March 9.
Just over ten years' ago the Electricity (Supply) Act of 1926 established the Central Electricity Board in Great Britain to construct main transmission lines (The Grid), to concentrate generation at standard frequency in the most efficient stations and to'supply electricity in bulk for distribution. Nine schemes were eventually adopted by the Board and carried into effect, to embrace the whole of Great Britain, except the north of Scotland. In 1019 the Electricity Commission had been set up by Parliament for the supervision: of electricity supply under the Ministry of Transport over an- area including, with Greater London, 44 local authorities and 44 private companies, In 1924 the electrical output by undertakers in Grea! amounted to 6,004 million units; by 1934 it had risen to 15,459 million units, The development of elect neal supply under these statutory, schemes rapidly increased. The need for some ce-ordination became apparent. In 1935 Sir Harry (now. Lord) MacGowan, with Sir John Snell, the Chairman of the Blectric~ ity Commission and Mr. John Morison, were asked as a Committee to review the distribution of electricity in Great Britain and report on: the means of ensuring and expediting standardization of systems, pressures and methods of charge, further extending facilities Gineluding supplies in rural areas) and reducing costs. 'That Committee of Three reported in May 1936; its findings were published In June last. Tt recommended, among other things, the' standardization of systems and voltages, the lowering] and levelling of electricity tariffs and the extension of facilities in rural areas with the reduction of costs. It found that considerable confusion existed. There were no ess than 635 separate authorized undertakers, comprising, in addition to the Central Electricity Board, three: joint: electricity authorities, ye joint boards, 373 local authori ties, and 253 companies and persons. A fourth joint electricity authority, North' Wales and South Cheshire, was established but transferred its executive powers of supply to the Nofth. Wales Power Company Ltd. Of.the 685-undertakers the. Central Electricity Board: and: 627: other undertakers were actually supply-Ing electricity. The 627 undertakers smallest covering an area of a few hundred acres and the largest on area of 5,000 sq. miles, selling 500 million units:
This picture of. cofifusion 15 completed by citation of London's: posi tion. Tu the London and "Home Counties District, including the London Power Company Ltd, there are 82 authorised undertakings, subject to 243 special private Acts of Parliament and Provision and Specfal Orders. Such a medley of authority naturally blocked. the cheapening of electricity supply, besides creating extraordinary dificulty in the existence of varying tariffs, different voltages "ud other products of uncoordinated effort. It] is not surprising that the Mac-Gowan Committee found an opinion in condemnation of the organization and came to the conclusion that substantially greater measure of amalgamation and_coordination both focal, authority and come any undertakings in the Greater: London area ts clearly necessary the best results are to be achieved.
The probability is that the grid scheme has been developed with a rapidity which has outstripped administrative resourees~ The existence of numerous Electricity Acts, the unequal rate of develop ment in the country as a whole.before the creation of the Electricity Commission, and the inherent dis~ advantages in a growth originally dependent on purely local effort without direction from a co-ordinate Ing centre have, obviously, been the main causes of the unsatisfactory conditions thus revealed, The Ministry of Transport now announces its intention to obtain Parliamentary powers for reorganizing on the lines of the recommendations already summarised. The MacGowan Committee. was careful. to insist that} Improvement, even under the best conditions, would have to be gradual, but it felt that the coordinating proposals which framed would ultimately result in a better organization of the electri city supply industry which would be reflected in more widespread supplies at lower and more uniform charges.
There is no doubt that until 1919] Great Britain lagged far behind! other countries in the use of electri city. The impetus given to the Industry by the creation of the Central Electricity Board, after the Electricity Commission had been working for six years, remarkably transformed the situation, but such intensive effort was bound to carry with it grave disadvantages which have duly made themselves felt. It is fortunate that the Government has been quickly made aware of the dangers of this complication and has taken measures to equip itself with expert advice for the provision of remedies. The figures which have been quoted are eloquent enough an indication of the complexity of the task which the Ministry of Transport has sot itself to tackle, especially as there has been much difference of opinion regarding the scope of the action required. If Great Britain had been able to embark on her grid enterprises with a blank slate, as it were, she would not have been confronted with the difficulties aris-from carly uncontrolled, unsupervised development. Having to deal with facts as they are, the' Government is bound to proceed. cautiously. The MacGowan Committee considered that improvement] should be based either on immediate and complete reorg ganization on a regional basis under public control, by the setting up of Fegional boards which would buy ut all the existing undertakings; or on the retention and. utilization, where possible of the larger and more efficient of the existing under-{takings (both public authorities and private companies) and the absorp-Won by such undertakings of the smaller and less efficient undertakings. it recommended and the Government has accepted the second of the two alternatives, The reorganization scheme is framed to substitute larger and more economic units for, and therefore substantially reduce, the present number of undertaking. It seeks to prevent the splitting ip of comprehensive un-|. dertaking.in consequence of the: exercise of rights of purchase by individual local authorities, and the elimination of duplicate' powers Wherever they exist in the same area, "The Electricity Commis-sloners will be charged with the! main functions arising out of this
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.