Opened in 1967, it had two Magnox reactors producing 424 megawatts (MWe) in total[1][2] – enough electricity on a typical day to serve an urban area twice the size of Bristol.

[4] The reactors were supplied by TNPG and the turbines by AEI and C. A. Parsons & Co.[2] The main civil engineering contractor was Sir Robert McAlpine.

[5] The design net power output of the station was 626 MWe, but due to steel corrosion problems from the hot carbon dioxide coolant within the reactor, operating temperature had to be reduced soon after operation started causing a large drop in power output.

[9] Hinkley Point A Nuclear Power Station held the previous world record of 700 days and 7 hours, set in 1988.

[16] On 30 May 2007, only a few days after reopening after safety checks, the power station was shut down as part of standard emergency procedure when a fire broke out on one of the generator transformer HV bushings.

[20] Magnox stated that workers had been carrying out routine maintenance when a small relay overheated (this failure caused the turbine to shut down).

and "To reduce the amount of steam being produced, and in accordance with expectations, the reactor automatically tripped and was safely shut down.

[22] The silt lagoons at Oldbury power station are used as a high tide roosting site by birds which feed on the Severn Estuary.

[24][25] On 18 October 2010, the British government announced that Oldbury was one of the eight sites it considered suitable for future nuclear power stations.

It will close down its development activities, but will work with the UK government and other stakeholders to facilitate future options for the two sites.

[citation needed] On one occasion, rock band Slade recorded a performance for Top of the Pops inside one of the reactor buildings.