Electricity (Supply) Act, 1927

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Control of authorised undertaking by the Board.

40.—(1) The Board may by order take control at any time of the undertaking of an authorised undertaker.

(2) The following provisions shall apply to every order (in this Act called a control order) by which the Board takes control of an undertaking under this section or under any other section of this Act, that is to say:—

(a) the Board may in the control order state the date (not being prior to nor more than three months subsequent to the date of the control order) on and from which it thereby takes control of the undertaking, and if no such date is so stated the Board shall be deemed to take such control on and from the date of the order,

(b) the Board may in the control order state the period for which it thereby takes control of the undertaking, but such period shall not be less than the minimum period (if any) applicable under this Act nor more in any case than five years,

(c) if no such period is stated in the control order the Board shall be deemed thereby to take control of the undertaking for the period of five years or until the Board sooner relinquishes such control, and in such case the Board may by order at any time, but where such minimum period as aforesaid is applicable, not before the expiration of such minimum period, relinquish such control.

(3) Whenever the Board takes control under this Act of the undertaking of an authorised undertaker the following provisions shall apply, that is to say:—

(a) so long as such control continues the Board shall maintain, work, and manage the undertaking and shall for that purpose have full possession, control, use, and occupation of all the property and assets of the authorised undertaker and the right to use the name of the authorised undertaker,

(b) upon the commencement of the control all persons in the employment of the authorised undertaker and employed by him in relation to the undertaking shall become servants of the Board upon the same terms as they were, immediately before such commencement, employed by the authorised undertaker and with the same (if any) rights against the Board to pension and superannuation allowance as they had against the authorised undertaker immediately before such commencement and for the purpose of such pension and superannuation allowance the period of service of any such person with the authorised undertaker before such commencement and his period of service under the Board during the control shall be reckoned as continuous service under the Board: provided that no such person shall during the control be transferred from the undertaking without his consent,

(c) the Board may during the control employ such and so many persons (whether previously employed or not employed by the authorised undertaker) in relation to the undertaking as it thinks fit,

(d) the Board shall have all the benefits and perform all the obligations of the authorised undertaker under any contract subsisting immediately before the commencement of the control but so far only as such contract is to be performed during the control, and the Board shall during the control be entitled to sue and be liable to be sued in relation to any such contract in the name of the authorised undertaker,

(e) all profits earned by the undertaking during the control shall, at the discretion of Board, either be paid into a reserve fund or a renewals fund or other like fund belonging to or for the benefit of the undertaking or be paid to the authorised undertaker and applied by him according to law as profits earned by him from the undertaking,

(f) all losses incurred by the undertaking during the control shall be paid by the Board but may if the Board so thinks fit be recouped to the Board out of the reserve or other funds (if any) of the authorised undertaker to an amount not exceeding in respect of any year the amount of the average annual losses (if any) incurred by the undertaking during the period of five years immediately preceding the date of the commencement of the period of control,

(g) the authorised undertaker may at any time during the control require the Board to acquire the undertaking and the Board upon being so required shall forthwith acquire the undertaking,

(h) at the expiration by effluxion of time of the period of control the Board shall do by order one or other as the Board thinks fit of the following things, that is to say, either acquire the undertaking or relinquish control of the undertaking.

(4) When the Board relinquishes control of an undertaking the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:—

(a) the rights of the Board under the control order in respect of the undertaking and the property and assets of the authorised undertaker and of his name shall cease,

(b) all property and assets acquired by the Board during the control out of money derived from the undertaking and held by the Board at the expiration of the control shall become the property of the authorised undertaker,

(c) all persons who are at the expiration of the control employed by the Board in relation to the undertaking shall become servants of the authorised undertaker upon the same terms as they were, immediately before such expiration, employed by the Board and with the same (if any) rights against the authorised undertaker to pension and superannuation allowance as they had against the Board immediately before such expiration, and for the purpose of such pension and superannuation allowance the period of service of any such person under the Board shall be reckoned as service with the authorised undertaker,

(d) the authorised undertaker may, not later than one month after the relinquishment by the Board of the control of the undertaking of such authorised undertaker, give to any person (not being a person who was at the date of the commencement of the control employed by such authorised undertaker) who is at the expiration of the control employed by the Board in relation to such undertaking and becomes a servant of such authorised undertaker notice in writing of the termination of his employment as a servant of such authorised undertaker notice in writing of the termination of his employment as a servant of such authorised undertaker and every such notice shall be expressed and operate to terminate the employment as such servant of such person at the expiration of one month from the date thereof or, in the case of a person whose contract of service with the Board provided for the termination of such service upon notice of a less period than one month, at the expiration of such less period.