JEAs were set up on a voluntary basis, and they were largely supported by local authority electricity undertakings.

[5] Following the enactment of the 1919 act there were several wider issues that affected the efficient operation of the British electricity supply industry.

[6] Members of the Conservative Party were suspicious of ‘schemes which smacked of nationalisation’, and more widely opposed state intervention in industrial affairs,[6] the powers of compulsion of the Electricity Commissioners were curtailed.

[7]  The Electricity Commissioners admitted that their activities had met with only limited success, as they had been involved in interminable rounds of public inquiries.

Lack of powers of compulsion and municipal pride had militated again cooperation between local authority undertakings.