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Edmundsons Electricity Corporation

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The Edmundsons Electricity Corporation Limited was an electricity holding company that controlled and owned over 60 electricity undertakings throughout England and Wales. It was established in 1897 and was dissolved, despite its objections, as a consequence of the nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry in 1948.

Edmundsons Electricity Corporation Limited
Company typePublic limited company
IndustryEnergy, Electricity supply
Founded1897
Defunct31 March 1948
FateAbolished by nationalisation
HeadquartersLondon,
England
Area served
England and Wales
Key people
see text
ProductsElectricity generation and supply
RevenueSee table of net profit

History

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The Edmundsons Electricity Corporation Limited[1] was founded in 1897. Its initial aim was to acquire and extend the business of Messrs. J. Edmundsons Company Limited of 19 Great George Street, Westminster. The latter was an electricity engineering company which, since 1888, had installed electricity systems in large buildings.[2] The corporation raised capital of £200,000 in 1897 by the sale of shares. The capital was used to build generating stations and electricity supply systems (electricity undertakings) in Folkestone, Winchester, Salisbury, Ventnor and Shrewsbury.[2] The corporation went on to acquire further electricity company franchises. For example:

  • By 1908 Edmundsons had interests in nearly 50 local electricity supply undertakings.[3]
  • In 1923 the corporation had a controlling interest in the Cromer, Dorking, and the Frome undertakings.[4]

In 1925 the Greater London and Counties Trust (GLCT) was established using American capital.[5] The aim of the trust was to acquire financially weak electricity undertakings and to offer an economic supply using an electricity grid scheme. In 1928 the GLCT acquired 95 per cent of Edmundsons Corporation shares, which at that time directly or indirectly controlled 29 supply companies.[5][6] 

In the 1930s the Edmondson Corporation consolidated and modernised its undertakings reducing them from 64 in 1932 to 23 in 1939.[5]

Principal subsidiaries

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The corporation was based around the following geographical groups.[4][7][8][6]

  • The Shropshire, Worcestershire and Staffordshire Electric Power Company, which had undertakings at Dudley, Kidderminster, Smethwick and Stourport. The Shropshire company itself controlled:
    • The South Wales Electric Power Distribution Company, which had undertakings at Llynfi and Upper Boat.
  • The Urban Electric Supply Company Limited, which had undertakings at Berwick-upon-Tweed, Caterham, Dartmouth and Kingswear, Glossop, Godalming, Grantham, Hawick, Illogan, Newbury, Newton Abbot, Redruth, Stamford, and Walton and Weybridge. The Urban Electric Supply Company itself controlled:
    • The East Anglian Electric Supply Company Limited, which had undertakings at Cromer and Southwold.
    • The Cornwall Electric Power Company Limited, which had undertakings at Hayle and Carn Brea.
  • The Western Electricity Supply Company Limited, which included the Stroud undertaking.
  • The Wessex Electricity Company, which had undertakings at Amesbury, Andover, Chipping Norton, Downton, Frome, Lymington, Newbury and Yeovil.
  • The Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire Electricity Company. For financial convenience Little Barford power station was constructed and financed by the B. C. and H. Power Station Company Limited. The power station was leased to the B. C. and H. Company for 99 years to operate.[8]

Growth

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At the general meeting of the corporation in July 1947 it was noted that the corporation had six main subsidiaries and owned 12 other companies and supplied an area of 15,000 square miles (38,850 km2) which was nearly a quarter of England and Wales.[9]  The development of the organisation since 1932 was also analysed.[9]

Parameter 1932 1946/7
Capital expenditure £17 million £41.5 million
Mains constructed 5,200 miles 15,500 miles
Receipts from electricity sales £2 million £12 million
Electricity price 2.7d./kWh 1.7d./kWh
Return on capital expenditure 4.5 % 2.8 %
Coal price 13s 8d. per ton 44s per ton

Nationalisation

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The Edmundson Corporation opposed nationalisation of the electricity industry. It claimed that state ownership would increase costs, become a burden on tax payer, and prevent consumer choice.[5] It spent £70,000 on an advertising campaign to this effect.

The Edmundson Corporation was abolished on 31 March 1948 under the terms of the Electricity Act 1947[10] which nationalised the British electricity supply industry. The company's power stations and electricity transmission systems were vested in the British Electricity Authority.[11] The local distribution systems and the electricity supply functions were vested in the various geographical Electricity Boards.

The company was one of five electricity undertakings that operated over large geographical areas. Its assets were divided between two or more Area Electricity Boards.[12] The five companies were:

Corporation profits

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A summary of the financial profits of the corporation from 1905 to 1946 were as follows:[13][14][7][9]

Edmundsons Corporation net profit
Year Net profit £ Year Net profit £
1905 58,823 1920 86,685
1906 59,993 1921 95,562
1907 35,588 1922 122,006
1911 47,649 1926 125,417
1912 54,264 1927 141,696
1913 61,684 1928 164,180
1914 65,666 1929 163,046
1915 65,311 1930 222,570
1916 61,772 1933 470,521
1917 64,521 1934 537,099
1918 59,920 1935 597,016
1919 55,604 1946 647,362

Key people

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Company directors

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The inaugural directors of the corporation in 1897 were:[2]

  • John R. Wigham (chairman)
  • Francis E. Gripper (managing director)
  • W. R. Davies
  • Joshua W. Edmundson
  • Walter B. Hopkins
  • Henry Wigham

The registered office in 1897 was at 19 Great George Street, Westminster, London

The directors in 1935 were:[7]

By 1938 Sir Thomas Royden, later Lord Royden had been appointed as chairman, he remained chairman until nationalisation.  

In 1935 the registered office was at Thames House, Millbank, Westminster.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Grace's guide to British Industrial History, Edmundsons Electricity Corporation". Graces Guide. 20 May 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  2. ^ a b c "Edmundsons Electricity Corporation". The Times. 22 April 1897. p. 13.
  3. ^ "Edmundsons Electricity Corporation". The Times. 20 July 1908. p. 17.
  4. ^ a b Electricity Commissioners (1925). Electricity Supply – 1920–23. London: HMSO. pp. 152-66 160-63, 204–07, 212–15.
  5. ^ a b c d Hannah, Leslie (1979). Electricity before Nationalisation. London: Macmillan. pp. 228–29, 246–47, 349–50. ISBN 0333220862.
  6. ^ a b Electricity Commissioners (1947). Generation of Electricity in Great Britain year ended 31 December 1946. London: HMSO. pp. 6, 8, 9.
  7. ^ a b c "Edmundsons Electricity Corporation". The Times. 27 November 1935. p. 19.
  8. ^ a b "Company News". The Times. 24 June 1938. p. 25.
  9. ^ a b c "Company meeting". The Times. 7 July 1947. p. 10.
  10. ^ "Electricity Act 1947". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  11. ^ Electricity Council (1987). Electricity supply in the United Kingdom: a Chronology. London: Electricity Council. pp. 60–61, 69, 76. ISBN 085188105X.
  12. ^ "Electricity Act 1947". The Times. 10 March 1948. p. 23.
  13. ^ "Edmundsons Electricity Corporation Limited". The Times. 20 July 1908. p. 17.
  14. ^ "Edmundsons Electricity Corporation Limited". The Times. 8 July 1930. p. 20.
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