The Address opened with a reference to some of the earliest Chairmen of the Centre such as Ferranti, Hopkinson and Pearce, and then pro¬ceeded to show the progress that had been made by the North Western Electricity Board since its inception in 1948. In spite of an increased cost per unit purchased of some 32 %, the increase in revenue per unit sold was only 21 %, and the price of coal during the same period had increased by 53 %. These figures tell their own tale—that the bringing together of the many undertakings has been for the general good of the Area.Consideration was then given to the measure of standardization achieved in the Area of the Board, which is responsible for distri¬bution. Certain definite trends were obvious, and the work of standardizafon follows the trends. It is the policy of the Board to adopt national standards.