| Company type | State owned government body and regulator |
|---|---|
| Industry | Energy: electricity |
| Predecessor | Electricity undertakings,Central Electricity Board,Electricity Commissioners |
| Founded | 15 August 1947 |
| Defunct | 31 March 1955 |
| Fate | Restructuring |
| Successor | Central Electricity Authority |
| Headquarters | London ,United Kingdom |
Area served | England, Wales and Southern Scotland |
Key people | see text |
Production output | 69,077 GWh (1955) |
| Services | Electricity generating, transmission and sales |
| Revenue | £366.8 million (1955) |
| £18.8 million (1955) | |
Number of employees | 179,171 (1955) |
| Divisions | Central authority and 14 area boards |
TheBritish Electricity Authority (BEA) was established as the central British electricity authority[1] in 1948 under thenationalisation ofGreat Britain's electricity supply industry enacted by theElectricity Act 1947. The BEA was responsible for the generation, transmission and sale of electricity to area electricity boards, and the development and maintenance of an efficient, coordinated and economical system of electricity supply.[2]
The authority took over the operations of over 600 small public supply power companies,municipal authority electricity departments and theCentral Electricity Board to form the BEA, which comprised a central authority and 14 area boards. Its scope did not include control of theNorth of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board, which had been founded in 1943 and remained independent of the BEA.
The appointment of chairmen and members of the BEA and the area boards were made in August 1947 and the BEA was formally established on 15 August 1947.[3] The 14 area boards were formally established on 1 January 1948, and Vesting Day, when the BEA and area boards became responsible for electricity supply, was on 1 April 1948.[3]
The London headquarters were initially at British Electricity House, Great Portland Street, W1, then British Electricity House, Trafalgar Buildings, Strand, SW1, and British Electricity House, Winsley Street, W1.[4]
The British Electricity Authority was established by Section 2 of theElectricity Act 1947. It comprised a chairman and four to six other members appointed by the Minister of Fuel and Power; four members, also appointed by the minister, who were chairmen of an area electricity board (in rotation); and one other member who was chairman of theNorth of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board.[5]
The first appointments to the board were:[6]
Subsequent appointments were, by rotation, the chairman of the South Eastern (Norman R. Elliott), East Midlands (C. R. King), South Wales (L. Howes) and South East Scotland Electricity Board (Sir Norman Duke) were appointed members of the BEA from 1 January 1950. Their terms expired on 31 December 1951 and were succeeded by the appointment of C. T. Melling (Eastern Electricity Board), H. H. Mullens (North Eastern), H. Nimmo (Southern), and S. F. Steward (South Western).[7]
Sir John Hacking retired in 1953 and his place on the board was taken by Josiah Eccles as deputy chairman with effect from January 1954.[8]
Appointments by rotation with effect from 1 January 1954 were H. J. Randall (London), W. S. Lewis (Midlands), D. Bellamy (Yorkshire), and Sir John Hallsworth (North Western).[8]
The headquarters organisation had seven main departments.[9]
TheChief Contracts Officer (F. W. Smith) was responsible to both of the deputy chairmen.
A board member (E. W. Bussey) was responsible for Labour Relations and Welfare.
Under the Deputy Chairman for Administration (Sir Henry Self) were:
Under the Deputy Chairman for Operations (Sir John Hacking) was:
Area electricity boards were established by Section 3 of the Electricity Act 1947. They were responsible for the distribution of electricity and sales to customers. They comprised a chairman and five to seven other members appointed by the Minister of Fuel and Power after consultation with the central authority; and one member holding the office of chairman of the consultative council.[10] The new area boards were:[11]
Section 7 of the Electricity Act 1947 established a consultative council for each of the area electricity boards. These councils had the duty of considering matters affecting the distribution of electricity in the area, including tariffs and the provision of new or improved services, following representations by consumers or other persons requiring supplies; they could also consider any matter referred to them by the area board. They were to notify their conclusions to the board.[12]
The councils consisted of between twenty and thirty persons appointed by the minister. Not less than half nor more than three-fifths were appointed from a panel of members of local authorities. The remainder represented agriculture, commerce, industry, labour and the general interests of consumers of electricity in the area.[12] The chairman of each consultative council was a member of the area electricity board.[13]
The electricity generated, supplied and sold, in GWh, over the establishment of the BEA was as follows:[14]
| Numbers in GWh | Year | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1947/8 | 1948/9 | 1949/50 | 1950/1 | 1951/2 | 1952/3 | 1953/4 | 1954/5 | |
| Electricity generated | 38,665 | 42,824 | 45,717 | 51,859 | 55,316 | 57,365 | 61,621 | 69,077 |
| Electricity supplied | 36,391 | 40,314 | 43,036 | 48,888 | 52,060 | 53,920 | 57,857 | 64,860 |
| Imports | 318 | 472 | 410 | 363 | 436 | 430 | 364 | 311 |
| Exports | 130 | 194 | 355 | 353 | 268 | 244 | 286 | 276 |
| Total supplies by BEA | 36,579 | 40,592 | 43,091 | 48,898 | 52,228 | 54,106 | 57,935 | 64,895 |
| Used in transmission | 618 | 758 | 797 | 948 | 976 | 1,053 | 1,215 | 1,428 |
| Sales to direct customers | 240 | 623 | 676 | 705 | 709 | 764 | 1,016 | 1,431 |
| Sales to area boards | 35,658 | 39,211 | 41,618 | 47,245 | 50,543 | 52,288 | 55,704 | 62,036 |
| Purchased by area boards from private sources | 119 | 113 | 90 | 170 | 189 | 159 | 169 | 188 |
| Used in distribution | 3,348 | 4,008 | 4,119 | 5,095 | 4,797 | 4,857 | 5,191 | 5,845 |
| Sales by area boards | 32,429 | 35,316 | 37,589 | 42,320 | 45,935 | 47,590 | 50,682 | 56,379 |
A summary of the BEA's financial results is as follows:[14]
| £ million | Year | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948/9 | 1951/2 | 1952/3 | 1953/4 | 1954/5 | |
| Income from electricity sales | 191.1 | 256.4 | 285.6 | 319.6 | 356.3 |
| Other | 6.7 | 8.0 | 6.7 | 7.8 | 10.5 |
| Total income | 197.8 | 264.4 | 292.3 | 327.4 | 366.8 |
| Expenditure | 177.1 | 237.5 | 255.1 | 279.8 | 310.5 |
| Operating profit | 20.7 | 26.9 | 37.2 | 47.6 | 56.3 |
| Interest | 16.3 | 24.0 | 29.9 | 34.4 | 37.5 |
| Profit after interest | 4.4 | 2.9 | 7.3 | 13.2 | 18.8 |
There were a total of 169,000 employees in the electricity supply industry 1952, comprising:[14]
| Managerial and higher executive | 1,224 |
| Technical and scientific | 13,707 |
| Technical staff trainees | 537 |
| Executive, clerical, accountancy and sales | 39,669 |
| Industrial | 107,652 |
| Apprentices | 5,911 |
As a result of theElectricity Reorganisation (Scotland) Act 1954, the British Electricity Authority was replaced on 1 April 1955 by theCentral Electricity Authority (CEA) for England and Wales. At the same time, the two South of Scotland Area Boards and the associated electricity generation and distribution plant were merged into theSouth of Scotland Electricity Board (SSEB) to form an integrated electricity board responsible for generation, distribution and electricity supply in southern and central Scotland.
Soon afterwards, the Electricity Act 1957 dissolved the Central Electricity Authority, which it replaced with theCentral Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) and theElectricity Council.[15]
