 They had been overtaken technologically, and had lower generating capacity than newer plants such as Drax.Their closure coincided with that of a large number of coal mines in the North East of England, just after the privatisation of both the electricity industry and the National Coal Board in the early 1990s.Following the closure of the power stations at Stella, as well as those at Dunston and Blyth (in 1981 and 2001 respectively), the northern part of North East England has become heavily dependent upon the National Grid for electricity.