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The Electric Lighting Act, 1882.
This Act, which came into operation on the 18th August,
1882, granted powers to the Board of Trade from time to
time to license any local authority, as defined by the Act,
or any company or person, to supply Electricity for any
public or private purposes within any area, subject to the
consent of the local authority, with such conditions as,
subject to the approval of the Board of Trade, the local
authority might prescribe, for a term not exceeding seven
years, renewable upon such terms and conditions as the
Board of Trade may determine.
By the 4th Section the Board of Trade is authorized to
grant Provisional Orders, and the local authority may,
within six months after the expiration of a period of
21 years, or such shorter period as is specified in the
Special Act confirming the same Order, require the undertakers
named in the Special Act to sell to them their
undertaking upon the conditions therein mentioned. The
Act contains numerous provisions for controlling and regulating
the powers of the undertakers, and enabling the
Board of Trade to rescind the Provisional Order on failure
by the undertakers to perform certain conditions.
Under this Act several companies and individuals gave
notice of their intention to apply for Provisional Orders to
supply parts of the area of this District, among which were
the following:—The Edison Electric Lighting Company,
Limited; the Metropolitan (Brush) Electric Light Company,
Limited; the Pilsen Joel and General Electric Light
Company, Limited; the Swan Electric Light Company,
Limited.