69. Works of public electricity licensee

(1)

Notwithstanding any written law but subject to this section, for any purpose connected with the carrying on of the activities which it is authorised by its public licence to carry on, a public electricity licensee may execute —

(a)

the following kinds of works, that is to say, installing under, over, in, on, along or across any premises, street or bridge and from time to time inspecting, maintaining, adjusting, repairing, altering, replacing or removing —

(i)

any electric line or electrical plant;

(ii)

any structure for housing or covering any such line or plant; and

(iii)

any meter, switch and any other suitable and proper apparatus for the purpose of leading off service lines and other distributing conductors or of examining, testing, measuring, directing or controlling the supply of electricity or of testing the conditions of the mains and other portions of the works; and

(b)

any work requisite for or incidental to the purposes of any works falling within paragraph (a), including for those purposes —

(i)

excavating any land, street or drain;

(ii)

tunnelling or boring under any land, street, sewer or drain;

(iii)

removing or using all earth and materials in or under any land, street, sewer or drain;

(iv)

erecting, placing or installing equipment, apparatus and other electrical plant in or under any land, building, street or bridge; and

(v)

erecting, placing or installing poles on any land or street.

(2)

All such works, including the upper surface or covering thereof, shall be constructed of such materials and shall be maintained by the public electricity licensee in such manner as not to be a source of danger, whether by reason of inequality of surface or otherwise; and when the licensee lays any electric line or crossing or liable to touch any main, pipe, line or other service, the conducting portion of the electric line shall be effectually insulated.

(3)

Except in cases of emergency arising from faults in any electric line or electrical plant, no works falling within subsection (1) shall be executed without the giving of reasonable notice.

(4)

A public electricity licensee shall do as little damage as possible in the exercise of the powers conferred by subsection (1) and shall make good any damage done in the exercise of those powers.

(5)

Where any dispute arises as to whether a public electricity licensee has sufficiently made good any damage done in the exercise of the powers conferred by subsection (1), the dispute —

(a)

may be referred to the Board by either party; and

(b)

on such a reference, shall be determined by the Board whose decision shall be final and conclusive between the parties.

(6)

A public electricity licensee shall exercise the powers conferred by subsection (1) in such manner as will secure that nothing which it instals or keeps installed under, over, in, on, along or across any premises or street becomes a source of danger to the public.

(7)

A public electricity licensee shall not, when exercising the powers conferred by subsection (1), be liable for or required to pay any person any fee, charge or expense whatsoever for the right to enter or use any land or premises.

Terms defined in s 2

apparatus
Defined · s 2
“apparatus” means any water, electrical or gas apparatus, equipment or accessory and includes all apparatus, machines, consuming devices and fittings in which pipes or conductors are used or of which they form a part;
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Board
Defined · s 2
“Board” means the Public Utilities Board established under the Public Utilities Act in force before 1st October 1995 and continued by section 3;
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electric line
Defined · s 2
“electric line” means any line which is used for carrying electricity for any purpose and includes, unless the context otherwise requires —(a)any support for the line, that is to say, any structure, pole or other thing in, on, by or from which the line is or may be supported, carried or suspended;(b)any apparatus connected to the line for the purposes of carrying electricity;(c)any wire, cable, tube, pipe or other similar thing (including its casing or coating) which surrounds or supports, or is surrounded or supported by, or is installed in close proximity to, or is supported, carried or suspended in association with, the line; and(d)any electricity cable;
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electrical plant
Defined · s 2
“electrical plant” means any plant, equipment, apparatus or appliance used for, or for purposes connected with, the supply of electricity;
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electricity
Defined · s 2
“electricity” means electrical power when generated, transmitted, supplied or used for any purpose except the transmission of any communication or signal;
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premises
Defined · s 2
“premises” includes buildings, structures, streets, lands, waters, tenements, easements of any tenure, whether State land or not, whether open or enclosed, whether built on or not, whether public or private, and whether maintained or not under statutory authority;
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public electricity licensee
Defined · s 2
“public electricity licensee” means a person who is authorised by a public licence to carry out all or any of the functions of generating, transmitting or supplying electricity;
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public licence
Defined · s 2
“public licence” means a licence granted under section 38 and “public licensee” shall be construed accordingly;
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street
Defined · s 2
“street” includes any road, highway, square, footway or passage, whether a thoroughfare or not, over which the public has a right of way, the way over any public bridge, and any road, footway or passage, open court or open alley, used or intended to be used as a means of access to 2 or more holdings, whether the public has a right of way thereover or not; and all channels, sewers, drains, tunnels, ditches and reserves at the side of any street shall be deemed to be part of the street;
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Report

Read on from s 70

Schedules

Read on from Schedules