Background
In 1954, six years after nationalisation, the government appointed the Herbert Committee to examine the efficiency and organisation of the electricity industry.[3] 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 which established the Electricity Council to oversee the industry and the CEGB with responsibility for generation and transmission.[3]
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:[4]
The full membership of the Electricity Council, as first constituted, was as follows.[6]
Chief Officers of the Council
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.[7]
- Sir Henry Self (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),[5] 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.
- 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
- 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
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.[4]
The headquarters were in London, initially in Trafalgar Buildings in Charing Cross Road, then in the 1960s at Millbank Tower. For liaison with the Area Electricity Boards outstation offices were established such as in Bristol. The EC training establishment was at Horsley Towers, Surrey.[4]
There were 535 staff in 1959, 1083 in 1967, and 1257 in 1989.[4]
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.
