The Electricity Council was a governmental body set up in 1958 to oversee the

electricity supply industry The electric power industry covers the generation, transmission, distribution and sale of electric power to the general public and industry. The commodity sold is actually energy, not power, e.g. consumers pay for kilowatt-hours, power multip ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. The council was established on 1 January 1958 to assume the coordinating and policy-making functions of the

Central Electricity Authority The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) was a body that managed and operated the electricity supply industry in England and Wales between 1 April 1955 and 31 December 1957. The CEA replaced the earlier British Electricity Authority (BEA) as a r ...

(1955–7), which had in turn replaced the British Electricity Authority (1948–55). The

Central Electricity Generating Board The Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) was responsible for electricity generation, transmission and bulk sales in England and Wales from 1958 until privatisation of the electricity industry in the 1990s. It was established on 1 Janua ...

(CEGB) was also established in January 1958, as the body for electricity generation, transmission and bulk sales in England and Wales.

Responsibilities

The council's responsibilities included: * advising the Secretary of State for Energy on matters relating to the

electricity supply Mains electricity or utility power, power grid, domestic power, and wall power, or in some parts of Canada as hydro, is a general-purpose alternating-current (AC) electric power supply. It is the form of electrical power that is delivered to h ...

industry in England and Wales * helping the Electricity Boards in England and Wales to improve

efficiency Efficiency is the often measurable ability to avoid wasting materials, energy, efforts, money, and time in doing something or in producing a desired result. In a more general sense, it is the ability to do things well, successfully, and without ...

* advising on the

financing Funding is the act of providing resources to finance a need, program, or project. While this is usually in the form of money, it can also take the form of effort or time from an organization or company. Generally, this word is used when a firm uses ...

of the industry in England and Wales * organising certain research * maintaining the industry-wide industrial relations machinery

Corporate structure

Background

In 1954, six years after

nationalisation Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...

, the government appointed the Herbert Committee to examine the efficiency and organisation of the electricity industry. The committee found that the ''British Electricity Authority''s dual roles of electricity generation and supervision had led to central concentration of responsibility and to duplication between headquarters and divisional staff which led to delays in the commissioning of new stations. The committee’s recommendations were enacted by the

Electricity Act 1957 The Electricity Act 1957 (repealed 1989) was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom. The principal impact of the Act was the dissolution of the Central Electricity Authority (UK), which it replaced with the Central Electricity Generating Boar ...

which established the Electricity Council to oversee the industry and the CEGB with responsibility for generation and transmission.

Constitution

The Electricity Council was established by Section 3 of the ''Electricity Act 1957''. It comprised a chairman, two deputy chairmen, and up to three other independent people appointed by the Minister of Power. It also included the chairman and two full-time members of the ''Central Electricity Generating Board''. The remaining members were the twelve chairmen of area electricity boards. The chairmen of the Electricity Council were: * Sir

Henry Self Sir Albert Henry Self (18 January 1890 – 15 January 1975) was an English civil servant. Prior to and during the Second World War he was responsible for arranging the purchase of American aircraft to meet the requirements of the Royal Air Force. ...

(1890–1975), 1 January 1958 – 31 August 1959 * Sir (Clifford) Robertson King (1895–1974), 1 September 1959 – 1 December 1961 * Professor Sir Ronald Stanley Edwards (1910–1976), 1 January 1962 – 1 October 1968 * Sir Norman Randall Elliott, 1 November 1968 – 1 March 1972 * Sir Peter Menzies (1912–1988), 1 April 1972 – 31 March 1977 * Sir Francis L. Tombs (1924– 2020), 1 April 1977 – 30 November 1980 * Sir Austin Wyeth Bunch (1918–2008), 1 January 1981 – 31 March 1983 * Sir (Thomas) Philip Jones (1931–2000), 1 April 1983 – 31 March 1989. The full membership of the Electricity Council, as first constituted, was as follows. * Chairman: Sir Henry Self. * Deputy Chairman: Sir Josiah Eccles. * Deputy Chairman Professor R. S. Edwards. * Other Members: Lord Citrine; C. T. Melling. * Representing the CEGB: Sir Christopher Hinton. * Representing the Area Boards ** North Eastern: T. M. Ayres ** Yorkshire: D. Bellamy ** Southern: R. R. B. Brown ** North Western: T. E. Daniel ** South Eastern: Norman Elliott ** South Wales: W. A. Gallon ** South Western: A. N. Irens ** London: D. B. Irving ** Mersey and North Wales: D. H. Kendon ** Midlands: W. S. Lewis ** East Midlands: N. F. Marsh ** Eastern: H. V. Pugh Chief Officers of the Council * Secretary and Solicitor: R. A. Finn * Deputy Secretary: W. B. Noddings * Deputy Legal Advisor: L. H. Kent * Assistant Secretary (Administration): C. M. de L. Byrde * Financial Advisor: A. M. Scott * Deputy Financial Advisor: C. A. French * Deputy Financial Advisor: F. A. Rawlings * Commercial and Development Advisor: W. B. Noddings * Deputy Commercial and Development Advisor: R. Y. Sanders * Industrial Relations Advisor: D. G. Dodds * Deputy Industrial Relations Advisor: R. D. V. Roberts * Chairman of Superannuation Schemes: David Moffat * Establishments Officer: E. Landucci * Press and Information Advisor: G. Morley Davies Later members of the council included: P. Briggs, Sir Henry Douglas, Josiah Eccles, Lord Geddes of Epsom, P.A. Lingard, N.F. Marsh, R.D.V Roberts, and Sir Alan Wilson.

Organisation

The organisational structure (see above) comprised departments headed by an advisor. By 1967 these were: Secretarial/Legal (J.A. Wedgwood), Financial (C.A. French), Industrial Relations (no-one in post) and Commercial (L.F. Robson). In 1978 new departments were created for Public Relations, Marketing and Engineering. The headquarters were in London, initially in Trafalgar Buildings in Charing Cross Road, then in the 1960s at

Millbank Tower Millbank Tower is a high skyscraper in the City of Westminster at Millbank, by the River Thames in London. The tower was constructed in 1963, and has been home to many high-profile political organisations, including the Labour and Conservati ...

. For liaison with the Area Electricity Boards outstation offices were established such as in Bristol. The EC training establishment was at

Horsley Towers Horsley Towers, East Horsley, Surrey, England is a country house dating from the 19th century. The house was designed by Charles Barry for the banker William Currie. The East Horsley estate was later sold to William King-Noel, 1st Earl of Lovelac ...

, Surrey. There were 535 staff in 1959, 1083 in 1967, and 1257 in 1989. In 1969 the government proposed to reconstitute the Electricity Council and rename it the Electricity Authority with "new powers to plan and control the policy of the industry as a whole". The proposals were embodied in the ''Electricity Bill 1970,'' however Parliament was dissolved in May 1970 and the bill lapsed.

Operations

In 1965 the Electricity Council Research Centre was established at Capenhurst, Cheshire. It undertook research on distribution technology and utilisation of electricity. The council took over responsibility from the Electrical Development Association in 1966 for all national promotional work carried out on behalf of the Area Boards, in 1968 this became the Council's marketing department. The Electricity Council’s Electro-Agriculture Centre was established in 1967 at the Royal Showground at Stoneleigh, Warwickshire. Over the following decade the council published a series of guides on aspects of the role of electricity in farming and agriculture. The Electricity Council's Appliance Testing Laboratories were expanded in May 1969 to improve the emphasis on performance testing. The Electricity Council opened the Air Conditioning Advisory Bureau in Northumberland Avenue, London in 1970 to promote air conditioning. The Electricity Council established British Electricity International Ltd. in 1976 to develop overseas consultancy. In 1979 the council published its annual ''Medium Term Development Plan'', setting out the council’s objectives for the electricity supply industry for 1979 to 1986. The Plan had not previously been publicly available.

Publications

* The Electricity Council, ''Annual Report and accounts'' (Various dates), The Electricity Council, London. * The Electricity Council, ''Lightning Protection of Distribution Networks'', The Electricity Council, London, n.d. * The Electricity Council, ''A History of Electricity Supply'', E.C. Library Reading List No, 8. * The Electricity Council, ''Historical Development of Electric Power Generation and Supply in Great Britain'', E.C. Intelligence Branch Bibliography B25. * The Electricity Council, ''Some Landmarks in the History of the Electricity Supply Industry'', E.C. Intelligence Branch Reference Paper. * The Electricity Council, ''Power for the Future'', The Electricity Council, London, 1958. * The Electricity Council, ''Lighting in industry'' (Electricity and productivity series; no.2), The Electricity Council, London, 1967. * The Electricity Council, ''Electric Farming'', The Electricity Council, London, 1969. * The Electricity Council, ''Electric growing'', The Electricity Council, London, 1972. * The Electricity Council, ''Growing rooms: A guide to the practical design of installations'' (Grow electric handbook), The Electricity Council, 1975. * The Electricity Council, ''Farmelectric Handbook 23: Vegetable storage: A Guide to the Practical Design of Installations'', The Electricity Council, Kennilworth, 1975. * The Electricity Council, ''Farmelectric Handbook'', at least 23 volumes, The Electricity Council, Kennilworth, various date 1970s. * The Electricity Council, ''Automatic feeding of cattle: A guide to the practical design of installations'' (Farmelectric handbook), The Electricity Council, The Centre, 1975. * The Electricity Council, ''Handbook of Electricity Supply Statistics'', The Electricity Council, London, 1979. * The Electricity Council, ''British Nuclear Achievements'', The Electricity Council, London, 1979. * The Electricity Council, ''Electricity Supply in the United Kingdom. A Chronology - from the beginnings of the industry to 31 December 1985,'' The Electricity Council, London, 1987. * The Electricity Council, ''Handbook of Electricity Supply Statistics'', The Electricity Council, London, 1989. * The Electricity Council (ed), ''Power System Protection. Vol 1: Principles and Components, Vol 2: Systems and methods, Vol 3: Applications''. Institution of Engineering & Technology, London, 1989.

Privatisation

Upon privatisation of the UK electricity industry in 1989–90 many of the functions of the Electricity Council were no longer needed. A residuary body the

Electricity Association The Electricity Association (EA) was an association of major electricity companies in the United Kingdom. It closed on 30 September 2003, and its services were replaced by three other industry bodies: * Association of Electricity Producers * Ener ...

continued for a few years. The property, rights and liabilities of the Electricity Council were transferred to three nominated successor companies: the Electricity Association,

National Power National power is defined as the sum of all resources available to a nation in the pursuit of national objectives. Assessing the national power of political entities was already a matter of relevance during the classical antiquity, the middle ages ...

and Electra Brands. on 31 March 1990 under section 66 of the ''Electricity Act 1989''. The council was formally wound up on 9 November 2001 by ''The Electricity Council (Dissolution) Order 2001'', made under the

Electricity Act 1989 The Electricity Act 1989 (c. 29) 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 Electricit ...

.Electricity Act 1989, section 84
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References

''Competition Commission Report''

''Regulatory reforms and trade associations: the case of the electricity supply industry in the United Kingdom and Germany''
1957 establishments in the United Kingdom 2001 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Electric power in the United Kingdom Electricity authorities Former nationalised industries of the United Kingdom Government agencies established in 1957 Government agencies disestablished in 2001 National Grid (Great Britain) {{org-stub