§ 131. Sir J. Jarvisasked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether he will, under the powers given to him in Section 5 (6) of the Electricity Act, 1947, instruct the Central Authority to obtain a full report from all area boards of the progress which is being made in the supply of electricity to farms and cottages in rural areas; and of the steps they propose 323W to take to eliminate the present delays in that connection.
§ Mr. RobensNo. The reports of the Central Authority and the 14 electricity boards will be published next month and will give information on the progress made in rural electrification. Within the limits of their resources the area boards appear to be making satisfactory progress in supplying electricity to farms and cottages in rural areas, having regard to the other priority connections which also have to be made. As the hon. Member is aware, the cut in capital expenditure of the boards will largely fall upon the distribution side of the electricity supply industry and make an acceleration of rural electrification impossible in the immediate future.