The 1882 act was the first public measure to facilitate and regulate the early electricity industry in the UK. It enabled the Board of Trade to authorise the supply of electricity in any area by a local authority, company or person. Its provisions allowed suppliers to avoid the effort and expense of promoting private parliamentary bills to regularise their legal powers to supply electricity.
The 1888 act amended the 1882 act and extended the local authority reversion period from 21 to 42 years.
The Electric Lighting (Clauses) Act 1899 incorporated in one act the clauses and provisions contained in provisional orders made under the 1882 and 1888 Acts. It laid down common principles to be incorporated in all provisional orders.
The Electric Lighting Act 1909 amended the earlier legislation to reflect the need to reorganise electricity supply to take into account technical developments in the generation and transmission of electricity. The Electric Lighting Acts were amended by subsequent legislation, such as the Electricity Act 1947 which nationalised the electricity supply industry. The Electric Lighting Acts 1882 to 1909 were repealed in their entirety by the Electricity Act 1989, which privatised the UK electricity supply industry.
Background
United Kingdom legislation
Liverpool (Corporation) Electric Lighting Act 1879
From the 1870s electric lighting was increasingly used to illuminate public and private spaces. In 1878 there were 20 lighting installations in service in Britain.[2] Installations included, for example, the Tay Bridge railway yard (1876–7); London’s West India Docks (1877); the Gaiety Theatre, London (1878); Bramall Lane football ground, Sheffield (1878); Victoria Embankment, London (1878); St. Enoch’s station, Glasgow (1878); and Blackpool Promenade (1879).[2] In 1878 there were 34 private bills before Parliament[2] seeking legal powers for local authorities and companies to supply electricity in various towns and to break-up streets to lay electricity cables.[3]Liverpool Corporation promoted a local act to provide it with legal powers to light streets by electricity. This was enacted as the Liverpool (Corporation) Electric Lighting Act 1879 (42 & 43 Vict. c. ccxiii), this was the first electric lighting Act in the UK.[2]
Given the number of private electricity bills before Parliament, on 28 March 1878 Parliament appointed a committee under the chairmanship of Dr. Lyon Playfair, MP to examine the issues of legislation for electric lighting.[2] The terms of reference were ‘to consider whether it is desirable to authorize Municipal Corporations or other local authorities to adopt schemes for Lighting by Electricity: and to consider how far, and under what conditions, if at all, Gas or other Public Companies should be authorised to supply Light by Electricity’.[2]
The Playfair committee reported on 13 June 1878[4] and concluded that local authorities should be allowed to break-up streets to lay cables or to consent to private companies to do this. The committee also considered allowing local authorities to purchase the companies providing a supply in their area after a number of years. The recommendations formed the basis of the subsequent Electric Lighting Bill.
The legislation permitted the Board of Trade, by license or provisional order, to grant any local authority, company or person to supply electricity and to install a system of supply, including a provision for the breaking up of roads.[5] The President of the Board of Trade, Joseph Chamberlain, was the minister responsible for the 1882 Act. Chamberlain had been Mayor of Birmingham and had experienced difficulties with the monopoly control of the gas industry in the city.[3] He believed that the electricity industry required public control in order to protect consumers.[3] To further protect the public against the power of private monopoly the bill also provided for maximum prices. As originally drafted the bill provided for a reversion period to local authority ownership of 15 years, this was amended to 21 years by the House of Lords during the passage of the bill.[3]
The Electric Lighting Act 1882 (45 & 46 Vict. c. 56) received royal assent on 18 August 1882. The long title of the act is ‘An Act to facilitate and regulate the supply of Electricity for Lighting and other purposes in Great Britain and Ireland'.[6]
Provisions
As the first public general electricity act its provisions were wide-ranging, specifying the powers of the Board of Trade, local authorities and companies; the acquisition of land; construction of works; the running of cables; theft and damage; the protection of canals and mines; and financial matters.
The act comprised 37 sections, the provisions are summarised as follows.[6]
Section 2 of the act noted that the provisions of the act applied to any local authority, company or person; or any license or provisional order holder; or any special act; authorised to supply electricity within a specified area.
Section 3 empowered the Board of Trade to issue licenses, valid for a renewable period of seven years, to supply electricity. The issue of licenses required the consent of local authorities. Licenses were allowed to include regulations and conditions.
Section 4 empowered the Board of Trade to issue provisional orders to any local authority, company or person to supply electricity. These were made without the consents required for licenses and were for a limited or unlimited period. Local authorities had to be notified that orders were being made. The Board of Trade were permitted to submit to Parliament for the confirmation any provisional order. An order was not valid unless confirmed by an act of Parliament, if authorised these were entitled Electric Lighting Order(s) Confirmation Act. The terms of any provisional order could be amended by the enactment of a subsequent provisional order.
Section 5 empowered the Board of Trade to amend the rules concerning the application for licenses and provisional orders.
Section 6 required electricity undertakings to be subject to any regulations or conditions in their license, order, or special Act.
Sections 7 and 8 permitted local authorities to defray any expenses out of local rates and to borrow money.
Section 9 required electricity undertakings to keep and publish financial accounts.
Section 10 permitted undertakings to acquire land, construct works, and obtain any machinery, apparatus, etc. necessary for the supply of electricity.
Section 11 allowed local authority undertakings to contract to with any company or person for the construction and maintenance of any works needed for electricity supply.
Section 13 restricted undertakings from breaking up private streets, etc.
Section 14 prohibited undertakings from running overhead cables, etc. without the consent of the local authority.
Section 15 permitted undertakings to move pipes, cables, etc.
Section 16 placed a duty on undertakings to ensure works near a canal did not restrict navigation.
Section 17 required undertakings to minimise damage and provide compensation for any damage.
Section 18 allowed consumers free choice in the selection of any type of lamp or burner.
Section 19 obliged undertakings to supply electricity for private purposes.
Section 20 required undertakings to charge for electricity at agreed prices.
Section 21 permitted cutting-off of supply upon non-payment of charges.
Section 22 made damage with intent to cut-off electricity supply a felony.
Section 23 made stealing of electricity an offence of larceny.
Section 24 gave undertakings the power to enter premises.
Section 25 identified that electric lines, etc. shall not be the subject of distress to a property.
Section 26 required undertakings not to alter telegraphy lines.
Section 27 provided for a reversion period of an undertaking to local authority ownership of 21 years.
Section 28 provided for disputed matters to be sent to arbitration.
Section 29 gave the Board of Trade power to relieve gas undertakings of the obligation to supply gas if adequate electric lighting was provided.
Section 30 required the Board of Trade to report to Parliament annually on the activities under this Act.
Section 31 defines 'local authority' (also see Schedule).
Section 32 defines and interprets some general expressions.
Section 33 protected the operation of mines from the activities of undertakings.
Section 34 specified that undertakings shall not be exempt from the provisions of this or any future general act.
Section 35 required that this act shall not infringe the privileges of the Postmaster-General.
Section 36 specified that this act shall apply to Scotland.
Section 37 specified that this act shall apply to Ireland.
The schedule to the act defined local authorities and their borrowing conditions (see section 31 of the act).
Reversion period
It was seen at the time, and has been argued since, that the Section 27 buy-out provision after 21 years stifled private enterprise by deterring potential investors from committing their capital.[7][2][8] However, the business historian Leslie Hannah has argued that 21 years would have been ‘an eternity to most investors’ and therefore was no disincentive to investment.[3] For early undertakings it was rather a question of making electricity schemes financially viable by having sufficient customers and deploying the appropriate technology. The economists William Kennedy and Robert Delargy have argued that it was the inflated expectations of 1882 stock market boom in electricity stocks and the subsequent downturn that resulted in a lack of investment in the electricity industry throughout the 1880s.[9] Nevertheless, the reversion period was extended to 42 years under the Electric Lighting Act 1888, which also valued a company’s assets as a going concern rather than the scrap value of the plant.[5]
The Electric Lighting Act 1888 (51 & 52 Vict. c. 12) received royal assent on 28 June 1888. The long title of the Act is: 'An Act to amend the Electric Lighting Act, 1882'.[10]
The act extended the reversion to local authority ownership to 42 years. It also required the consent of the local authority prior to the granting of provisional orders, whereas local authorities had only needed to be informed under the 1882 Act.
Provisions
The act comprised five sections, the provisions are summarised as follows.[10]
Section 1 provided that no provisional order shall be granted except with the consent of the local authority.
Section 2 repealed Section 27 of the 1882 act and made provision for undertakings to sell their interests to the local authority after a period of 42 years, it also ensured the plant was valued as a ready for immediate working.
Section 3 empowered the Board of Trade to vary the terms of sale in section 2.
Section 4 placed restrictions on the placement of electric lines.
Section 5 required that this act and the Electric Lighting Act 1882 shall be read and construed together as one act, to be cited as the Electric Lighting Acts 1882 and 1888.
Local electricity legislation
Under the 1888 Act the electricity supply industry began to grow significantly. The number of local electricity acts, orders and Electric Lighting Order Confirmation Acts made under the Electric Lighting Acts is given in the table.[11][12]
Local electricity legislation
Year
Local acts
Electric Lighting Order Confirmation Acts
Orders granted
Licenses granted
1879
1
–
–
–
1880
1
–
–
–
1881
1
–
–
–
1882
0
–
–
–
1883
0
11
69
–
1884
0
4
4
1
1885
0
0
0
2
1886
0
1
1
1
1887
0
0
0
1
1888
0
0
0
5
1889
0
5
12
4
1890
0
14
74
4
1891
0
12
59
0
1892
0
6
25
2
1893
1
7
15
3
1894
0
5
24
3
1895
0
6
23
0
1896
0
7
31
3
1897
0
11
50
1
1898
1
8
65
0
1899
2
20
85
1900
7
10
97
1901
4
12
88
1902
11
8
59
1903
11
7
53
1904
9
8
61
For details of individual acts and locations see Timeline of the UK electricity supply industry. In addition to local acts and provisional orders, in the 10 years following the 1888 Act 25 licenses were granted but only three were exercised.[2]
In London there were competing applications for provisional orders. In 1888 the Board of Trade held an inquiry chaired by Major Sir Francis Arthur Marindin (1838–1900), a Board of Trade inspector. Marindin emphasised the importance of diversity and consumer choice. The inquiry report[13] established the general principals which were adopted as the basis of provisional orders granted to undertakings in the London area.[2][3] The report addressed several issues. Firstly, whether direct current (DC) or alternating current should be used for distribution; because electric motors at that time used DC this was favoured. Secondly, electricity supplies to a large area could be supplied by a single generating station. Thirdly, that electricity should be available to everyone despite local authority objections.[2]
By 1914 the London County Council noted[14] that the usual method of obtaining statutory powers to supply electricity within a defined area was by the grant of a provisional order made by the Board of Trade and confirmed by Parliament. Licenses were of secondary importance because of the limitation of the grant to a term of seven years and they required local authority consent. Parliamentary policy was to oppose Special Acts for powers obtainable by provisional order. Special Acts were limited to cases where compulsory powers for the purchase of land were required because such provisions could not be included on provisional orders. Under the Electric Lighting Act 1909 the Board of Trade could authorise by provisional order the compulsory purchase of land to build power stations.[14]
The Electric Lighting (Clauses) Act 1899 (62 & 63 Vict. c. 19) received royal assent on 9 August 1899. The long title of this Act is: 'An Act for incorporating in one Act certain provisions usually contained in Provisional Orders made under the Acts relating to Electric Lighting'.
The Act comprised 84 sections and incorporated the usual clauses of provisional orders and special Acts into a single Act. It laid down common principles to be incorporated in all provisional orders except for those in London.[14] It also prohibited amalgamation or association of electricity undertakings, or the supply of electricity outside the prescribed area.
In 1903 the Board of Trade introduced into Parliament the Supply of Electricity Bill. This aimed to remove some of the restrictive features of the Electric Lighting Acts.[2] However, the Bill was not proceeded with as originally drafted.[2] The 1909 Act addressed these and other issues, recognising the need to reorganise the industry to account for technical developments in the generation and supply of electricity.
The Electric Lighting Act 1909 (9 Edw. 7. c. 34) received royal assent on 25 November 1909 and came into operation on 1 April 1910. Its long title is: 'An Act to amend the Acts relating to Electric Lighting'.[15]
Provisions
The Act comprises 27 Sections. The key provisions were as follows.[15]
Section 1 gave the Board of Trade the power to authorise any electricity undertaking to compulsory purchase land to build a power station.
Section 2 required undertakings to obtain the consent of the Board of Trade to construct a generating station.
Section 4 allowed undertakings to supply electricity in bulk.
Section 6 permitted a supply of electricity to premises outside an area of supply.
Section 8 allowed undertakings to cooperate and to form joint committees.
Section 23 prohibited unauthorised undertakings from competing with statutory undertakings.
Section 11 of the 1909 Act amended clauses 49, 50, 51 and 53 in the Schedule to the 1899 Act
Nuisance
Under section 10 of the 1882 Act an undertaking could construct a power station, however, there was little redress if the undertaking created a nuisance through noise, vibration, smoke, dust and flames.[16] Section 2 of the 1909 Act required consent from the Board of Trade and such authorisation required notice to be given to the local authority and to owners and occupiers of land within 300 yards (274 metres) of the site which provided the opportunity to object to the construction.[16]
Legislation titles and later acts
The 1909 act was the last act to use the phrase 'Electric Lighting' in the title. In the early days of the industry electricity was primarily used to provide electric lighting whether by arc light or incandescent bulb. By 1909 electricity was used for a wide range of uses other than lighting such as powering electric motors, traction current for trams, for domestic and industrial heating, for cooking and domestic uses such as ironing.[17] Subsequent primary legislation after 1909 was entitled Electricity Supply Act (e.g. London Electric Supply Act 1910) or simply Electricity Act.
After 1909 subsequent Electricity Acts amended the Electric Lighting Acts 1882 to 1909.
The London Electric Supply Acts 1908 and 1910 permitted the London County Council to purchase company electricity undertakings in the London area from 26 August 1931.[18]
The Electricity (Supply) Act 1919 (9 & 10 Geo. 5. c. 100) established the Electricity Commissioners. Section 26 of the Act introduced a fourth means of obtaining statutory powers, the Special order. This was made by the Commissioners and confirmed by the Minister, or by an order establishing a joint electricity authority. Special orders required the approval of Parliament.[14] Following enactment this Act and the Electric Lighting Acts 1882 to 1909 were construed together as the Electricity (Supply) Acts 1882 to 1919.
The Electricity (Supply) Act 1922 (12 & 13 Geo. 5. c. 46). The Schedule to this act amended some of the provisions of Section 32 (2) of the Schedule to the Electric Lighting (Clauses) Act 1899.
The Electricity Act 1947 (10 & 11 Geo. 6. c. 54), nationalised the UK electricity supply industry. The fifth schedule to the 1947 Act repealed Sections 2 to 11, 19, 20, 29, 30 and the Schedule to the 1882 Act; Sections 1 to 3 of the 1888 Act; Sections 1 to 3, 5 to 9, 31 to 34, 37, 63 to 68, 70, 74, 75, 78 and 82 of the 1899 Act. Ownership of electricity generation and transmission facilities were vested in the British Electricity Authority, and electricity distribution and sales in local electricity boards.
The Electricity Act 1989 (c. 29), privatised the UK electricity industry. Schedule 18 of the 1989 Act repealed the whole of the following Acts: the 1882 Act; the 1888 Act; the 1899 Act; the 1909 Act; the 1926 Act; and the 1947 Act.
This timeline outlines the key developments in the United Kingdom electricity industry from the start of electricity supplies in the 1870s to the present day. It identifies significant developments in technology for the generation, transmission and use of electricity; outlines developments in the structure of the industry including key organisations and facilities; and records the legislation and regulations that have governed the UK electricity industry.
The Electricity Act 1989 provided for the privatisation of the electricity supply industry in Great Britain, by replacing the Central Electricity Generating Board in England and Wales and by restructuring the South of Scotland Electricity Board and the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board. The Act also established a licensing regime and a regulator for the industry called the Office of Electricity Regulation (OFFER), which has since become the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (OFGEM).
The Electricity (Supply) 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’.
The Electricity (Supply) Act 1926 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which amended the law on the supply of electricity. Its long title is: ‘An Act to amend the law with respect to the supply of electricity’. This Act was construed as one with the Electricity (Supply) Acts 1882 to 1922, and was cited as the Electricity (Supply) Acts 1882 to 1926. It established a statutory body, the Central Electricity Board (CEB), ‘with the duty of supplying electricity to authorised undertakers’ and to ‘appoint consultative technical committees’. It provided for the Electricity Commissioners to prepare and transmit to the CEB ‘electricity schemes’ for relevant areas, and which identified the most efficient ‘selected’ generating stations which were to be used to generate electricity for the Board. The Act provided for ‘main transmission line’ interconnections between selected stations and undertakings; and to standardise the frequency of generation; and other purposes. The provisions of the Act enabled the construction of the National Grid.
The Electricity (Supply) Act 1935 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which amended the law on the supply of electricity. This Act was construed as one with the Electricity (Supply) Acts 1882 to 1933, and was cited as the Electricity (Supply) Acts 1882 to 1935. It authorised the Central Electricity Board to make arrangements with owners of generating stations that were not selected stations; it authorised the Central Electricity Board to supply electricity directly to railway companies; and amended Sections 11 and 12 of the Electricity (Supply) Act 1926.
Bath power station supplied electricity to the City of Bath and the wider area from 1890. The station was originally built and operated by the City of Bath Electric Lighting and Engineering Company Limited. The power station was on a site in Dorchester Street adjacent to the Old Bridge over the River Avon. The City of Bath Corporation assumed ownership in 1897. The power station was redeveloped several times: including a major rebuilding with new equipment in the 1920s. The station was closed in the late 1960s and was subsequently demolished.
The Energy Act 1983 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which amended the law to facilitate the generation and supply of electricity other than by Electricity Boards. It also obliged Electricity Boards to adopt combined heat and power schemes. It gave statutory status to the Electricity Consumers' Council. The Act defined the duties of persons responsible for nuclear installations and penalties for a breach of those duties.
Canterbury power station supplied electricity to the city of Canterbury, Kent, England from 1900 to 1960. This small generating station was owned and operated by Canterbury Corporation until the nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry in 1948. The power station was redeveloped several times: including the incorporation of new plant in the 1920s. Canterbury power station was decommissioned in about 1960.
Fleetwood power stations were two generating stations that supplied electricity to the town of Fleetwood, England and the surrounding area from 1900 to 1981. The first station was owned by the Fleetwood and District Electric Light and Power Syndicate and later by Fleetwood Urban District Council. The second station was owned and operated by the state following the nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry in 1948; this power station was decommissioned in October 1981.
Wallasey power station supplied electricity to the town of Wallasey and the surrounding area from 1897. It was owned and operated by Wallasey Corporation until the nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry in 1948. The power station was redeveloped several times: including the incorporation of new plant in the 1920s and 1950. The station was decommissioned in the late 1960s.
Scarborough power station supplied electricity to the town of Scarborough and the surrounding area from 1893 to 1958. It was owned and operated by the Scarborough Electric Supply Company Limited from 1893 to 1925, then by Scarborough Corporation until the nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry in 1948. The coal-fired power station had an ultimate electricity generating capacity of 7 MW prior to its closure in October 1958.
South Shields power station supplied electricity to the borough of South Shields and the surrounding area from 1896 to 1958. It was owned and operated by South Shields Corporation until the nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry in 1948. The power station was redeveloped several times to meet increasing demand It was decommissioned in 1958.
Leeds power station, also known as Whitehall Road power station, supplied electricity to the city of Leeds and the surrounding area from 1893 to 1965. It was initially built, owned and operated by the Yorkshire House-to-House Electricity Company Limited. Leeds Corporation took over the electricity undertaking in 1898 and generated and distributed electricity until the nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry in 1948. The power station was redeveloped several times to meet increasing demand for electricity.
Wolverhampton power station, also known as Commercial Road power station, supplied electricity to the Borough of Wolverhampton, England and the surrounding area from 1895 to 1976. It was redeveloped in several stages to meet growing demand for electricity: including the addition of new plant in 1902 to 1908, 1925 and 1942. The power station was initially owned and operated by Wolverhampton Corporation, but was transferred to the West Midlands Joint Electricity Authority in 1928. The British Electricity Authority assumed ownership at nationalisation in 1948. Wolverhampton power station was decommissioned in 1976.
Burnley power station supplied electricity to the town of Burnley, Lancashire from 1893 to 1958. The electricity station was owned and operated by Burnley Corporation prior to the nationalisation of the British electricity industry in 1948. It was redeveloped as demand for electricity grew and old plant was replaced, and had an ultimate generating capacity of 8 MW in the 1920s. The station closed in 1958.
Nelson power station supplied electricity to the town of Nelson, Lancashire and the surrounding area from 1892 to 1960. The power station was owned and operated by Nelson Corporation prior to the nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry in 1948. It was redeveloped in 1922 to 1925 to meet the increased demand for electricity.
Newbury power station supplied electricity to the town of Newbury, Berkshire and the surrounding area from 1905 to 1970. It was owned and operated by a succession of public and private organisations. It comprised, at various times, hydro-electric, gas engine and diesel engine powered plant with a maximum output capacity of 2.57 MW.
St Helens power station supplied electricity to the Borough of St Helens and the surrounding area from 1896 to the late 1960s. The power station was developed by the St Helens Corporation which operated it up to the nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry in 1948. It was redeveloped several times to meet the increased demand for electricity.
Southport power station supplied electricity to the town of Southport and the surrounding area from 1894 to the late 1960s. The power station was built by the Southport Corporation which operated it up to the nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry in 1948. Birkdale power station was operated by the Birkdale District Electric Supply Company Limited and originally supplied Birkdale Urban District until the district was incorporated into the Borough of Southport in 1911.
The Gas and Water Works Facilities Act 1870 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which regulated the construction of gas and water works.
References
↑ This collective title is authorised by section 27(2) of the Electric Lighting Act 1909.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Electricity Council (1987). Electricity Supply in the United Kingdom: A Chronology. London: Electricity Council. pp.11, 12, 13, 17, 27, 28, 35. ISBN085188105X.
↑ Weightman, Gavin (2011). Children of Light: How Electricity Changed Britain Forever. London: Atlantic Books. pp.51–56. ISBN9781848871175.
↑ London County Council (1905). London Statistics 1904-5, vol. XV. London: London County Council. pp.lxxxix.
↑ Kennedy, W, and R. Delargy (2011). Shorting the Future: Capital Markets and the Launch of the British Electrical Industry, 1880-1892, (Discussion Paper Series). Colchester: University of Essex, Department of Economics.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
↑ Garcke, Emile (1898). Manual of Electrical Undertakings vol. 3. London: P. S. King & son.
↑ Special report by the Board of Trade under section 1 of the Electric Lighting Act 1888, inquiry into Applications for provisional orders and licenses under the Electric Lighting Acts in respect of the Metropolis. House of Commons vol. LXX 1889.
1 2 3 4 London County Council (1915). London Statistics 1913-14 vol. 24. London: London County Council. p.534.
1 2 Sheail, John (1991). Power in Trust: the environmental history of the Central Electricity Generating Board. Oxford: Clarendon. p.7. ISBN0198546734.
↑ Hannah, Leslie (1979). Electricity before Nationalisation. London: Macmillan. pp.Statistical Appendix pp. 426–31. ISBN0333220862.
↑ London County Council (1922). London Statistics 1920-21, vol. xxvii. London: London County Council. p.273.
↑ London County Council (1934). London Statistics 1932-33, vol. 37. London: London County Council. p.331.
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