Mr. De la Bèreasked the Minister of Transport whether he can give the total number of applications from villages to have electricity supplied which have been reported and considered by the Electricity Commissioners for the years 1936, 1937 and 1938, and have been refused on account of them having been considered uneconomic?
§ Captain WallaceThe numbers of communications received in my Department and by the Electricity Commissioners from individuals or communities regarding extensions of supplies of electricity in 1936, 1337 and 1938 were 398, 356 and 368 respectively.
The Electricity Commissioners have no power to require undertakings to give supplies. When communications relating to extensions of supplies are received it is their general practice to refer them to the Undertakers concerned, who usually indicate the terms on which they are prepared to give the supplies. These terms are communicatd to the prospective consumers, with whom it rests to decide whether they will accept them.
With regard to the number of cases in which a supply has been refused on the grounds that it was uneconomic, it would not be practicable to obtain a definite and accurate figure which I could give my hon. Friend.
Mr. De la Bèreasked the Minister of Transport whether he will give an assurance that an official inquiry into the workings of the electricity supply companies will be held, and particularly in connection with those concerns that are governed and controlled by holding companies?
§ Captain WallaceI am not sure what form of inquiry my hon. Friend has in mind, but I would remind him that a Select Committee appointed in another place is at present engaged upon an inquiry into the subject of control of electricity undertakings by holding companies.