PART I | Short title and commencement |
| 1. This Act may be cited as the Public Utilities Act 1995 and shall come into operation on such date as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint. |
2.—(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —| “apparatus” means any water, electrical or gas apparatus, equipment or accessory and includes all apparatus, machines, consuming devices and fittings in which pipes or conductors are used or of which they form a part; |
| “appointed day” means the date of commencement of this Act; |
| “authorised officer” means an officer of the Board or of a public licensee authorised by the Board for the purposes of this Act; |
| “Board” means the Public Utilities Board established under the Public Utilities Act [Cap. 261] in force before the appointed day and continued by section 3; |
| “cable detection work” means any work of detecting or locating any electricity cable; |
| “cable detection worker” means any person whose trade or occupation requires or includes the personal performance by him of cable detection work; |
| “cable detection work licence” means a licence granted under section 96; |
| “Chairman” means the Chairman of the Board and includes any temporary Chairman of the Board; |
| “Chief Executive” means the Chief Executive of the Board and includes any temporary Chief Executive of the Board; |
| “conductor” means an electrical conductor arranged to be electrically connected to an electrical system; |
| “consumer” means a person who is supplied with water, electricity or gas or whose premises are for the time being connected for the purpose of a supply of water, electricity or gas with any system of supply; |
| “debenture” includes debenture stock; |
| “Deputy Chairman” means the Deputy Chairman of the Board and includes any temporary Deputy Chairman of the Board; |
| “earth works” includes any act of excavation, levelling, piling, dredging, boring or tunnelling on or under any premises or street by any mechanical means; |
“electric line” means any line which is used for carrying electricity for any purpose and includes, unless the context otherwise requires —| (a) | any support for the line, that is to say, any structure, pole or other thing in, on, by or from which the line is or may be supported, carried or suspended; | | (b) | any apparatus connected to the line for the purposes of carrying electricity; | | (c) | any wire, cable, tube, pipe or other similar thing (including its casing or coating) which surrounds or supports, or is surrounded or supported by, or is installed in close proximity to, or is supported, carried or suspended in association with, the line; and | | (d) | any electricity cable; |
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“electrical installation” means any appliance, wire, fitting or other apparatus placed in, on, over or under any premises and used for or for purposes incidental to the conveyance, control or use of electricity supplied or intended to be supplied by the Board, a public electricity licensee or any other person, whether the appliance, wire, fitting or apparatus is or is not supplied by the person contracting or undertaking to instal the same, and includes a supply installation and any addition, alteration, and repair to an electrical installation, but does not include —| (a) | any electric line, supply line or electrical plant of the Board or a public electricity licensee; | | (b) | any appliance, wire, fitting or apparatus connected to and beyond any electrical outlet socket which is installed for the purpose of connecting portable electrical appliances, fittings or apparatus and at which fixed wiring terminates; and | | (c) | any appliance, wire, fitting or apparatus which is placed in, on, over or under any premises owned or occupied by the Board or a public electricity licensee which is not used for the consumption of electricity on the premises or solely for the purposes incidental to the conveyance or control of electricity so consumed; |
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| “electrical or supply installation licence” means a licence granted under section 83; |
| “electrical plant” means any plant, equipment, apparatus or appliance used for, or for purposes connected with, the supply of electricity; |
| “electrical system” means an electrical system in which all the conductors and apparatus are electrically or magnetically connected; |
| “electrical worker” means a person who is licensed as such under the Electrical Workers and Contractors Licensing Act [Cap. 89]; |
| “electricity” means electrical power when generated, transmitted, supplied or used for any purpose except the transmission of any communication or signal; |
| “electricity cable” means a length of insulated single conductor or of 2 or more such conductors, whether or not the conductor or conductors are provided with an overall covering for mechanical protection, and all other apparatus or devices connected thereto; |
| “gas” means any substance in a gaseous state supplied through pipes and used for cooking or heating purposes, but does not include gas supplied to a public gas licensee and liquefied petroleum gas; |
| “gas fitting” includes any pipe, fitting, conveyance, valve, regulator or any other device used or to be used for the control and use of gas; |
| “gas installation” means an arrangement of gas fittings for the utilisation of gas; |
| “gas main” means any pipe vested in and belonging to and under the control of a public gas licensee and used for the conveyance of gas but does not include a gas service pipe; |
| “gas plant” means any valve, regulator, plant, pipe, equipment, apparatus or appliance used for, or for purposes connected with, the production, transmission or supply of gas; |
| “gas service pipe” means the pipe between the gas main of a public gas licensee and a primary meter control for the use of gas on the premises of a consumer; |
| “gas service work” means any work performed or carried out on any gas installation and includes the designing, installation, construction, erection, repair, addition, alteration or maintenance of any gas installation or any part thereof; |
| “gas service worker” means any person whose trade or occupation requires or includes the personal performance by him of gas service work; |
| “gas service worker licence” means a licence granted under section 100; |
| “gas supply system” means the gas mains, risers, gas service pipes, gas fittings and other related equipment for the purpose of supplying gas to consumers; |
| “gas tightness” means the freedom from leak when a gas supply system or gas installation or gas fitting is tested at the appropriate test pressure; |
| “generate”, in relation to electricity, means to generate electricity for the purpose of giving a supply to any premises or enabling a supply to be so given; |
| “generating station” means any plant or building used for, or for purposes connected with, the generation of electricity; |
| “grievous hurt” or “hurt” have the same meanings as in the Penal Code [Cap. 224]; |
| “hotwork” means any work involving the use of a local source of ignition and includes welding, gas-cutting, grinding, chipping and any process, capable of generating heat, sparks or both, which may be capable of igniting flammable vapour or any other combustible material; |
| “installation”, except for the purposes of Part VIII, includes any plant or apparatus designed for the collection, generation, production, transmission, supply or use of water, electricity or gas; |
“licensed” —| (a) | in relation to a cable detection worker, means a person who holds a valid cable detection work licence permitting him to perform such cable detection work as is specified in the licence; | | (b) | in relation to a gas service worker, means a person who holds a valid gas service worker licence permitting him to perform such gas service work as is specified in the licence; | | (c) | in relation to a water service worker, means a person who holds a valid water service worker licence permitting him to perform such water service work as is specified in the licence; |
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“main” —| (a) | in relation to water or gas, means a pipe through which water or gas is or can be supplied, whether the pipe is in use or not; | | (b) | in relation to electricity, means a supply line through which electricity is or can be supplied, whether the line is in use or not; |
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| “member” means a member of the Board; |
| “modifications” includes additions, alterations and omissions, and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly; |
| “occupier” means the person in occupation of any premises and includes the person having the charge, management or control of the premises either on his own account or as agent of another person, but does not include a lodger; |
| “premises” includes buildings, structures, streets, lands, waters, tenements, easements of any tenure, whether State land or not, whether open or enclosed, whether built on or not, whether public or private, and whether maintained or not under statutory authority; |
| “private safety” means the obviation of danger to individuals or to private property; |
| “produce”, in relation to gas, means to produce gas for the purpose of giving a supply to any premises or enabling a supply to be so given; |
| “public electricity licensee” means a person who is authorised by a public licence to carry out all or any of the functions of generating, transmitting or supplying electricity; |
| “public electricity supplier” means a person who is authorised by a public licence to supply electricity to the public and is designated by the Board under section 40; |
| “public gas licensee” means a person who is authorised by a public licence to carry out the function of producing, transmitting and supplying gas; |
| “public licence” means a licence granted under section 38 and “public licensee” shall be construed accordingly; |
| “public safety” means the obviation of danger to the general public, to public property and to roads, streets, railways, canals, docks, wharves, piers, bridges, gas works, water works and their appurtenances and telegraphic, telephonic and other electrical signalling lines; |
| “regulations” means regulations made under this Act; |
| “securities”, in relation to a company, includes shares, debentures, bonds and other securities of the company, whether or not constituting a charge on the assets of the company; |
| “service area” means the area within which the holder of an electrical or supply installation licence is authorised by the licence to supply electricity; |
| “shares”, in relation to a company, means shares in, or stock forming part of, the capital of the company; |
| “street” includes any road, highway, square, footway or passage, whether a thoroughfare or not, over which the public has a right of way, the way over any public bridge, and any road, footway or passage, open court or open alley, used or intended to be used as a means of access to 2 or more holdings, whether the public has a right of way thereover or not; and all channels, sewers, drains, tunnels, ditches and reserves at the side of any street shall be deemed to be part of the street; |
| “subsidiary” has the same meaning as in the Companies Act [Cap. 50]; |
| “successor company” means a company nominated by the Minister under section 61(1); |
“supply” —| (a) | in relation to electricity, means the supply of electricity through electric lines; | | (b) | in relation to gas, means the supply of gas through pipes; | | (c) | in relation to water, means the supply of water by the Board through pipes; |
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| “supply installation” means the whole of any plant or apparatus under one ownership or management, designed for the supply or use, or both the supply and use, as the case may be, of electricity (other than electricity supplied or used for the transmission of any communication or signal) including any machine supplying mechanical energy to a generator, with all necessary plant, buildings and land in connection therewith, pipelines, supply lines and consuming apparatus, if any, but does not include any electric line, supply line or electrical plant of the Board or a public licensee; |
| “supply line” means a conductor or other means of conveying, transmitting or distributing electricity, together with any casing, coating, covering, tube, pipe, insulator or post enclosing, surrounding or supporting the conductor or any part thereof, or any building or apparatus connected therewith for the purpose of transforming, conveying, transmitting or distributing electricity; |
“transmit” —| (a) | in relation to electricity, means transmit by means of a system which consists wholly or mainly of electric lines and electrical plants and is used for conveying electricity from an electrical plant to a substation, from one electrical plant to another or from one substation to another, or from a substation or electrical plant to the electrical installation serving the premises of a consumer or, where such premises is not served by an electrical installation, from a substation or electrical plant directly to such premises; | | (b) | in relation to gas, means transmit by means of a delivery system which consists wholly or mainly of pipes and gas plant and is used for conveying gas from a gas plant to a gas regulator station, from one gas plant to another or from one gas regulator station to another or from a gas plant or gas regulator station to a consumer; |
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| “undertaking”, in relation to the Board, means all lands, buildings, assets, powers, rights, interests, privileges, debts, liabilities and obligations and other property, movable or immovable, vested in or held by the Board immediately before the appointed day; |
“utilities support services” means the performing of all or any of the following activities in connection with the supply of water, electricity or gas —| (a) | the taking of any step to start or discontinue the supply of water, electricity or gas to the premises of consumers; | | (b) | the reading of the register of any water, electricity or gas meter; | | (c) | the issuing of bills to, and the collection of payment from, consumers for the supply of water, electricity, gas and any other goods or services provided to such consumers in connection therewith; and | | (d) | the provision of assistance or any other customer service to consumers in connection with the supply of water, electricity or gas to the premises of such consumers, but not including water service work, gas service work or work performed by an electrical worker, |
| whether or not such functions are performed for or on behalf of the Board, a public licensee or any other party; |
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| “utilities support services licensee” means a person who is authorised by a public licence to provide utilities support services; |
| “water installation” means any water-retaining structure, pumping station, pipe, water fitting, apparatus or appliance used for the supply of water; |
| “water service installation” means any installation within any premises including any pipe, water fitting, apparatus or appliance, connecting a meter to the premises and used for the supply of water thereto, but does not include any installation for the disposal of any waste, sullage water or sewage; |
| “water service work” means any work performed or carried out on any water service installation and includes the designing, installing, constructing, erecting or repairing thereof or the altering of the structure thereof or the replacing of any part thereof or the adding of any part thereto or the carrying out of any work thereon for the maintenance thereof; |
| “water service worker” means any person whose trade or occupation requires or includes the personal performance by him of water service work or a person who is otherwise competent or qualified personally to perform water service work; |
| “water service worker licence” means a licence granted under section 37(2). |
| (2) For the purposes of this Act, a company shall be regarded as wholly owned by the Government at any time when all the issued shares in the company are held by or on behalf of the Government. |
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