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27 1927

ELECTRICITY (SUPPLY) ACT, 1927

PART III.

Local Authorities.

Expenses of local authorities.

71. —(1) Any expenses incurred under this Act by a local authority which is an authorised undertaker and not otherwise provided for may, with the consent of the Board given after consultation with the Minister for Local Government and Public Health, be defrayed—

(a) in the case of an urban sanitary authority out of the rate applicable to the general purposes of the Public Health (Ireland) Acts or any other fund or rate applicable to lighting under any Local Act, and

(b) in the case of a rural district council, board of public health, or board of health and public assistance as special expenses under the Public Health (Ireland) Act, 1878 and shall be deemed to be special expenses within the meaning of section 232 of the said Act.

(2) Every sum advanced under this Act to a local authority by the Board out of the funds at its disposal shall be advanced on the credit of the fund or rate out of which such local authority is authorised to defray expenses incurred under this Act, and for the purpose of securing the repayment of any such sum and the interest payable thereon such local authority may mortgage to the Board the said fund or rate.

(3) Every sum advanced under this Act to a local authority by the Board shall be repaid to the Board within the time and in the manner prescribed by regulations made under this Act by the Board after consultation with the Minister for Local Government and Public Health.

Power to local authorities to borrow for the purposes of this Act.

72. —In addition to the power conferred on the Board by this Act to make advances to local authorities it shall be lawful for a local authority to borrow for the purposes of this Act subject to the provisions and restrictions contained in sections 237 and 238 and sections 240 to 243 (both inclusive) of the Public Health (Ireland) Act, 1878.

Power to suspend annual provision for repayment of borrowed moneys.

73. —(1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any Act, whether public general or local and personal, it shall be lawful with the approval of the Board for a local authority which is an authorised undertaker to suspend (subject to the limitations imposed by this section) the annual provision required by law to be made for the repayment of moneys borrowed under this Act.

(2) The suspension under this section of the annual provision aforesaid shall be made for such period and subject to such conditions as the Board shall determine but shall not in any case extend beyond the period during which the expenditure out of the moneys borrowed as aforesaid remains unremunerative.

Audit of Accounts.

74. —A local authority which is an authorised undertaker shall keep separate accounts in relation to its authorised undertaking and the separate accounts so kept shall be deemed to be accounts of such local authority and shall be audited in like manner as the accounts of such local authority and the enactments and orders relating to the audit of the accounts of such local authority and to the powers of the auditor thereof shall apply to such separate accounts in like manner as those enactments and orders apply to the audit and the auditor of the accounts of such local authority.

Contracts for execution of works, etc,

75. —Any local authority which is an authorised undertaker may (subject to the provisions of this Act which relate to expenditure incurred by an authorised undertaker in respect of the construction, reconstruction, extension, equipment, or re-equipment of any works used as part of or in connexion with his undertaking) contract with any person for the execution and maintenance of any works needed for the supply by such local authority of electricity in accordance with the order or special Act by which such supply is authorised.

Expenses of carrying out agreements.

76. —Where a local authority which is an authorised undertaker enters into an agreement or arrangement authorised by or under this Act with any other authorised undertaker or any other person, any expenses incurred by such local authority in carrying such agreement or arrangement into effect shall be deemed to be expenses incurred by them under this Act, and any moneys received by such local authority under such agreement or arrangement shall be deemed to be moneys received by such local authority in respect of their authorised undertaking.

Payment by local authorities of expenses of certain alterations.

77. —Whenever a local authority on account or for the purpose of an alteration to a road or bridge—

(a) requires an authorised undertaker to alter the position or depth of underground electrical wires, mains, or other underground electrical works or the position of poles or other structures carrying electrical wires or mains or of other above ground electrical works, or

(b) requires the Board to alter the position or depth of any such underground electrical works or the position of any such above ground electrical works as aforesaid belonging to or under the control of the Board,

the expenses incurred by such authorised undertaker or by the Board (as the case may be) in complying with such requisition shall be paid to such authorised undertaker or to the Board (as the case may require) by such local authority on demand as part of the expenses of the maintenance of such road or bridge, and the amount of such expenses so to be paid to such authorised undertaker shall, in default of agreement, be fixed by the Board, and the amount of such expenses so to be paid to the Board shall, in default of agreement, be fixed by an arbitrator appointed by the Minister.

Application to borrowing under this Act of the Public Health (Ireland) Acts, 1878 to 1919.

78. —(1) Whenever a local authority which is an authorised undertaker borrows under this Act any sum from the Board for any purpose the purpose for which such sum is so borrowed shall be deemed to be a purpose for which such local authority may borrow under the Public Health (Ireland) Acts, 1878 to 1919, and the said Acts shall apply to such borrowing in like manner as they apply to any borrowing thereunder by a local authority with the modification that the sanction required by the said Acts for any borrowing thereunder by a local authority shall for the purposes of the borrowing under this Act of any sum from the Board by a local authority which is an authorised undertaker be the sanction of the Board.

(2) Any sum borrowed under this Act by a local authority which is an authorised undertaker shall not be reckoned as part of the total debt of such local authority for the purpose of any limitation on borrowing imposed by the Public Health (Ireland) Acts, 1878 to 1919.

Public safety regulations.

79. —(1) Any local authority within whose district any person is authorised under any order or special Act to supply electricity may make in respect of the supply of such electricity such regulations for securing the safety of the public as such local authority thinks proper and may by such regulations impose penalties for the breach of such regulations and authorise the recovery of such penalties by summary proceedings.

(2) Regulations made under this section shall be in addition to any regulations made by the Board and shall not revoke, amend, or prejudice any such last-mentioned regulations.

(3) No regulations made by a local authority under this section shall have any force or effect unless or until they have been confirmed by the Board and have been published in such manner as the Board may direct.

Allocation of surplus funds.

80. —Whenever a local authority which is an authorised undertaker has in its hands at the end of any local financial year any surplus funds arising from the authorised undertaking after discharge of all liabilities in relation to such undertaking, such authorised undertaker shall not allocate or apply such surplus funds to any purpose save a purpose approved in that behalf by the Board.

Provision of fund as working capital.

81. —A local authority which is an authorised undertaker may provide a fund as working capital and may with the approval of the Board raise loans for the purpose of providing such fund or may with such approval allocate for such purpose any surplus funds arising from the authorised undertaking after discharge of all current liabilities in relation to such undertaking.