Electricity (Supply) Act, 1927

Permits to supply electricity to the public.

37.—(1) The Board may subject to the provisions of this section grant to any person (notwithstanding any enactment prohibiting such person from generating electricity for distribution and supply to the public or from distributing and supplying electricity to the public) a permit to generate, distribute, and supply or to distribute and supply either to the public generally or to particular classes or members of the public electricity either for all purposes or for one or more specified purposes in a specified area subject to such of the provisions of this Act and such other conditions as may be specified in the permit.

(2) There shall be paid to the Board in respect of the granting of every permit granted under this section by the person to whom such permit is granted such fee as shall be fixed in that behalf by the regulations made by the Board under this Act and the payment of such fee shall be a condition precedent to the granting of such permit.

(3) The Board shall not grant a permit under this section to any person to supply electricity to any person in an area of supply to whom an authorised undertaker is able and willing to supply electricity.

(4) The Board shall not until the Oireachtas otherwise determines refuse to grant to any person who was on the 31st day of March, 1927, supplying electricity to the public in any area otherwise than as an authorised undertaker a permit under this section to continue supplying electricity to the public in that area if no alternative supply of electricity is available for that area and the Board is satisfied that such person as aforesaid is willing to comply with such of the provisions of this Act and such other conditions as apply or may be applied under this Act to authorised undertakers as the Board may propose to specify in the permit, and the Board shall not revoke a permit granted under this section to any such person as aforesaid so long as no alternative supply of electricity is available for the area to which such permit relates and the person to whom the permit is granted continues, to the satisfaction of the Board, to comply with such of the provisions of this Act and the conditions so specified in the permit.

(5) A permit granted under this section shall operate to empower the person to whom it is granted to generate, distribute, and supply or distribute and supply (as the case may be) electricity in accordance with the terms thereof and may also if so expressed operate to confer on such person the exclusive right to supply electricity either for all purposes or for one or more specified purposes in the area specified in the permit.

(6) A permit granted under this section may be expressed and if so expressed shall operate to confer and impose on the person to whom it is granted all or any of the powers, functions, obligations and duties conferred or imposed on an authorised undertaker by this Act and regulations made thereunder and to confer on the Board the like powers in relation to such person and his undertaking as are conferred on it by this Act or the regulations made thereunder in relation to an authorised undertaker or his undertaking, and for the purpose of the application of this Act and such regulations to a permit so expressed and to the person to whom such permit is granted the expression “authorised undertaker” in this Act and such regulations shall include such person and references to the undertaking of an authorised undertaker shall include the undertaking of a permitted undertaker.

(7) A permit granted under this section may be modified or revoked by the Board as and when it thinks fit.

(8) A permit granted under this section shall, subject to all (if any) modifications made therein by the Board, continue in force during the period specified in that behalf in the permit or, if no such period is so specified, until the permit is revoked by the Board.