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.
History
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.
Operations
In 1925 the Commissioners approved a system for the standardisation of electricity supply. The generation and distribution of electricity was undertaken at a range of voltages and frequencies; 109 suppliers provided AC only, 297 DC only, and 176 both AC and DC. Supply voltages ranged from 100 V to >3000 V. The frequency of AC supplies were at 15 different frequencies ranging from 25 Hz to 100 Hz, even at the most common frequency of 50 Hz some provided single phase, some 2-phase and some 3-phase. The standard proposed by the Commissioners was three-phase AC of 6.6 kV. Lower voltages could be DC or AC. Frequency was to be 50 Hz ± 2.5%. The Electricity Commissioners published standards and guidance for electricity installations and reports on conferences and strategic policies for the industry. The Electricity Commissioners recognised that their activities had met with limited success, they were involved in many public inquiries and negotiations between electricity undertakings. Their powers of compulsion had been removed from the 1919 Electricity Bill and the period 1920 to 1926 has been characterised as a diagnosis of failure. Some of these issues were addressed by the Weir Committee in 1925 which led to the Electricity Act 1926 and the establishment of the Central Electricity Board. The CEB operated alongside the Electricity Commissioners until both were abolished upon nationalisation of the electricity industry on 1 April 1948. Section 58 of the Electricity Act 1947 gave the Minister the power to dissolve the Electricity Commissioners. The Electricity Commissioners existed for some years after nationalisation, and finally closed in 1953.
Joint Electricity Authorities
Four Joint Electricity Authorities were established after the Electricity Act 1922 had empowered then to borrow money to finance electricity schemes. See Electricity Act 1919.
Report on the measures which have been taken in this country. and in others, to obviate the emission of soot, ash, grit and gritty particles from the chimneys of electric power stations by a committee appointed by the Commissioners
