According to the March 21st, 1927 New York Herald Tribune, "Power Trust" opponents met on March 11th in the Washington D.C. office of Nebraska's Republican Senator George W. Norris.
 Norris, along with former Pennsylvania governor Gifford Pinchot, U.S. senators, house members,  "leaders of radical organizations and movements" came together to plan a government ownership drive.
In reality, the group was developing plans for a senate investigation of the electric industry.
In June, just as the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) report on the country's most controversial electric holding company, the Electric Bond and Share Company was released, Montana Senator Thomas J. Walsh introduced a resolution calling for a senate investigation of the country's electric utilities.
 The reasons for Senator Walsh's investigation was clear: 
General Electric's (GE) central role in the 1925 global Phoebus cartel's planned obsolescence of light bulbs;
The 1926 U.S. Dept.
of Justice light bulb price-fixing lawsuit (United States v. General Electric Co.);
GE's ownership of over 10% of the country's electric utilities via its Electric Bond and Share Company;
GE's leading role with NELA in the long-standing war against municipal ownership of electric stations;
State attempts to regulate holding company abuses had failed;
while over 95% of America's 6.5 million farmers and most of the country's urban poor had no access to electricity.

Walsh's initial legislation failed but the coalition did not give up.
He reintroduced his resolution on December 17th, 1927 that received positive support from newspapers around the country.
The electric industry was initially opposed to any investigation but then reversed its strategy, using its senate allies to amend the resolution, transferring the investigation to the Federal Trade Commission.
On February 15th, 1928 the Walsh resolution, or Senate Resolution 83 passed with the requirement for public hearings.
It directed the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the U.S. electric industry and make monthly written status reports to the Senate on the following:
The capital assets and liabilities of gas and electric holding companies or any of its subsidiaries doing interstate or international business;
all financial activities surrounding the above-mentioned corporation's securities or stocks;
all connections between stockholders, holding companies and subsidiaries;
all services, earnings, and expenses between holding companies and its subsidiaries; and
the value or detriment to the public of holding companies and any proposed corrective legislation.

And
The utility industry and its association's effort to manipulate opinion of public ownership of electrical generation; and
since 1923, any attempt to influence the outcome of federal elections.

The Commission's public hearings started on March 8th, 1928 and ended on December 12th, 1935, spanning three different presidential administrations.
The investigation was overseen by the Federal Trade Commission's Chief Counsel Robert E. Healy and Commissioner Edgar A. McCulloch (former Chief Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court).
 It was one of the largest federal investigations ever undertaken with a starting budget of $85,000 that increased to over $1 million annually.
The seven-year (1928-1936) investigation produced 63,000 pages of testimony and 6,000 exhibits in 94 volumes.
The Commission sent out dozens of accountants to all 48 states to inspect the financial records of 29 holding companies, 70 sub-holding companies and 278 gas & electric companies with assets of over $19 billion.
In addition to the monthly reports, the Commission also produced annual summaries of the probe.
The 94 volumes are broken down as follows: 
Volumes 1-19 March 1928 - Jan. 1930: the National Electric Light Assoc.,
committee members, and affiliated company activities.

Volumes 20-80 Feb. 1930 - Sept. 1935: investigations of specific electric companies.

Volumes 81-84 A-D Oct. - Dec. 1935: the Natural Gas Industry investigation, conclusions and recommendations.

Volumes containing Exhibits Num
According to the March 21st, 1927 New York Herald Tribune, "Power Trust" opponents met on March 11th in the Washington D.C. office of Nebraska's Republican Senator George W. Norris.  Norris, along with former Pennsylvania governor Gifford Pinchot, U.S. senators, house members,  "leaders of radical organizations and movements" came together to plan a government ownership drive. In reality, the group was developing plans for a senate investigation of the electric industry. In June, just as the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) report on the country's most controversial electric holding company, the Electric Bond and Share Company was released, Montana Senator Thomas J. Walsh introduced a resolution calling for a senate investigation of the country's electric utilities.  The reasons for Senator Walsh's investigation was clear: 
General Electric's (GE) central role in the 1925 global Phoebus cartel's planned obsolescence of light bulbs;
The 1926 U.S. Dept. of Justice light bulb price-fixing lawsuit (United States v. General Electric Co.);
GE's ownership of over 10% of the country's electric utilities via its Electric Bond and Share Company;
GE's leading role with NELA in the long-standing war against municipal ownership of electric stations;
State attempts to regulate holding company abuses had failed;
while over 95% of America's 6.5 million farmers and most of the country's urban poor had no access to electricity.
Walsh's initial legislation failed but the coalition did not give up. He reintroduced his resolution on December 17th, 1927 that received positive support from newspapers around the country. The electric industry was initially opposed to any investigation but then reversed its strategy, using its senate allies to amend the resolution, transferring the investigation to the Federal Trade Commission. On February 15th, 1928 the Walsh resolution, or Senate Resolution 83 passed with the requirement for public hearings. It directed the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the U.S. electric industry and make monthly written status reports to the Senate on the following:
The capital assets and liabilities of gas and electric holding companies or any of its subsidiaries doing interstate or international business;
all financial activities surrounding the above-mentioned corporation's securities or stocks;
all connections between stockholders, holding companies and subsidiaries;
all services, earnings, and expenses between holding companies and its subsidiaries; and
the value or detriment to the public of holding companies and any proposed corrective legislation.
And
The utility industry and its association's effort to manipulate opinion of public ownership of electrical generation; and
since 1923, any attempt to influence the outcome of federal elections.
The Commission's public hearings started on March 8th, 1928 and ended on December 12th, 1935, spanning three different presidential administrations. The investigation was overseen by the Federal Trade Commission's Chief Counsel Robert E. Healy and Commissioner Edgar A. McCulloch (former Chief Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court).  It was one of the largest federal investigations ever undertaken with a starting budget of $85,000 that increased to over $1 million annually. The seven-year (1928-1936) investigation produced 63,000 pages of testimony and 6,000 exhibits in 94 volumes. The Commission sent out dozens of accountants to all 48 states to inspect the financial records of 29 holding companies, 70 sub-holding companies and 278 gas & electric companies with assets of over $19 billion. In addition to the monthly reports, the Commission also produced annual summaries of the probe. The 94 volumes are broken down as follows: 
Volumes 1-19 March 1928 - Jan. 1930: the National Electric Light Assoc., committee members, and affiliated company activities.
Volumes 20-80 Feb. 1930 - Sept. 1935: investigations of specific electric companies.
Volumes 81-84 A-D Oct. - Dec. 1935: the Natural Gas Industry investigation, conclusions and recommendations.
Volumes containing Exhibits Num
National Electric Light Association