Singapore legislation

Clause 5

of Electricity Bill

Clause 5

Restriction on disclosure of confidential information

(1)

This section shall apply if —

(a)

any information or document is given by a person to the Authority under this Act (other than Part VII); and

(b)

at the time such information or document is given, the person notifies the Authority in writing that it is of a confidential or commercially sensitive nature.

(2)

The Authority shall not disclose to any person the information or the contents of a document to which this section applies unless —

(a)

the Authority is of the opinion that —

(i)

the disclosure of the information or the contents of the document would not cause detriment to the person supplying it or to any other person who is aware of the information or document; or

(ii)

although the disclosure of the information or the contents of the document would cause detriment to the person supplying it or to any other person who is aware of the information or document, the public benefit in disclosing it outweighs that detriment;

(b)

the Authority gives written notice to —

(i)

the person who supplied the information or document; and

(ii)

any other person whom the Authority is aware has supplied the information or document to the person referred to in sub-paragraph (i), where the identity of such other person is known to the Authority,stating that the Authority wishes to disclose the information or contents of the document, specifying the nature of the intended disclosure, setting out detailed reasons why the Authority wishes to make the disclosure and setting out a copy of this section; and

(c)

no appeal is made to the Minister under subsection (3) within 7 days of the date of the giving of the notice.

(3)

If a person wishes to appeal to the Minister in respect of a notice given by the Authority under subsection (2)(b), such appeal shall be lodged with the Minister within 7 days of the date of the giving of the notice and the Minister’s decision shall be final.

(4)

Subsection (2) shall not prevent the Authority —

(a)

from disclosing any information or the contents of a document —

(i)

to any member, officer, employee, agent or consultant of the Authority or a member of a committee or panel acting under a delegation by the Authority;

(ii)

when required to do so by any court or under any written law; or

(iii)

for the purposes of any criminal proceedings; or

(b)

from supplying the information or document to the Minister on a confidential basis or to an Appeal Panel.

(5)

For the purposes of this section, the disclosure of any information or the contents of a document already in the public domain at the time the Authority wishes to disclose it cannot cause detriment to any person referred to in subsection (2)(a).

Clause 5 — Electricity Bill | laws.sg