EARL BIRKENHEAD

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIX, Issue 102, 30 March 1929, Page 13

EARL BIRKENHEAD

COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES. CHAIRMAN OF POWER MERGER. It is announced that Lord Birkenhead has accepted the chairmanship of the Greater London and Counties Trust, Ltd., which controls a number of electricity undertakings in Britain. Simultaneously comes the announcement that, through the trust the Utility Power and Light Corporation, one of the principal public utility systems in the United States, has acquired control of seven British power companies and a substantial interest in others.

The following statement by Lord Birkenhead has been issued: “For some time past I have been giving my attention to the possibilities of the development in the use of electricity in England, and, in consequence, I have become aware of the beneficial effect which a cheap and abundant supply will have on increased . productivity, employment, and wage-earning capacity, and the general improvement in prevailing trade conditions. It will tend to place Great Britain in a better position to compete in the markets of the world. “Available data shows that the consumption of electrical units in Great Britain per capita is very low when compared with other countries, a circumstance which demonstrates the enormous scope for development. It seems clear that industrial prosperity in a manufacturing country bears a definite relation to the cost of electric energy. The Electricity Commissioners and the Central Electricity Board have accomplished much, but there is still a tremendous amount to be done. I propose to make a complete analysis of the acts pertaining to the electrical industry with a view to simplifying the conditions relating to the supply of electrical energy on uniform and etandarised lines throughout the country. “I am impressed with the importance of the subject generally, and its value to the community, and I have decided to devote the greater portion of my titme and energies to these interests, The organisation with which I have decided to associate myself is British, although associated with the Clarke interests.”