British Electricity Authority
The British Electricity Authority (BEA) was established as the Central Electricity Authority in 1948 with the nationalisation of the Great Britain's electricity supply industry. It was created by means of the Electricity Act 1947. The Authority took over the operations of over 600 small power companies, municipal authority electricity departments and the Central Electricity Board to form the BEA, which comprised a central authority and 14 area boards. The BEA was responsible for the generation, distribution and sale of electricity to users. It did not include control of the North of Scotland Hydro Board, which remained independent of the BEA.