AGY-492 | Electricity Authority of New South Wales

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The Electricity Authority of New South Wales was constituted under the Electricity Development Act, 1945 (Act No.13, 1946), which received assent on 17 January 1946.(1) The Authority was a body corporate consisting of seven members with four of the members having served on the recently abolished Electricity Advisory Committee. The Authority’s establishment was a further step in the direction of co-ordinating electrical development in NSW. The Electricity Development Act, 1945 constituted the Authority "for the stated purpose of promoting and regulating the co-ordination, development, expansion, extension and improvement of electricity generation and distribution throughout the State."(2) The role of the agency was to develop electricity supply and to promote the use of this power, particularly by primary and secondary industries. Amongst the Authority's responsibilities were licensing contractors and electricians; regulating the sale and hire of electrical apparatus; and setting standards for materials used in electrical wiring and in the manufacture of electrical equipment. Persons authorised by the Authority had the right of entry to any premises to examine electrical installations, machinery and appliances to ensure that they were not dangerous to life or limb. The Authority also regulated the form and basis of electricity charges and administered the traffic Route Lighting Subsidy Scheme. The Authority also regulated overhead line construction including materials, work methods and worker qualifications. When the Electricity Authority was established, electricity was generated and/or supplied by: three State Government agencies (the Department of Public Works, Department of Railways, and the Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission); 138 local councils; and 47 franchise-holding companies or persons including the Electric Light and Power Supply Corporation, Parramatta and Granville Electric Supply Company, Caledonian Collieries Limited, and the Muswellbrook Coal Company.(3) Therefore, the generation of electricity in NSW was shared chiefly between State and Local Government bodies and distribution was almost exclusively carried out by Local Government agencies. At the inaugural meeting of the Authority in 1946, the Minister for Public Works and Local Government, JJ Cahill, spoke of his desire for the Authority to provide electricity to rural areas as quickly as possible.(4) In time a Rural Electricity Subsidy Scheme was established to provide for the electrification of 33,500 farms by 1956.(5) From the 1950s, the Electricity Authority consolidated the number of councils responsible for generating electricity by amalgamating small inefficient schemes. At the same time, small power stations servicing limited areas were progressively closed as new transmission lines carrying electricity from larger power stations were erected across the state. Services were rationalised further when the Electricity Commission was established in 1950. The Commission was to acquire the power stations and main transmission lines of the four major supply authorities: Southern Electricity Supply; Sydney County Council; the Department of Railways; and the Electric Light and Power Supply Corporation Ltd, known as the Balmain Company. By 1969 the Electricity Commission supplied 97 percent of the state’s power needs - although there remained forty-four public electricity suppliers (including thirty-four county councils).(6) The Electricity Authority was abolished on 8 June 1979 (7) in accordance with the Energy Authority (Amendment) Act, 1979 (Act No.103, 1979).(8) The role of the Electricity Authority became the additional responsibility of the Energy Authority. FOOTNOTES 1. New South Wales Government Gazette No.8, 25 January 1946, Vol.1, p.148 2. Annual Report of the Electricity Authority of NSW for the year ended 30 June 1947 in the Joint Volumes of Papers presented to the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly 1947 - 1948, vol. 1, p 388. 3. ibid., p 390. 4. Annual Report of the Electricity Authority of NSW for the year ended 30 June 1946 in the Joint Volumes of Papers presented to the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly 1947 - 1948, vol. 1, p 385. 5. Annual Report of the Electricity Authority of NSW for the year ended 30 June 1950 in the Joint Volumes of Papers presented to the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly 1950-51-52, vol. 1, p 853. 6. Annual Report of the Electricity Authority of NSW for the year ended 30 June 1969 in the Joint Volumes of Papers presented to the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly 1969-70-71, vol. 4, p 21. (7) New South Wales Government Gazette No.76, 8 June 1979, Vol.2, p.2756 (8) The Act received assent on 17th May 1979. New South Wales Government Gazette No.73, 1 June 1979, Vol.2, p.2704