Electricity (Supply) Act 1922

Last updated

Electricity (Supply) Act 1922
Act of Parliament
Coat of arms of the United Kingdom (1901-1952).svg
Long title An Act to amend the law with respect to the supply of electricity.
Citation 12 & 13 Geo. 5. c. 46
Territorial extent England and Wales, Scotland (excludes Ireland)
Dates
Royal assent 4 August 1922
Repealed31 March 1990
Other legislation
Amends Electricity (Supply) Act 1919
Repealed by Electricity Act 1989
Status: Repealed
Text of statute as originally enacted

The Electricity (Supply) Act 1922 (12 & 13 Geo. 5. c. 46) [1] 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 1919, and was cited as the Electricity (Supply) Acts 1882 to 1922. It established the powers of electricity authorities to borrow money for the construction and operation of electricity generating and transmission systems; it amended some Sections of the Electricity (Supply) Act 1919 relating to electricity districts and joint electricity authorities; it empowered electricity authorities to provide a supply to railway companies; and established methods of reclaiming expenses of various statutory bodies. [1]

Contents

Background

The Electricity (Supply) Act 1919 [2] It had provided for the establishment of the Electricity Commissioners (sections 1–3), and their duty to determine electricity districts (section 5). The act also provided for the establishment of joint electricity authorities (section 8). [2]

The Electricity Commissioners had started work in January 1920 and had identified fifteen electricity districts across the country. [3]   However, the establishment of joint electricity authorities (JEAs) was problematic. JEAs were set up on a voluntary basis, and they were largely supported by local authority electricity undertakings. But power companies thought that the JEAs would take over their functions and therefore opposed their establishment. [4]

One of the intentions of the 1922 act was therefore to allow the JEAs to have appropriate financial powers and to protect the interests of the power companies. [5]

Following the enactment of the 1919 act there were several wider issues that affected the efficient operation of the British electricity supply industry. During the passage of the Electricity (Supply) Bill through Parliament in 1919, the Conservatives had opposed the bill's proposals for the formation of district electricity boards with their compulsory purchase powers to take over generation and to provide interconnections. [6] Members of the Conservative Party were suspicious of ‘schemes which smacked of nationalisation’, and more widely opposed state intervention in industrial affairs, [6] the powers of compulsion of the Electricity Commissioners were curtailed. [6]

The period from 1919 to 1926 has been characterised as 'the diagnosis of failure' of the British electricity supply industry. [7]  The Electricity Commissioners admitted that their activities had met with only limited success, as they had been involved in interminable rounds of public inquiries. Lack of powers of compulsion and municipal pride had militated again cooperation between local authority undertakings. [7] There were also concerns about the dominance of power companies and larger local authorities.

While the 1922 act dealt with some of these issues, the problems of integration and cooperation were addressed later by the Electricity (Supply) Act 1926.

Provisions of the act

The Electricity (Supply) Act 1922 received royal assent on 4 August 1922.

The act comprised 31 sections as follows.

Operation of the act

The 1922 act resulted in the establishment of JEAs, however only four were constituted, namely: [8]

Later acts

The Electricity (Supply) Act 1926 (16 & 17 Geo. 5. c. 51) [9] established the Central Electricity Board.

The Electricity Act 1947 (10 & 11 Geo. 6. c. 54), [10] nationalised the UK electricity supply industry. The Electricity Commissioners, the power companies, and the joint electricity authorities were abolished. The ownership of electricity generation and transmission facilities was vested in the British Electricity Authority.

See also

Related Research Articles

The United Kingdom Central Electricity Board (CEB) was established by the Electricity (Supply) Act 1926. It had the duty to supply electricity to authorised electricity undertakers, to determine which power stations would be 'selected' stations to generate electricity for the board, to provide main transmission lines to interconnect selected stations and electricity undertakers, and to standardise generating frequency.

The Electricity Commissioners were a department of the United Kingdom government's Ministry of Transport, which regulated the electricity supply industry from 1920 until nationalisation in 1948. It was responsible for securing reorganisation on a regional basis and considered schemes for centralisation in a small number of large generating stations owned by joint electricity authorities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electricity Act 1947</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Electricity Act 1947 was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which nationalised, or bought into state control, the electricity supply industry in Great Britain. It established a central authority called the British Electricity Authority (BEA) to own and operate all public electricity generation and transmission facilities and created 14 area electricity boards with a duty to acquire bulk supplies of electricity from the central authority and to distribute and sell electricity economically and efficiently to industrial, commercial and domestic consumers. It vested 505 separate local authority and company owned electricity undertakings in the BEA with effect from 1 April 1948. The Electricity Act 1947 is one of a number of acts promulgated by the post-war Labour government to nationalise elements of the UK's industrial infrastructure; other acts include the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946; Transport Act 1947 ; Gas Act 1948; and Iron and Steel Act 1949.

The Lancashire Electric Power Company was one of the largest private electricity companies in the UK. It was established in 1900 and generated and supplied electricity to 1,200 squares miles of Lancashire from 1905 until its abolition under nationalisation in 1948.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electricity (Supply) Act 1919</span> United Kingdom legislation

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 Electric Lighting Acts 1882 to 1909 are acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electricity (Supply) Act 1926</span> United Kingdom legislation

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electricity (Supply) Act 1935</span> United Kingdom legislation

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yorkshire Electric Power Company</span>

The Yorkshire Electric Power Company was founded in 1901 to provide a supply of electricity to commercial and industrial users throughout the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. It built and operated power stations and constructed overhead electric power lines across an area of 1,800 square miles (4662 km2). The company’s power stations were at Thornhill, Barugh, Ferrybridge and Mexborough. The company promoted and stimulated demand for electric power and it was financially profitable for its shareholders. The Yorkshire Electric Power Company was dissolved in 1948 when the British electricity supply industry was nationalised. Its power stations were vested in the British Electricity Authority and its electricity distribution and sales functions were taken over by the Yorkshire Electricity Board.

Central Power House (Hanley) supplied electricity to the county borough and later city of Stoke-on-Trent, England and the surrounding area from the 10th April 1913 to the 1960s. The power station was initially owned and operated by Stoke-on-Trent Corporation, then by the North West Midlands Joint Electricity Authority prior to the nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry in 1948. The power station operated in conjunction with power stations at Burslem, Hanley (original smaller power station on the same site as the Central Power House), Stoke-upon-Trent and Longton.

The Wessex Electricity Company was an electricity generating and supply organisation that operated in south and south-west England from its establishment in 1927 until it was dissolved as a consequence of the nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry in 1948.

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.

The Shropshire, Worcestershire and Staffordshire Electric Power Company was an electricity generating and supply organisation that operated in the West Midlands and South Wales. It was established in 1903 and was dissolved as a consequence of the nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry in 1948.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statutory Gas Companies (Electricity Supply Powers) Act 1925</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Statutory Gas Companies Act 1925 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which facilitated the supply of electricity by gas companies.

The London and Home Counties Joint Electricity Authority was a United Kingdom statutory body established in 1925 with the responsibility to "provide or secure the provision of a cheap and abundant supply of electricity” within the County of London and parts of the surrounding home counties. The Authority acquired electricity in bulk from electricity undertakings for distribution, and operated some power stations in Surrey. The Authority was abolished upon nationalisation of the British electricity industry in 1948.

The West Midlands Joint Electricity Authority was a United Kingdom statutory body established in 1925 with the responsibility to "provide or secure the provision of a cheap and abundant supply of electricity” in the Midland counties of Shropshire, Staffordshire and Worcestershire. The Authority acquired electricity in bulk from electricity undertakings for distribution, and operated power stations. The Authority was abolished upon nationalisation of the British electricity industry in 1948.

The North West Midlands Joint Electricity Authority was a United Kingdom statutory body established in 1929 with the responsibility to "provide or secure the provision of a cheap and abundant supply of electricity” in parts of the Midland counties of Shropshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire. The Authority acquired electricity in bulk from electricity undertakings for distribution, and operated power stations. The Authority was abolished upon nationalisation of the British electricity industry in 1948.

Joint electricity authorities (JEAs) were statutory bodies established in the United Kingdom in the 1920s which aimed to provide a low-cost and abundant supply of electricity to consumers. This was to be achieved by constructing and operating power stations, and electricity transmission and distribution systems on a coordinated basis in regional Electricity Districts overseen by the joint electricity authorities.

The North Wales and South Cheshire Joint Electricity Authority supplied electricity to an extensive area of North Wales and parts of Cheshire and Shropshire. As constituted in 1923 the Joint Authority transferred all its rights to distribution of electricity in the area to the North Wales Power Company. The authority was effectively the power company. Both the joint authority and the power company were abolished in 1948 upon the nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry.

The British Power and Light Corporation Limited, also known as the British Power & Light Corporation (1929) Limited was registered in 1929 to acquire a controlling interest in electricity undertakings in North Wales; East Suffolk; South Somerset; Trent Valley and High Peak; West Hampshire; and Ringwood, Hampshire. The corporation operated for 19 years and was abolished upon the nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry in 1948.

References

  1. 1 2 "Electricity (Supply) Act 1922". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  2. 1 2 Electricity (Supply) Act 1919
  3. Hannah, Leslie (1979). Electricity before Nationalisation. London: Macmillan. p. 76. ISBN   0333220862.
  4. Hannah, Leslie (1979). Electricity before Nationalisation. London: Macmillan. pp. 80–81. ISBN   0333220862.
  5. Electricity Council (1987). Electricity Supply in the United Kingdom. London: Electricity Council. p. 44. ISBN   085188105X.
  6. 1 2 3 Hannah, Leslie (1979). Electricity before Nationalisation. London: Macmillan. pp. 71–73. ISBN   0333220862.
  7. 1 2 Hannah, Leslie (1979). Electricity before Nationalisation. London: Macmillan. pp. 75–94. ISBN   0333220862.
  8. Hannah, Leslie (1979). Electricity before Nationalisation. London: Macmillan. pp. 80–87. ISBN   0333220862.
  9. "Electricity (Supply) Act 1926". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  10. "Electricity (Supply) Act 1947". legislation.gov.uk. 1947. Retrieved 7 August 2020.