the British Isles, after the Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway . Since November 1987, the Aberystwyth Cliff Railway has been a Grade II listed structure . The Cliff Railway was developed as an element of Constitution Hill ,

204-610: A Victorian business venture by the Aberystwyth Improvement Company in the 1890s. The funicular took visitors to the top of the hill, where attractions such as a camera obscura were established. The cliff railway was originally a water balance system, but it was electrified during 1921. Passengers numbers were high during its initial decades, but dropped after the outbreak of the Second World War and stayed depressed for decades. The cliff railway

306-639: A grid services market. "Dynamic Containment" started in October 2020, initially priced at £17 per MW per hour, and Dynamic Regulation (DR) started in April 2022. Consumers of electricity are split into two categories: half-hourly metered (HH) and non-half-hourly metered (NHH). Customers whose peak demand is sufficiently high are obliged to have a HH meter, which, in effect, takes a meter reading every 30 minutes. The rates at which charges are levied on these customers' electricity suppliers therefore varies 17,520 times

408-463: A stretch target to be carbon neutral or negative by 2033, well ahead of the UK's national target to achieve this by 2050. It also aims to have the capability to be 'zero carbon' as early as 2025, meaning that if energy suppliers are able to produce sufficient green power, the grid could theoretically run without any greenhouse gas emissions at all (i.e. no carbon capture or offsetting would be needed as

510-496: A "national gridiron " supply system be created. The 1926 Act created the Central Electricity Board , which set up the UK's first synchronised, nationwide AC grid, running at 132 kV, 50 Hz. The grid was created with 6,400 kilometres (4,000 miles) of cables – mostly overhead – linking the 122 most efficient power stations. The first "grid tower" was erected near Edinburgh on 14 July 1928, and work

612-485: A (non-leap) year. The TNUoS charges for a HH metered customer are based on their demand during three half-hour periods of greatest demand between November and February, known as the Triad. Due to the nature of electricity demand in the UK, the three Triad periods always fall in the early evening, and must be separated by at least ten clear working days. The TNUoS charges for a HH customer are simply their average demand during

714-441: A Welsh Language Scheme, which indicates its commitment to the equality of treatment principle. This is sent out in draft form for public consultation for a three-month period, whereupon comments on it may be incorporated into a final version. It requires the final approval of the now defunct Welsh Language Board ( Bwrdd yr Iaith Gymraeg ). Thereafter, the public body is charged with implementing and fulfilling its obligations under

816-546: A Welsh-language edge inscription was used on pound coins dated 1985, 1990 and 1995, which circulated in all parts of the UK prior to their 2017 withdrawal. The wording is Pleidiol wyf i'm gwlad (Welsh for 'True am I to my country'), and derives from the national anthem of Wales, " Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau ". UK banknotes are in English only. Some shops employ bilingual signage. Welsh sometimes appears on product packaging or instructions. The UK government has ratified

918-663: A census glossary of terms to support the release of results from the census, including their definition of "main language" as referring to "first or preferred language" (though that wording was not in the census questionnaire itself). The wards in England with the most people giving Welsh as their main language were the Liverpool wards of Central and Greenbank ; and Oswestry South in Shropshire . The wards of Oswestry South (1.15%), Oswestry East (0.86%) and St Oswald (0.71%) had

1020-484: A holiday apartment. Of the four original timber bridges constructed to carry hillside paths over the railway, three remain at the northern half of the route for foot traffic. The railway makes appearances in the work of author Malcolm Pryce . 52°25′23″N 4°05′02″W  /  52.42300°N 4.08379°W  / 52.42300; -4.08379 Welsh language Welsh ( Cymraeg [kəmˈraːiɡ] or y Gymraeg [ə ɡəmˈraːiɡ] )

1122-410: A maximum gradient of more than 1:2 (50 per cent). The gauge is 4 ft 8 in ( 1,422 mm ), slightly narrower than standard gauge , and laid on timber sleepers . In 1921, the railway was electrified using a 41 kW ATB AG  [ de ] Morley DC motor . In 1934, after changes to the town’s electricity supply, a mercury arc rectifier and transformer were installed in

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1224-410: A maximum rate of 75 MW during the year would still be charged for the full 100 MW of TEC. In some cases, there are negative TNUoS tariffs. These generators are paid an amount based on their peak net supply over three proving runs over the course of the year. This represents the reduction in costs caused by having a generator close to the centre of demand of the country. National Grid uses

1326-673: A new non-lattice design of electricity pylon, the T-pylon, was built near East Huntspill , Somerset for the new 35 mile Hinkley Point C to Avonmouth connection. In 2023, the National Grid began removing equipment from China's NARI Technology over national security concerns. The contiguous synchronous grid covers England (including the Isle of Wight ), Scotland (including some of the Scottish islands such as Orkney , Skye and

1428-623: A second by second basis to either lower the demand or to provide extra generation. Reserve services are a group of services each acting within different response times: These reserves are sized according to three factors: The English and Welsh parts of the National Grid are controlled from the National Grid Control Centre which is located in St Catherine's Lodge, Sindlesham , Wokingham in Berkshire. It

1530-479: A single discourse (known in linguistics as code-switching ). Welsh speakers are largely concentrated in the north and west of Wales, principally Gwynedd , Conwy County Borough , Denbighshire , Anglesey , Carmarthenshire , north Pembrokeshire , Ceredigion , parts of Glamorgan , and north-west and extreme south-west Powys . However, first-language and other fluent speakers can be found throughout Wales. Welsh-speaking communities persisted well into

1632-413: A sufficient margin for future expansion. The decision in favour of a 400 kV system was made for two main reasons. Firstly the majority of the 275 kV lines could be uprated to 400 kV, and secondly it was envisaged that operation at 400 kV could begin in 1965 compared with 1968 for a 500 kV scheme. Design work was started and in order to meet the programme for 1965 it was necessary for

1734-1041: Is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people . Welsh is spoken natively in Wales , by some in England , and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province , Argentina ). It is spoken by smaller numbers of people in Canada and the United States descended from Welsh immigrants, within their households (especially in Nova Scotia ). Historically, it has also been known in English as "British", "Cambrian", "Cambric" and "Cymric". The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 gave

1836-605: Is a wide area synchronous grid operating at 50 hertz. Most of the physical HV parts of the grid consists of 400 kV lines as well as some 275 kV lines that collectively form a supergrid . It has several undersea interconnectors : an AC connector to the Isle of Man , and DC connectors to Northern Ireland, the Shetland Islands , the Republic of Ireland, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway, and Denmark. Since

1938-577: Is available throughout Europe on satellite and online throughout the UK. Since the digital switchover was completed in South Wales on 31 March 2010, S4C Digidol became the main broadcasting channel and fully in Welsh. The main evening television news provided by the BBC in Welsh is available for download. There is also a Welsh-language radio station, BBC Radio Cymru , which was launched in 1977. National Grid (Great Britain) The National Grid

2040-422: Is charged separately). The grid also charges an annual fee to cover the cost of generators, distribution networks and large industrial users connecting. Triad charges encourage users to cut load at peak periods; this is often achieved by using diesel generators. Such generators are also routinely used by National Grid. If the total TNUoS or Triad receipts (say £15,000/MW·year × 50,000 MW = £750 million/year)

2142-491: Is completed, the site's storage capacity will be 266 MWh. National Grid is responsible for contracting short term generating provision to cover demand prediction errors and sudden failures at power stations. This covers a few hours of operation giving time for market contracts to be established to cover longer term balancing. Frequency-response reserves act to keep the system's AC frequency within ±1% of 50  Hz , except in exceptional circumstances. These are used on

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2244-688: Is considered to have lasted from then until the 14th century, when the Modern Welsh period began, which in turn is divided into Early and Late Modern Welsh. The word Welsh is a descendant, via Old English wealh, wielisc , of the Proto-Germanic word * Walhaz , which was derived from the name of the Celtic people known to the Romans as Volcae and which came to refer to speakers of Celtic languages, and then indiscriminately to

2346-668: Is divided by the total number of units delivered by the UK generating system in a year (the total number of units sold – say 360 terawatt-hours (1.3 EJ). ), then a crude estimate can be made of transmission costs, and one gets the figure of around 0.2p/kW⋅h. Other estimates also give a figure of 0.2p/kW⋅h. However, Bernard Quigg notes: "According to the 06/07 annual accounts for NGC UK transmission, NGC carried 350TW⋅h for an income of £2012m in 2007, i. e. NGC receives 0.66p per kW hour. With two years inflation to 2008/9, say 0.71p per kW⋅h.", but this also includes generators' connection fees. In order to be allowed to supply electricity to

2448-506: Is now owned and run by Constitution Hill Ltd, a registered charity . It is open to passengers during the summer months, typically operating between April and October, with a reduced timetable during the rest of the year. The Aberystwyth Cliff Railway was part of the Constitution Hill development built by the Aberystwyth Improvement Company, established in 1895. It was an early theme park , consisting of arcades and restaurant at

2550-416: Is open to passengers during the summer months, typically operating between April and October, while transitioning to a limited timetable during the colder months. The upper station was refurbished with a café and gift shop during 2005 and roof repairs were made in 2014. Ramps and other adaptations make the service accessible to wheelchair users. The ticket office at the lower station has been converted into

2652-522: Is sometimes described as being a 'secret' location. As of 2015 the system is under consistent cyber attack . Although the transmission network in Scotland is owned by separate companies – SP Transmission plc (part of ScottishPower ) in the south, and Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission plc (part of Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks ) in the north – overall control rests with National Grid Electricity System Operator. The costs of operating

2754-538: Is the case with 'net zero'). In 2020 about 40% of the grid's energy came from burning natural gas, and it is not expected that anywhere close to sufficient green power will be available to run the grid on zero carbon in 2025, except perhaps on the very windiest days. Analysts such as Hartree Solutions considered in 2020 that getting to 'net zero' by 2050 would be challenging, even more so to reach 'net zero' by 2033. There has, however, been sustained progress towards carbon neutrality , with carbon intensity falling by 53% in

2856-511: Is the label attached to the Welsh of the 12th to 14th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This is the language of nearly all surviving early manuscripts of the Mabinogion , although the tales themselves are certainly much older. It is also the language of the existing Welsh law manuscripts. Middle Welsh is reasonably intelligible to a modern-day Welsh speaker. The Bible translations into Welsh helped maintain

2958-732: The Cynfeirdd or "Early Poets" – is generally considered to date to the Primitive Welsh period. However, much of this poetry was supposedly composed in the Hen Ogledd , raising further questions about the dating of the material and language in which it was originally composed. This discretion stems from the fact that Cumbric was widely believed to have been the language used in Hen Ogledd. An 8th-century inscription in Tywyn shows

3060-500: The 2016 Australian census , 1,688 people noted that they spoke Welsh. In the 2011 Canadian census , 3,885 people reported Welsh as their first language . According to the 2021 Canadian census , 1,130 people noted that Welsh was their mother tongue. The 2018 New Zealand census noted that 1,083 people in New Zealand spoke Welsh. The American Community Survey 2009–2013 noted that 2,235 people aged five years and over in

3162-410: The 2021 census , 7,349 people in England recorded Welsh to be their "main language". In the 2011 census, 1,189 people aged three and over in Scotland noted that Welsh was a language (other than English) that they used at home. It is believed that there are as many as 5,000 speakers of Patagonian Welsh . In response to the question 'Does the person speak a language other than English at home?' in

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3264-538: The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in respect of Welsh. The language has greatly increased its prominence since the creation of the television channel S4C in November 1982, which until digital switchover in 2010 broadcast 70 per cent of Channel 4's programming along with a majority of Welsh language shows during peak viewing hours. The all-Welsh-language digital station S4C Digidol

3366-756: The Polish name for Italians) have a similar etymology. The Welsh term for the language, Cymraeg , descends from the Brythonic word combrogi , meaning 'compatriots' or 'fellow countrymen'. Welsh evolved from Common Brittonic , the Celtic language spoken by the ancient Celtic Britons . Classified as Insular Celtic , the British language probably arrived in Britain during the Bronze Age or Iron Age and

3468-640: The United States spoke Welsh at home. The highest number of those (255) lived in Florida . Sources: Calls for the Welsh language to be granted official status grew with the establishment of the nationalist political party Plaid Cymru in 1925, the establishment of the Welsh Language Society in 1962 and the rise of Welsh nationalism in the later 20th century. Of the six living Celtic languages (including two revived), Welsh has

3570-527: The Western Isles which have limited connectivity ), Wales , and the Isle of Man . The following figures are taken from the 2005 Seven Year Statement. Total generating capacity is supplied roughly equally by renewable , gas fired, nuclear , coal fired power stations . Annual energy transmitted in the UK grid is around 300–360 TWh (1.1–1.3 EJ), with an average load factor of 72% (i.e. 3.6×10 /(8,760 × 57×10 ). The National Grid has

3672-594: The "hugely important role", adding, "I look forward to working with the Welsh Government and organisations in Wales in developing the new system of standards. I will look to build on the good work that has been done by the Welsh Language Board and others to strengthen the Welsh language and ensure that it continues to thrive." First Minister Carwyn Jones said that Huws would act as a champion for

3774-596: The 1880s identified a small part of Shropshire as still then speaking Welsh, with the "Celtic Border" passing from Llanymynech through Oswestry to Chirk . The number of Welsh-speaking people in the rest of Britain has not yet been counted for statistical purposes. In 1993, the Welsh-language television channel S4C published the results of a survey into the numbers of people who spoke or understood Welsh, which estimated that there were around 133,000 Welsh-speaking people living in England, about 50,000 of them in

3876-536: The 1993 Act nor secondary legislation made under it covers the private sector, although some organisations, notably banks and some railway companies, provide some of their information in Welsh. On 7 December 2010, the Welsh Assembly unanimously approved a set of measures to develop the use of the Welsh language within Wales. On 9 February 2011 this measure, the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 ,

3978-528: The 275 kV systems was examined as a possible solution. However, in addition to the technical problem of high fault levels, many more lines would have been required to obtain the estimated transfers at 275 kV. As this was not consistent with the Central Electricity Generating Board's policy of preservation of amenities, a better solution was sought. Consideration was given to 400 kV and 500 kV schemes: both gave

4080-486: The Assembly which confirms the official status of the Welsh language; which creates a strong advocate for Welsh speakers and will improve the quality and quantity of services available through the medium of Welsh. I believe that everyone who wants to access services in the Welsh language should be able to do so, and that is what this government has worked towards. This legislation is an important and historic step forward for

4182-550: The Greater London area. The Welsh Language Board , on the basis of an analysis of the Office for National Statistics Longitudinal Study, estimated there were 110,000 Welsh-speaking people in England, and another thousand in Scotland and Northern Ireland. In the 2011 census , 8,248 people in England gave Welsh in answer to the question "What is your main language?" The Office for National Statistics subsequently published

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4284-521: The National Grid System are recouped by National Grid Electricity System Operator (NGESO) through levying of Transmission Network Use of System (TNUoS) charges on the users of the system. The costs are split between the generators and the users of electricity. Tariffs are set annually by NGESO, and the country is divided into zones, each with a different tariff for generation and consumption. In general, tariffs are higher for generators in

4386-401: The National Grid are low, there are significant further losses in onward electricity distribution to the consumer, causing a total distribution loss of about 7.7%. Losses differ significantly for customers connected at different voltages; connected at high voltage the total losses are about 2.6%, at medium voltage 6.4% and at low voltage 12.2%. Generated power entering the grid is metered at

4488-614: The National Grid, the Grid Code , the Supergrid is defined as those parts of the British electricity transmission system that are connected at voltages in excess of 200 kV. The 2.2 GW undersea Western HVDC Link from Scotland to North Wales was built in 2013–2018. This was the first major non- alternating current grid link within Great Britain, although interconnectors to foreign grids already used HVDC . In 2021

4590-538: The National Grid: the users pay less if they can manage their usage so as to be less peaky. For each year's calculation, historic system demand metrics are analysed to determine three half-hour periods of high average demand; the three periods are known as triads. The periods are (a) the period of peak system demand, and (b) two other periods of highest demand which are separated from peak system demand and from each other by at least ten days. For power stations,

4692-530: The Republic of Ireland (500 MW HVDC East–West Interconnector ), and Denmark (1.4 GW Viking Link ). A further 500 MW link with the Republic of Ireland ( Greenlink ) is scheduled for 2024. Further potential schemes include links with Germany ( NeuConnect , 1.4 GW); Iceland ( Icelink , around 1 GW) and Morocco (3.6 GW from new battery-backed solar generation). The UK grid has access to large pumped storage systems, notably Dinorwig Power Station which can provide 1.7 GW for 5–6 hours, and

4794-564: The UK's electricity interconnection level (off-island transmission capacity relative to production capacity) was 6%. As of 2024 , the total capacity of these connectors is over 9 GW. They include direct-current cables to northern France (2 GW HVDC Cross-Channel , 1 GW HVDC IFA-2 , 1 GW ElecLink via the Channel Tunnel ); Belgium (1 GW HVDC Nemo Link ); the Netherlands (1 GW HVDC BritNed ); Norway (1.4 GW HDVC North Sea Link ); Northern Ireland (500 MW HVDC Moyle Interconnector );

4896-496: The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011, all new signs have Welsh displayed first. There have been incidents of one of the languages being vandalised, which may be considered a hate crime . Since 2000, the teaching of Welsh has been compulsory in all schools in Wales up to age 16; this has had an effect in stabilising and reversing the decline in the language. Text on UK coins tends to be in English and Latin. However,

4998-704: The Welsh Language Scheme. The list of other public bodies which have to prepare Schemes could be added to by initially the Secretary of State for Wales, from 1993 to 1997, by way of statutory instrument . Subsequent to the forming of the National Assembly for Wales in 1997, the Government Minister responsible for the Welsh language can and has passed statutory instruments naming public bodies who have to prepare Schemes. Neither

5100-667: The Welsh language official status in Wales. Welsh and English are de jure official languages of the Welsh Parliament, the Senedd , with Welsh being the only de jure official language in any part of the United Kingdom, with English being merely de facto official. According to the 2021 census , the Welsh-speaking population of Wales aged three or older was 538,300 (17.8%) and nearly three quarters of

5202-526: The Welsh language, though some had concerns over her appointment: Plaid Cymru spokeswoman Bethan Jenkins said, "I have concerns about the transition from Meri Huws's role from the Welsh Language Board to the language commissioner, and I will be asking the Welsh government how this will be successfully managed. We must be sure that there is no conflict of interest, and that the Welsh Language Commissioner can demonstrate how she will offer

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5304-487: The Welsh of the 16th century, but they are similar enough for a fluent Welsh speaker to have little trouble understanding it. During the Modern Welsh period, there has been a decline in the popularity of the Welsh language: the number of Welsh speakers declined to the point at which there was concern that the language would become extinct. During industrialisation in the late 19th century, immigrants from England led to

5406-630: The Welsh-speaking heartlands, with the number dropping to under 50 per cent in Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire for the first time. However, according to the Welsh Language Use Survey in 2019–20, 22 per cent of people aged three and over were able to speak Welsh. The Annual Population Survey (APS) by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated that as of March 2024, approximately 862,700, or 28.0 per cent of

5508-460: The census. In terms of usage, ONS also reported that 14.4 per cent (443,800) of people aged three or older in Wales reported that they spoke Welsh daily in March 2024, with 5.4 per cent (165,500) speaking it weekly and 6.5 per cent (201,200) less often. Approximately 1.7 per cent (51,700) reported that they never spoke Welsh despite being able to speak the language, with the remaining 72.0 per cent of

5610-519: The chargeable demand is only the net site demand (per CUSC rule 14.17.10), so when the site is net exporting (i.e. total metered generation at that site exceeds total separately metered station demand), that separately metered station demand shall not be liable for demand TNUoS charges in relation to the station demand at triad. Triad dates in recent years were: This is the main source of income which National Grid uses to cover its costs for high-voltage long-distance transmission (lower voltage distribution

5712-587: The contract engineering for the first projects to run concurrently with the design. One of these projects was the West Burton 400 kV Indoor Substation, the first section of which was commissioned in June 1965. From 1965, the grid was partly upgraded to 400 kV, beginning with a 150-mile (240 km) line from Sundon to West Burton , to become the Supergrid . In the 2010 issue of the code that governs

5814-414: The course of the 20th century this monolingual population all but disappeared, but a small percentage remained at the time of the 1981 census. Most Welsh-speaking people in Wales also speak English. However, many Welsh-speaking people are more comfortable expressing themselves in Welsh than in English. A speaker's choice of language can vary according to the subject domain and the social context, even within

5916-489: The creation of Old Welsh, Davies suggests it may be more appropriate to refer to this derivative language as Lingua Britannica rather than characterising it as a new language altogether. The argued dates for the period of "Primitive Welsh" are widely debated, with some historians' suggestions differing by hundreds of years. The next main period is Old Welsh ( Hen Gymraeg , 9th to 11th centuries); poetry from both Wales and Scotland has been preserved in this form of

6018-479: The decline in Welsh speakers particularly in the South Wales Valleys. Welsh government processes and legislation have worked to increase the proliferation of the Welsh language, for example through education. Welsh has been spoken continuously in Wales throughout history; however, by 1911, it had become a minority language, spoken by 43.5 per cent of the population. While this decline continued over

6120-475: The five years to 2020. The phase out of coal is progressing rapidly with only 1.6% of the UK's electricity coming from coal in 2020, compared with about 25% in 2015. 2020 saw the UK go more than two months without needing to burn any coal for electricity, the longest period since the Industrial Revolution . Figures are again from the 2005 Seven Year Statement. Although overall losses in

6222-491: The following decades, the language did not die out. The smallest number of speakers was recorded in 1981 with 503,000 although the lowest percentage was recorded in the most recent census in 2021 at 17.8 per cent. By the start of the 21st century, numbers began to increase once more, at least partly as a result of the increase in Welsh-medium education . The 2004 Welsh Language Use Survey showed that 21.7 per cent of

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6324-549: The foot of the hill, and a camera obscura and park at the top. The funicular railway was developed to transport people between the areas. Constitution Hill was designed and engineered by George Croydon Marks who also designed the pavilion for the Aberystwyth Royal Pier , and a meandering footpath as an alternative to the Cliff Railway. Around 12,000 tonnes of rock was excavated for the middle section of

6426-464: The footpath to accommodate a footbridge over the cliff railway. The area is surrounded by the gardens and pleasure grounds of Constitution Hill. The cliff railway was originally a cable-drawn balanced system moving a pair of cars, with a maximum capacity of 30 passengers, permanently connected via a continuous cable. When opened, it operated using a water balance system, which used a Worthington Corporation compound steam engine water pump housed in

6528-425: The grid by adding 275 kV links. At its inception in 1950, the 275 kV Transmission System was designed to form part of a national supply system with an anticipated total demand of 30,000 MW by 1970. The predicted demand was already exceeded by 1960. This rapid growth led the Central Electricity Generating Board (created in 1958) to carry out a study in 1960 of future transmission needs. Considered in

6630-401: The high-voltage side of the generator transformer. Any power losses in the generator transformer are therefore accounted to the generating company, not to the grid system. The power loss in the generator transformer does not contribute to the grid losses. In 2009–10 there was an average power flow of about 11 GW from the north of the UK, particularly from Scotland and northern England, to

6732-411: The highest number of native speakers who use the language on a daily basis, and it is the Celtic language which is considered the least endangered by UNESCO . The Welsh Language Act 1993 and the Government of Wales Act 1998 provide that the Welsh and English languages be treated equally in the public sector, as far as is reasonable and practicable. Each public body is required to prepare for approval

6834-413: The highest percentage of residents giving Welsh as their main language. The census also revealed that 3,528 wards in England, or 46% of the total number, contained at least one resident whose main language is Welsh. In terms of the regions of England , North West England (1,945), London (1,310) and the West Midlands (1,265) had the highest number of people noting Welsh as their main language. According to

6936-400: The history of Welsh, with rather indistinct boundaries: Primitive Welsh, Old Welsh, Middle Welsh, and Modern Welsh. The period immediately following the language's emergence is sometimes referred to as Primitive Welsh, followed by the Old Welsh period – which is generally considered to stretch from the beginning of the 9th century to sometime during the 12th century. The Middle Welsh period

7038-527: The language already dropping inflections in the declension of nouns. Janet Davies proposed that the origins of the Welsh language were much less definite; in The Welsh Language: A History , she proposes that Welsh may have been around even earlier than 600 AD. This is evidenced by the dropping of final syllables from Brittonic: * bardos 'poet' became bardd , and * abona 'river' became afon . Though both Davies and Jackson cite minor changes in syllable structure and sounds as evidence for

7140-431: The language, its speakers and for the nation." The measure was not welcomed warmly by all supporters: Bethan Williams, chairman of the Welsh Language Society, gave a mixed response to the move, saying, "Through this measure we have won official status for the language and that has been warmly welcomed. But there was a core principle missing in the law passed by the Assembly before Christmas. It doesn't give language rights to

7242-449: The language. As Germanic and Gaelic colonisation of Britain proceeded, the Brittonic speakers in Wales were split off from those in northern England, speaking Cumbric, and those in the southwest, speaking what would become Cornish , so the languages diverged. Both the works of Aneirin ( Canu Aneirin , c.  600 ) and the Book of Taliesin ( Canu Taliesin ) were written during this era. Middle Welsh ( Cymraeg Canol )

7344-521: The largest integrated power system in Europe. The rest of the country, however, continued to use a patchwork of small supply networks. In 1925, the British government asked Lord Weir , a Glaswegian industrialist, to solve the problem of Britain's inefficient and fragmented electricity supply industry. Weir consulted Merz, and the result was the Electricity (Supply) Act 1926 , which recommended that

7446-626: The load centres. West Burton 's 4 × 500 MW machines, in the Nottinghamshire coalfield near the River Trent , is an example. These developments shifted the emphasis on the transmission system from interconnection to bulk power transfers from the generation areas to the load centres, such as the anticipated transfer in 1970 of some 6,000 MW from the Midlands to the home counties . Continued reinforcement and extension of

7548-402: The lower station to move water to the upper station. Each passenger car had a tank in their chassis that could hold 4 tonnes of water. Water was added to the tank of the top car, which descended under gravity , hauling the lighter lower car on the parallel track to the top station. The railway is straight, ascending about 430 feet (130 m) over a horizontal distance of 778 feet (237 m),

7650-423: The lower station to provide a 440V DC power output. The cars are moved using a high-tensile steel cable attached to both vehicles. It passes around a drum, mounted on a vertical axis between the tracks at the top. The motor drives the drum controlled by an automated cut-off which stops the motor and the cars when required. Its twin carriages are named Lord Geraint and Lord Marks. The cliff railway opened to

7752-622: The modern period across the border in England. Archenfield was still Welsh enough in the time of Elizabeth I for the Bishop of Hereford to be made responsible, together with the four Welsh bishops, for the translation of the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer into Welsh. Welsh was still commonly spoken there in the first half of the 19th century, and churchwardens' notices were put up in both Welsh and English until about 1860. Alexander John Ellis in

7854-429: The north and consumers in the south since there is generally a north–south flow of electricity. 'Triad demand' is a metric of demand which reports retrospectively three numbers about peak demand between November and February (inclusive) each winter. In order to encourage usage of the National Grid to be less 'peaky', the triad is used as the basis for extra charges paid by the users (the licensed electricity suppliers) to

7956-448: The number of Welsh-language speakers to one million by 2050. Since 1980, the number of children attending Welsh-medium schools has increased, while the number going to Welsh bilingual and dual-medium schools has decreased. Welsh is considered the least endangered Celtic language by UNESCO . The language of the Welsh developed from the language of Britons . The emergence of Welsh was not instantaneous and clearly identifiable. Instead,

8058-473: The people of Wales in every aspect of their lives. Despite that, an amendment to that effect was supported by 18 Assembly Members from three different parties, and that was a significant step forward." On 5 October 2011, Meri Huws , Chair of the Welsh Language Board , was appointed the new Welsh Language Commissioner. She released a statement that she was "delighted" to have been appointed to

8160-551: The people of the Western Roman Empire . In Old English the term went through semantic narrowing , coming to refer to either Britons in particular or, in some contexts, slaves. The plural form Wēalas evolved into the name for their territory, Wales. The modern names for various Romance-speaking people in Continental Europe (e.g. Walloons , Valaisans , Vlachs / Wallachians , and Włosi ,

8262-436: The population in Wales said they had no Welsh language skills. Other estimates suggest that 862,700 people (28.0%) aged three or older in Wales could speak Welsh in March 2024. Almost half of all Welsh speakers consider themselves fluent, while 20 per cent are able to speak a fair amount. 56 per cent of Welsh speakers speak the language daily, and 19 per cent speak the language weekly. The Welsh Government plans to increase

8364-471: The population not being able to speak it. The National Survey for Wales, conducted by Welsh Government, has also tended to report a higher percentage of Welsh speakers than the census, with the most recent results for 2022–2023 suggesting that 18 per cent of the population aged 3 and over were able to speak Welsh, with an additional 16 per cent noting that they had some Welsh-speaking ability. Historically, large numbers of Welsh people spoke only Welsh. Over

8466-502: The population of Wales aged 3 and over, were able to speak the language. Children and young people aged three to 15 years old were more likely to report that they could speak Welsh than any other age group (48.4 per cent, 241,300). Around 1,001,500 people, or 32.5 per cent, reported that they could understand spoken Welsh. 24.7 per cent (759,200) could read and 22.2 per cent (684,500) could write in Welsh. The APS estimates of Welsh language ability are historically higher than those produced by

8568-407: The population of Wales spoke Welsh, compared with 20.8 per cent in the 2001 census , and 18.5 per cent in the 1991 census . Since 2001, however, the number of Welsh speakers has declined in both the 2011 and 2021 censuses to about 538,300 or 17.8 per cent in 2021, lower than 1991, although it is still higher in absolute terms. The 2011 census also showed a "big drop" in the number of speakers in

8670-501: The privatisation of the Central Electricity Generating Board in 1990, the National Grid in England and Wales is owned by National Grid plc . In Scotland the grid is owned by ScottishPower Transmission in the south, and by SSE in the north. Infrastructure connecting offshore wind farms to the grid is owned by offshore transmission owners . National Grid plc is the transmission system operator for

8772-546: The public in 1896; and was credited with stimulating the development of Constitution Hill as a popular leisure area. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, the cliff railway was popular with visitors but during and after the Second World War , passenger numbers declined significantly. In 1948, seeking to revive its fortunes, the Aberystwyth Pier Company bought it and carried out repairs and upgrades. The new owners were unable to increase passenger numbers. In 1976,

8874-555: The railway was closed briefly on account of a fault in its braking system. During the late 1970s, a local mining company acquired a majority stake and formed the Aberystwyth Cliff Railway Company to operate it. In 1978 a new electrical system was installed which is used to the present day. It takes its power from and returns surplus energy to the National Grid . In November 1987, the cliff railway

8976-409: The required fresh approach to this new role." Huws started her role as the Welsh Language Commissioner on 1 April 2012. Local councils and the Senedd use Welsh, issuing Welsh versions of their literature, to varying degrees. Road signs in Wales are in Welsh and English. Prior to 2016, the choice of which language to display first was the responsibility of the local council. Since then, as part of

9078-651: The shift occurred over a long period, with some historians claiming that it had happened by as late as the 9th century , with a watershed moment being that proposed by linguist Kenneth H. Jackson , the Battle of Dyrham , a military battle between the West Saxons and the Britons in 577 AD, which split the South Western British from direct overland contact with the Welsh. Four periods are identified in

9180-468: The smaller Cruachan and Ffestiniog . There are also some grid batteries . As of May 2021, 1.3 GW of battery storage was operating in the United Kingdom, with 16 GW of projects in the pipeline potentially deployable over the next few years. A 100 MW power Chinese-financed plant at Minety , Wiltshire was reported to be the largest in Europe when it opened in July 2021; when a 50 MW extension

9282-522: The south coast has about 12% greater effectiveness due to reduced transmission system power losses compared to new generating capacity in north England, and about 20% greater effectiveness than in northern Scotland. There is a 40 MW AC cable to the Isle of Man, the Isle of Man to England Interconnector and a 260km 600MW HVDC cable to the Shetland Islands . The UK grid is connected to adjacent European electrical grids by submarine power cables . In 2014,

9384-505: The south of the UK across the grid. This flow was anticipated to grow to about 12 GW by 2014. Completion of the Western HVDC Link in 2018 added capacity for a flow of 2.2 GW between Western Scotland and North Wales. Because of the power loss associated with this north to south flow, the effectiveness and efficiency of new generation capacity is significantly affected by its location. For example, new generating capacity on

9486-400: The study, together with the increased demand, was the effect on the transmission system of the rapid advances in generator design resulting in projected power stations of 2,000–3,000 MW installed capacity. These new stations were mostly to be sited where advantage could be taken of a surplus of cheap low-grade fuel and adequate supplies of cooling water, but these sites did not coincide with

9588-403: The transmission system, generators must be licensed (by BEIS) and enter into a connection agreement with NGET which also grants Transmission Entry Capacity (TEC). Generators contribute to the costs of running the system by paying for TEC, at the generation TNUoS tariffs set by NGET. This is charged on a maximum-capacity basis. In other words, a generator with 100 MW of TEC who only generated at

9690-526: The use of Welsh in daily life, and standardised spelling. The New Testament was translated by William Salesbury in 1567, and the complete Bible by William Morgan in 1588. Modern Welsh is subdivided into Early Modern Welsh and Late Modern Welsh. Early Modern Welsh ran from the 15th century through to the end of the 16th century, and the Late Modern Welsh period roughly dates from the 16th century onwards. Contemporary Welsh differs greatly from

9792-513: The whole GB grid. At the end of the 19th century, Nikola Tesla established the principles of three-phase high-voltage electric power distribution while he was working for Westinghouse in the United States. The first use of this system in the United Kingdom was by Charles Merz , of the Merz & McLellan consulting partnership, at his Neptune Bank Power Station near Newcastle upon Tyne . This opened in 1901, and by 1912 had developed into

9894-622: Was complete by around AD 550, and labelled the period between then and about AD 800 "Primitive Welsh". This Primitive Welsh may have been spoken in both Wales and the Hen Ogledd ('Old North') – the Brittonic-speaking areas of what are now northern England and southern Scotland – and therefore may have been the ancestor of Cumbric as well as Welsh. Jackson, however, believed that the two varieties were already distinct by that time. The earliest Welsh poetry – that attributed to

9996-476: Was completed in September 1933, ahead of schedule and on budget. It began operating in 1933 as a series of regional grids with auxiliary interconnections for emergency use. Following the unauthorised but successful short term parallelling of all regional grids by the night-time engineers on 29 October 1937, by 1938 the grid was operating as a national system. The growth by then in the number of electricity users

10098-518: Was passed and received Royal Assent, thus making the Welsh language an officially recognised language within Wales. The measure: The measure required public bodies and some private companies to provide services in Welsh. The Welsh government's Minister for Heritage at the time, Alun Ffred Jones , said, "The Welsh language is a source of great pride for the people of Wales, whether they speak it or not, and I am delighted that this measure has now become law. I am very proud to have steered legislation through

10200-517: Was probably spoken throughout the island south of the Firth of Forth . During the Early Middle Ages the British language began to fragment due to increased dialect differentiation, thus evolving into Welsh and the other Brittonic languages. It is not clear when Welsh became distinct. Linguist Kenneth H. Jackson has suggested that the evolution in syllabic structure and sound pattern

10302-406: Was recognised as a Grade II listed structure . In 1998, it was purchased by Constitution Hill Ltd, a registered charity , the trustees are volunteers; all profits generated support the railway's maintenance and restoration activities. The cliff railway has received some external funding, including grants from European Union funds. The railway is operated under a light railway order . The line

10404-708: Was the fastest in the world, rising from three quarters of a million in 1920 to nine million in 1938. The grid proved its worth during the Blitz , when South Wales provided power to replace lost output from Battersea and Fulham power stations. The grid was nationalised by the Electricity Act 1947 , which also created the British Electricity Authority . In 1949, the British Electricity Authority decided to upgrade

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