Its aim was to develop an integrated power supply system over a large area of southern England.
[1] The legal powers of the company were initially derived from the Wessex Electricity Act 1927 (17 & 18 Geo.
[8] By 1937 the company was distributing electricity over a mainly rural area of 3,826 square miles (9,909 km2) encompassing a population of 750,000.
[9] It served most of Wiltshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire, and parts of Buckinghamshire, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Somerset and Dorset.
In June 1939 the Wessex company raised capital for future developments by the sale of £1.5 million of debenture stock.
[9] Following the Second World War the Wessex company proposed the expenditure of £3 million to bring electricity to a further 840 villages and hamlets in its supply area.