Electricity (Supply) Act 1919


The Electricity Act 1919 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which amended the law with respect to the supply of electricity. It established the statutory body of the Electricity Commissioners ‘to promote, regulate and supervise the supply of electricity’ under the direction of the Board of Trade. It provided for the formation of electricity districts and, where necessary, the establishment of Joint Electricity Authorities, ‘to provide or secure the provision of a cheap and abundant supply of electricity’.

Background

In 1917, the UK government was planning the reconstruction of the nation's industries after the First World War. The Board of Trade set up the Electric Power Supply Committee, chaired by Sir Archibald Williamson, which proposed the effective nationalisation of the industry.
Subsequently, in 1919 under the chairmanship of Sir Henry Birchenough, the Advisory Council to the Ministry of Reconstruction produced the Report of the Committee of Chairmen on Electric Power Supply. The committee were asked to submit general comments or suggestions on the broad administrative and commercial issues which had arisen out of the Williamson Report. The Birchenough Committee generally agreed with the Williamson Report but recommended that generation and transmission should be a single unified system with state regulation and finance and that means should be found for including distribution as well. This recommendation was very far-sighted but considered too ambitious by the government. If acted upon it would have anticipated the Electricity Act 1947 by 28 years.
Parliament rejected what would have been the effective nationalisation of the industry but enacted two of the committee's recommendations in a weaker form, including the setting up Electricity Commissioners and a number of joint electricity authorities formed by the electricity suppliers in each area.
The Electricity Act 1919, was based essentially on the Williamson and Birchenough reports and introduced central co-ordination by establishing the Electricity Commissioners, an official body responsible for securing reorganisation on a regional basis.

The Electricity (Supply) Act 1919

The Electricity Act 1919 received Royal Assent on 23rd December 1919. Its long title is: ’An Act to amend the Law with respect to the supply of electricity’.

Provisions

The provisions of the Act were as follows.
Electricity Commissioners
To established a body called the Electricity Commissioners to promote, regulate and supervise the supply of electricity.  The number of commissioners and their duties. The Board of Trade to exercise its duties through the Commissioners. Commissioners to conduct experiments on electricity supply. Appointment of advisory committee.
Reorganisation of supply of electricity
Determination of Electricity Districts. Establishment of Joint Electricity Authorities. Making Orders to confirm schemes. Powers and duties of Joint Electricity Authorities.
Generating Stations
A Joint Electricity Authorities may own a generating station or main transmission line and acquire land. Extensions and new stations require consent of the Commissioners.
Powers of Joint Electricity Authorities
Power of Joint Electricity Authorities. Transfer of undertakings to Joint Electricity Authorities, Power companies and Joint Electricity Authorities, subsidiary powers such as abstraction of water, waste heat, by-product plant. Deprivation of employment, plans for capital expenditure.
Transitory Provisions
Construction of interim works, mutual assistance between undertakings permitted.
Amendments of Electric Lighting Acts
Transfer of powers of the Ministry of Health, the Scottish Office and London County Council. Wayleaves, supply of apparatus, alteration of type of current. Amendment of 1882 Act, substitution of special for provisional orders, requirement for accounts.
Financial Provisions
Revenue and expenditure of Joint Electricity Authorities, expenses and appropriation of Commissioners,  other expenses.
General
Agreements and arrangements. Holding inquiries, power to make rules. Special Orders. Definitions. Application to Scotland and Ireland. Transfer of powers of Board of Trade to Minister of Transport. Short title and construction.
Schedule relating to section 35.

Joint Electricity Authorities

Four Joint Electricity Authorities were established after the Electricity Act 1922 had enabled then to borrow money to finance electricity schemes.

North Wales & South Cheshire Joint Electricity Authority

The North Wales and South Cheshire Joint Electricity Authority was formed in 1923. The principal electricity undertaking was North Wales Power Company which, under the supervision of the Joint Electricity Authority, controlled generation and transmission and supplied electricity to local undertakings in the area with the exception of Chester. Upon abolition in 1948 the Joint Electricity Authority’s assets were transferred to the Merseyside & North Wales Electricity Board.

London and Home Counties Joint Electricity Authority

The London and Home Counties Joint Electricity Authority was established in 1925 to "provide or secure the provision of a cheap and abundant supply of electricity within the district".  The district covered 1,841 square miles including the whole of the counties of London and Middlesex, and parts of Hertfordshire, Essex, Kent, Surrey, Buckinghamshire, and Berkshire. The population served by the authority in 1931 was 9,088,764. There were 83 authorised undertakers in the district comprising the JEA itself, 44 local authority and 38 companies. By 1932 the London JEA had acquired the following undertakings: Callender's, Edmundson's, Leatherhead and District, South Metropolitan Tramways, Twickenham and Teddington, and Urban. Companies in the London area were required to notify the JEA of any proposal to spend any capital exceeding £5,000 on assets. The London JEA intended to build a large power station at Chiswick, however the Central Electricity Board rejected the scheme and instead proposed the expansion of Fulham power station which was nearer to the centre of load. The Joint Electricity Authority’s headquarters in 1945 were at 5-6 Lancaster Place, Strand, London WC2. Upon abolition in 1948 the JEA’s assets were split between the South Eastern Electricity Board, the Eastern Electricity Board and the London Electricity Board.

West Midlands Joint Electricity Authority

The West Midlands Joint Electricity Authority was established in 1925 by the West Midlands Electricity District Order 1925 made under the Electricity Act 1919. It covered an area of about 1,000 square miles, including much of Shropshire, Staffordshire and Worcestershire. The JEA included representatives of Midland Electricity Corporation; Wolverhampton, Walsall, West Bromwich, Cannock and Shrewsbury councils; colliery owners; railway companies; and electricity industry workers. In 1928 it acquired four power stations: Ocker Hill formerly operated by the Midland Electric Corporation for Power Distribution; the 30 MW Wolverhampton power station; the 28 MW Walsall Birchills power station; and the 6.65 MW West Bromwich station. The Joint Electricity Authority built the 200 MW Ironbridge A power station. The JEA’s stations were linked through a system operating at 33 kV. On 1 October 1938 the JEA took over Shrewsbury power station. The JEA’s principal office was at Phoenix Buildings, Dudley Road, Wolverhampton. Upon abolition in 1948 the JEA’s assets were transferred to the Midlands Electricity Board.

North West Midlands Joint Electricity Authority

The North West Midlands Joint Electricity Authority was established in 1928. It covered an area of 620 square miles. It acquired the Stoke-on-Trent and Stafford power stations on 1 April 1930. Thereafter Stoke Corporation and Stafford Corporation purchased electricity in bulk from the JEA. The Joint Electricity Authority built the 120 MW Meaford A power station first commissioned in 1947. Upon abolition in 1948 the JEA’s assets were transferred to the Midlands Electricity Board.

Later enactments

The Electricity Act 1922. Enabled Joint Electricity Authorities to borrow money to finance electricity schemes.
The London Electricity Acts 1925 permitted the London and Home Counties Joint Electricity Authority to purchase company electricity undertakings in London area in 1971.
The Electricity Act 1926, established the Central Electricity Board.
The Electricity Act 1947, nationalised the UK Electricity Supply industry. The Electricity Commissioners and the Joint Electricity Authorities were abolished. The Ownership of electricity generation and transmission facilities were vested in the British Electricity Authority, and electricity distribution and sales in local electricity boards.
The 1919 Act and most other electricity related British legislation were repealed and replaced by the Electricity Act 1989.