Electricity Act 1947

15Provisions as to undertakings of local authorities.

(1)In the case of any authorised undertakers being a local authority the provisions of the last foregoing section shall only apply to property held or used by the local authority wholly or mainly in their capacity as authorised undertakers, and rights, liabilities and obligations acquired or incurred by the local authority in the said capacity, and accordingly references in that section to the property, rights, liabilities and obligations of a body to whom this Part of this Act applies, or to any agreement to which any such body was a party, or to documents referring to any such body, or to legal proceedings or applications by or against any such body shall be construed as references to property held or used by the local authority wholly or mainly in their capacity as authorised undertakers and rights, liabilities and obligations acquired or incurred by the local authority in the said capacity or, as the case may be, to agreements, documents, legal proceedings or applications of or relating to the local authority in their capacity as authorised undertakers, and subsection (n) of the last foregoing section shall not apply to any such local authority.

(2)Regulations may provide—

(a)for excluding from or including in the property, rights, liabilities and obligations which vest in an Electricity Board by virtue of this Act, such property, rights, liabilities or obligations held, used, acquired or incurred by any such local authority partly in their capacity as authorised undertakers and partly in other capacities, on such terms (which may include the payment of money), as may be agreed between the Electricity Board concerned and the local authority or, in default of agreement, determined in accordance with the regulations;

(b)for requiring any Electricity Board, as respects property which vests in them by virtue of this Act, being property held or used by any such local authority partly in their capacity aforesaid and partly in other capacities, to grant to the local authority such interests in the property or rights over or attaching to the property or in respect of the user thereof, on such terms (which may include the payment of money), as may be agreed between the Electricity Board and the local authority or, in default of agreement, determined in accordance with the regulations, or for requiring the similar grant of interests or rights by the local authority to the Electricity Board in a case where such property does not vest in the Board;

(c)for conferring on any Electricity Board in whom land of any such local authority is vested easements and other rights over or attaching to other land of the local authority, being easements and rights which are required to enable land which is so vested to be used for the purposes of the Board, on such terms (including the payment of money) as may be agreed between the Electricity Board and the local authority or, in default of agreement, determined in accordance with the regulations;

(d)for the severance of leases comprising land of which part only was used by the local authority in their capacity as authorised undertakers, and for apportionments and indemnities consequent on such severance;

(e)for substituting for any agreement entered into by any such local authority partly in their capacity as authorised undertakers and partly in other capacities separate agreements in the requisite terms, and for any apportionments and indemnities consequent thereon; and

(f)for any other matters supplementary to or consequential on the matters aforesaid for which provision appears to the Minister to be necessary or expedient.

For the purposes of this subsection, any property which is held or used by a local authority temporarily in their capacity as authorised undertakers and normally in other capacities, or normally in the said capacity and temporarily in other capacities, shall be deemed to be property held or used by a local authority partly in the said capacity and partly in other capacities.

(3)Any question arising under this section as to whether any property is or was held or used by any such local authority wholly or mainly in their capacity as authorised undertakers, or whether any property is or was (for the purposes of the last foregoing subsection) held or used partly in the said capacity and partly in other capacities, or whether any rights, liabilities or obligations were acquired or incurred by any such local authority in the said capacity or whether any agreements or documents relate or related to any such local authority in their capacity as authorised undertakers, shall, in default of agreement, be determined by the Minister of Health, and he shall have regard to whether or not entries relating to any property, rights or liabilities were or ought to have been included in accounts furnished by the local authority to the Electricity Commissioners under section nine of the [45 & 46 Vict. c. 56.] Electric Lighting Act, 1882.

(4)Where at any time before the expiration of three months beginning with the vesting date a local authority has served on the Minister of Health and on the Electricity Board concerned, or an Electricity Board has served on the said Minister and on the local authority concerned, a notice in the prescribed form stating that a question has arisen under this section or under any regulations made thereunder as to—

(a)whether any property is or was held or used by the local authority wholly or mainly in their capacity as authorised undertakers and accordingly vests in the Electricity Board by virtue of this Act;

(b)whether any property of the local authority ought to be excluded from or included in the property which so vests;

(c)whether interests in any property of the local authority, or rights over or attaching to such property or in respect of the user thereof, ought to be granted by the local authority to the Electricity Board or by the Board to the authority; or

(d)whether any lease ought to be severed;

and the question has not been settled by agreement or determined before the vesting date, the property concerned shall not, pending such agreement or determination, vest in the Electricity Board by virtue of this Act and, if the notice is given after the vesting date, shall be deemed not to have so vested, but the property shall, so far as it is so to vest having regard to the agreement or determination, vest on such date as may be agreed or determined, and pending the settlement or determination of the said question and the vesting of property and the granting of interests or rights in accordance therewith, the Electricity Board shall be entitled and shall be deemed to have been entitled as from the vesting date to use the property for the like purposes and to the like extent as it was used, immediately before that date, by the local authority in their capacity as authorised undertakers, on such terms (which may include the payment of money) as may be agreed between the Electricity Board and the local authority or, in default of agreement, determined by the Minister of Health.

(5)Notwithstanding anything in the last foregoing section or this section, there shall not, by reason of the vesting of property, rights, liabilities and obligations of any local authority, in any Electricity Board, be transferred to that Board any liabilities or obligations in respect of any loan raised by the local authority, or be transferred to that Board any property forming part of a sinking fund established for the redemption of any such loan, and any property vesting in the Board, being property subject to a mortgage created for securing the repayment of any such loan, shall vest free of the mortgage.

(6)References in the following provisions of this Act to bodies to whom this Part of this Act applies (not being references which expressly exclude local authorities) shall be construed, in relation to a local authority, as referring to that authority in their capacity as authorised undertakers.