It was responsible for securing reorganisation on a regional basis and considered schemes for centralisation in a small number of large generating stations owned by joint electricity authorities.
The Board of Trade set up the Electric Power Supply Committee, chaired by Sir Archibald Williamson, which proposed the effective nationalisation of the industry.
Subsequently, in 1919 under the chairmanship of Sir Henry Birchenough, the Advisory Council to the Ministry of Reconstruction produced the Report of the Committee of Chairmen[a] on Electric Power Supply.
The committee were asked to submit general comments or suggestions on the broad administrative and commercial issues which had arisen out of the Williamson Report.
The Birchenough Committee generally agreed with the Williamson Report but recommended that generation and transmission should be a single unified system with state regulation and finance and that means should be found for including distribution as well.