Section 56 in The Jammu and Kashmir Electricity Act, 1997 (1940 A.D.)
56. Repeal and savings.
- The Jammu and Kashmir electricity Act, 1991, is hereby repealed :Provided that the rules sanctioned and the orders passed under the said act shall be deemed to have been sanctioned and passed under this Act and shall remain in force until repealed or modified expressly or by implication by competent authority.The ScheduleProvisions to be Deemed to be Incorporated with and to form Part of, Every Licence Granted under Part II, So far as not added to, Varied or Excepted by The Licence.[See section 3, sub-section (2), clause (e)]Security and accountsI. Security for execution of works of licensee being local authority. - Where the licensee is not a local authority, the following provisions as to giving security shall apply, namely :-(a)The licensee shall, within the period fixed in that behalf by his licensee, or any longer period which the Government may substitute therefor by order under section 4, sub-section (3), clause (b) of the Jammu and Kashmir electricity Act, 1977 before exercising any of the powers by the licence conferred on him in relation to the execution of works, show, to the satisfaction of the Government, that he is an a position fully and efficiently to discharge the duties and obligations imposed upon him by the licence, throughout the area of supply.(b)The licensee shall also, within the period fixed in that behalf by his licence, or any longer period which the Government may, substitute therefor by order under section 4, sub-section (3), clause (b) of the Jammu and Kashmir Electricity Act, and before exercising any of the powers conferred on him in relation to the execution of the works, deposit or secure to the satisfaction of the Government such sum (if any) as may be fixed by the licence or, if not so fixed, by the Government.(c)The said sum deposited by the licensee under the provision of this clause shall be repaid or released to him on the completion of the works or at such earlier date or dates and by such instalments as may be approved by the Government.II. Audit of accounts of licensee not using authority. - Where the licensee is not a local authority, the following provisions as to the audit of accounts shall apply, namely :-(a)The annual statement of accounts of the undertaking shall, before being rendered under section 10 of the Jammu and Kashmir Electricity Act, be examined and audited by such person as the Government may appoint or approve in this behalf, and the remuneration of the auditor shall be such as the Government may direct, and his remuneration and all expenses incurred by him in or the about execution of his duties, to such an amount as the Government shall approve, shall be paid by the licensee on deemed.(b)The licensee shall afford to the auditor, his clerk and assistants, access to all such books and documents relating to the undertaking as are necessary for the purposes of the audit, and shall, when required, furnish to him and them all vouchers and information requisite for that purpose and afford to him and them all facilities for the proper execution of his and their duty.(c)The audit shall be made and conducted in such manner as the Government may direct.(d)Any report made by the auditor, or such portion thereof as the Government may direct, shall be appended to the annual statement of accounts of the licensee, and shall thenceforth from part thereof.(e)notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this clause, the Government may, if it thinks fit, accept the examination and audit of an auditor appointed by the licensee.III. Separate accounts. - The licence shall, unless the Government otherwise directs, at all times keep the accounts of the capital employed for the purposes of the undertaking distinct from the accounts kept by him of any other undertaking or business.Compulsory works and supplyIV. Execution of works after commencement of licence. - The licensee shall, within a period of three years after the commencement of the licence, execute to the satisfaction of the Government all such works as may be specified in the licence in this behalf or, if not so specified, as the Government may, by order in writing issued within six months of the date of the commencement of the licence, direct.V. Provisions as to laying down of further distributing main. - (1) Where, after the expiration of two years and six months from the commencement of the licence, a requisition is made by six or more owners or occupiers of premises in or upon any street or part of a street within the area of supply or by the Government or a local authority charged with the public lighting thereof, requiring the licensee to provide distributing mains throughout such street or part thereof, the licensee shall comply within six months with the requisition, less,-(a)where it is made by such owners or occupiers as aforesaid, the owners occupiers making it do not, within fourteen clear days after the service on them by the licensee of a notice in writing in this behalf, tender to the licensee a written contract duly executed and with sufficient security binding themselves to take, or guaranteeing that there shall be taken, a supply of energy for not less than two years to such amount as w ill in the aggregate produce annually, at the current rates charged by the licensee, a reasonable return to the licensee; or(b)where it is made by the Government or a local authority, the Government or local authority, as the case may be, does not, within the like period, tender a like contract binding itself to take a supply of energy, for not less then seven years for the public lamps in such street or part thereof;(2)Where any difference or dispute arises between the licensee and such owners or occupiers as the sufficiency of the security offered under this clause, or as to the amount of energy to be taken or guaranteed as aforesaid, the matter shall be referred to the Government and either decided by it or, if it so directs, determined By arbitration.(3)Every requisition under this clause shall be signed by the maker or makers thereof and shall be served on the licensee.(4)Every requisition under this clause shall be in a form to be prescribed by rules under the Jammu and Kashmir Electricity Act; and copies of the form shall be kept at the office of the licensee and supplied free of charge to any applicant.VI. Requisition for supply to owners or occupiers. - (1) Where after distributing main have been laid down under the provisions of clause IV or clause V and the supply of energy through those mains or any of them has commenced, a requisition is made by the owner or occupier of any premises situate within the area of supply requiring the licensee to supply energy for such premises, the licensee shall, within one month from the the making of the requisition, or within such longer period as the Electric Inspector may allow, supply, and, save in so far as he is prevented from doing so by cyclones, floods, storms or other occurrents beyond his control continue to supply energy in accordance with the requisition :provided, first, that the licensee shall not be bound to comply with any such requisition unless and until the person making it,-(a)within fourteen days after the service on him by the licensee of a notice in writing in this behalf, tenders to the licensee a written contract, in a form approved by the Government, duly executed and with sufficient security, binding himself to take a supply of energy for not less than two years to such amount as will produce, at current rates charged by the licensee, a reasonable return to the licensee ; and(b)if required by the licensee so to do, pays to the licensee the cost of so much of any service line as may be laid down or placed for the purposes of the supply upon the property in respect of which the requisition is made, and of so much of any service-line as it may be necessary for the said purposes to lay down or place beyond one hundred feet from the licensee's distributing main, although not on that property :Provided, secondly, that the licensee shall be entitled to discontinue such supply,-(a)if the owner or occupier of the property to which the supply is made has not already given security, or if any security given by him has become invalid or insufficient, and such owner or occupier fails furnish security or to make up the original security to a sufficient amount, as the case may be, within seven days, after the service upon him of notice from the licensee requiring him so to do; or(b)if the owner or occupier of the property to which the supply is made adopts any appliance, or uses the energy supplied to him by the licensee for any purposes, or deals with it in any manner, so as unduly or improperly to interfere with the efficient supply of energy to any other person by the licensee; or(c)if the electric wires, fittings, works and apparatus in such property are not in good order and condition, and are consequently likely to effect injuriously the use of energy by the licensee, or by other person; or(d)if the owner or occupier makes any alterations of, additions to, any electric wires, fittings, works or apparatus within such property as aforesaid, and does not notify the same to the licensee before the same are connected to the source of supply, with a view to their being examined and tested, but the licensee shall reconnect the supply, with all reasonable speed on the cessation of the act or default or both, as the case may be, which entitled him to discontinue it:Provided, thirdly, that the maximum rate per unit of time at which the owner or occupier shall be entitled to be supplied with energy shall not exceed what is necessary for the maximum consumption on his premises, and where the owner or occupier has required a licensee to supply him at a specified maximum rate, he shall not be entitled to alter that maximum, except after one month's notice in writing to the licensee, and the licensee may recover from the owner or occupier any expenses incurred by him by reason of such alteration in respect of the service-lines by which energy is supplied to the property beyond one hundred feet from the licensee's distributing main, or in respect of any fittings or apparatus of the licensee upon that property; andProvided, fourthly, that if any requisition is made for a supply of energy and the licensee can prove, to the satisfaction of an Electric Inspector,-(a)that the nearest distributing main is already loaded up to its current carrying capacity ; or(b)that, in case of larger amount of current being transmitted by it the loss of pressure will seriously affect the efficiency of the supply to other consumers in the vicinity,the licensee may refuse to accede to the requisition for such reasonable period, not exceeding six months, as such Inspector may think sufficient for the purpose to amending the distributing main or laying down or placing a further distributing main.(2)Any service-line laid for the purpose of supply in pursuance of a requisition under sub-clause (1) shall, notwithstanding that a portion of it may have been paid for by the person making the requisition, be maintained by the licensee.(3)Where any difference or dispute arises as to the amount of energy to be taken or guaranteed as aforesaid, or as to the cost of any service-line or as to the sufficiency of the security offered by any owner or occupier, or as to the improper use of energy, or as to any alleged defect in any wires, fittings, works or apparatus, or as to the amount of the expenses incurred under the third proviso to sub-clause (1), the matter shall be referred to the Electric Inspector and decided by him.(4)Every requisition under this clause shall be signed by the maker or makers thereof and shall be served on the licensee.(5)Every requisition under this clause shall be in a form to be prescribed by rules under the Jammu and Kashmir Electricity Act; and copies of the form shall be kept at the office of the licensee and supplied free of charge to any applicant.VII. Further provisions as to laying service-line. - The licensee shall, before commencing to lay down or place a service-line in any street in which a distributing main has not already been laid down or placed, serve upon the local authority (if any) and upon the owner or occupier of all premises abutting on so much of the streets as lies between the points of origin and termination of the service-line so to be laid or placed, twenty-one day's notice stating that the licensee intends to lay down or place a service-line, and intimating that, if within the said period the local authority or any five or more of such owners or occupiers require, in accordance with the provisions of the licensee, that a supply shall be given for any public lamps or to the their premises, as the case may be, the necessary distributing main will be laid down or placed by the licensee at the same time as the service-line.VIII. Supply for public lamps. - (1) Where, after distributing mains have been laid down under the provisions of clause IV or clause and the supply of energy through those mains or any of them has commenced, a requisition is made by the Government or by local authority requiring the licensee to supply for a period of not less than seven years energy for any public lamps within the area of supply, the licensee shall supply, and, save in so far as he is prevented from doing so by cyclones, floods, storms or other occurrences beyond his control, continue to supply, energy for such lamps in such quantities as the Government or the local authority as the case may be may require.(2)The provisions of sub-clause (b) of the first proviso, of sub-clause (c) and (d) of the second proviso, and of the third and fourth provisos to sub-clause (1) and the provisions of sub-clause (2) and (3) of clause VI shall, so far as may be, apply to every case in which a requisition for the supply of energy is made under this clause as if the Government or local authority were an owner or occupier within the meaning of those provisions.ChargesIX. Methods of charging. - (1) where the licensee charges by any method approved by the Government in accordance with section 23, sub-section (3), clause (c) of the Jammu and Kashmir Electricity Act, any consumer who objects to that method may, by not less than one month's notice in writing, require the licensee to charge him at the licensee's option, either by the actual amount of energy supplied to him or by the electrical quantity contained in the supply, and thereafter the licensee shall not, except with the consent of the consumer, charge him by another method.(2)Before commencing to supply energy through any distributing main, the licensee shall give notice,;by public advertisement, of the method by which he proposes to charge for energy so supplied; and, where the licensee has given such notice, he shall not be entitled to change that method of charging without giving not less than one month's notice in writing of such charge to the Government, to the local authority (if any) concerned,and to every consumer of energy who is supplied by him from such distributing main.(3)If the consumer is provided with a meter in pursuance of the provisions of section 26, sub-section (1), of the Jammu and Kashmir Electricity Act, and the licensee changes the method of charging for the energy supplied by him from the distributing main, the licensee shall bear the expense of providing a new method or such other apparatus as may be necessary by reason of new method of charging.X. Minimum charges. - A licensee may charge a consumer a minimum charge for energy of such amount and determined in such manner as may be specified by his licence, and such minimum charge shall be payable notwithstanding that no energy has been used by the consumer during the period of which such minimum charge is made.XI. Charge for supply for public lamps. - The price to be charged by the licensee and so to be paid to him for energy supplied for the public lamps, and the mode in which those charges are to be ascertained, shall be settled by agreement between the licensee and the Government or the local authority, as the case may be, and, where any difference or dispute arises, the matter shall be determined by arbitration.Testing and InspectionXII. Licensee to establish testing stations and keep instruments for testing. - The licensee shall establish at his own cost and keep in proper conditions such number of testing stations, situated at such places within reasonable distance from any distributing main, as the Government may direct for the purpose of testing the pressure or periodicity of the supply of energy in the distributing main, and shall supply, and keep in proper condition there at, and at all premises from which he supplies energy, such instruments for testing as an Electric Inspector may approve and shall supply energy to testing station for the purpose of testing.XIII. Facilities for testing. - The licensee shall afford facilities for inspection and testing of his works and for the reading, testing and inspection of his instruments, and may, on each occasion of the testing of his works or the reading, testing or inspey instruments, be represented by an agent, who may be present, but shall not interfere with the reading, testing or inspection.XIV. Testing of works. - On the occasion of the testing of any works of the licensee by an Electric Inspector reasonable notice thereof shall be given to the licensee; and the testing shall be carried out at such suitable hours, as, in the opinion of the Electric Inspector, will least interfere with the supply or energy by the licensee,and in such manner as the Electric Inspector may think fit; but, except under the provisions of an order made in each case in that behalf by the Government, the Electric Inspector shall not be entitled to and access to, or interfere with, the works of the licensee at any points other than those at which the licensee himself has access to the same:Provided that the licensee shall not be held responsible for any interruption or irregularity in the supply of energy which may be occasioned by, or required by the Electric Inspector for the purpose of any such testing as aforesaid :Provided, also that the test in shall not be made in regard to any particular portion of works oftener than once in any three months, unless in pursuance of an order made in each case in that behalf by the Government.PlansXV. Plan of areas of supply to be made and kept open for inspection. - (1) The licensee shall, after commencing to supply energy, forthwith cause a plan to made of the area of supply, and shall cause to be marked thereon the alignment and in the case of underground works, the approximate depth below the surface of all his then existing electric supply lines, street distributing boxes and other works, and shall one in every year cause that plan to be duly corrected so as show the electric supply lines, street distributing boxes and other works for the time being in position.The licensee shall also, if so required by an Electric Inspector, cause to be made sections showing the approximate level of all his existing underground works other than service-lines.(2)Every such plan shall be drawn to such as the Government may require; provided that no scale shall be required unless maps of the locality on that scale are for the time being available to the public.(3)Every such section shall be drawn to horizontal and vertical scales which shall be such as the Government may require.(4)every plan and section so made or corrected, or a copy thereof, marked with the date when it was so made or corrected, shall be kept by the licensee at his principal office or place of business within the area of supply, and shall at all reasonable times be open to the inspection and conditions applicants, and copies thereof shall be supplied on such terms and conditions as may be prescribed by rules under the Jammu and Kashmir Electricity Act, 1997.(5)The licensee shall, if required by an electric Inspector supply free of charge to such Electric Inspector a Copy of every such plan or section duly corrected so as to agree with the original kept at the principal officer or place of business of the licensee.Additional Notice of certain worksXVI. Notice to Electric Inspector. - On the day next preceding the commencement of any such works as are referred to in section 12 of the Jammu and Kashmir electricity act, 1997, the licensee shall, in addition to any other notices which he may be required to give, serve upon the electric Inspector, or such officer as the Government may appoint in this behalf for the area of supply, a notice in writing stating that he is about to commence the works, and the nature and position of the same.
