4224
THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.
[No. 131

Where overhead electric lines cross telegraph lines the electric lines shall be protected for the crossing-span with a triple covering of jute braiding and thoroughly compounded. At telegraph crossings the electric wires shall be insulated as provided by clause 26, and shall cross over or under the telegraph wires as may be decided by the Minister of Telegraphs.

Efficient guard-wires, effectively earthed, shall be erected where electric wires intersect telegraph wires or cables if so required by the Minister of Telegraphs; such guard-wires shall be carried on substantial supports at a height of 2 ft. above the electric lines if the telegraph wires pass over the electric lines or 2 ft. above the telegraph wires if they pass under the electric lines.

Earth wires, where led down poles, shall be protected by a casing for a distance of 8 ft. from the ground.

The cost of all necessary guard-wires and special provisions required to comply with this clause or deemed to be necessary as a protection to telegraph or telephone wires generally shall be borne by the licensee, whether the telegraph lines are erected before or after the electric lines. In the latter case the licensee, on receipt of notice from the local officer of the Telegraph Department that it is proposed to run a telegraph line along the route, shall forthwith make the necessary changes required to comply with this clause at any point at which electric lines already cross such routes.

11. RAILWAY-CROSSINGS.

No work of any nature shall be erected or constructed upon, over, or under any part of the New Zealand Government railways until the licensee has obtained the consent of the Minister of Railways thereto, as required by section 4 of the Government Railways Amendment Act, 1910 (No. 2).

12. SERVICE CONNECTIONS TO OVERHEAD LINES.

Service lines from aerial lines shall be taken from insulators, and shall not be tapped off between insulators. They shall be led as directly as possible to insulators firmly attached to some portion of the consumer’s premises which is not accessible to any person without the use of a ladder or other special appliance. Every portion of any service line which is outside a building and is within 7 ft. from any part of the building shall be rubber-insulated.

13. MAINTENANCE.

Every aerial line, including its supports, its conductors, and their insulating covering, and all structural parts and electric appliances and devices belonging to or connected with the line, shall be duly and sufficiently maintained by the licensee as regards both electrical and mechanical conditions.

14. LIGHTNING-ARRESTERS.

Where any portion of an electric line or any support for an electric line is exposed in such a position as to be liable to injury from lightning, it shall be efficiently protected against such liability.

15. UNDERGROUND CONDUCTORS.

Underground conductors shall be thoroughly insulated, and shall be protected from mechanical damage by a wooden boxing or earthenware or stoneware conduit. They shall be laid, wherever possible, under the footpaths, and with a cover of at least 12 in. from the surface of the pavement. Where laid under the roadway this cover shall be increased to 2 ft.

All conduits, pipes, casings, and street boxes used as receptacles for electric lines shall be constructed of durable material and shall be of ample strength to prevent damage from heavy traffic, and reasonable means shall be taken to prevent the accumulation of gas in such receptacles.

Where any underground line crosses or is in proximity to any metallic substance special precaution shall be taken against the possibility of any electrical charging of the metallic substance from the line, or from any metallic conduit pipe or casing enclosing the line.

16. EARTHING CONDUITS.

All metal conduits, pipes, or casings containing an electric line shall be efficiently earthed, and shall be so jointed and connected across all street boxes and other openings as to make good electrical connection throughout their whole length.

17. STREET BOXES.

The covers of street boxes shall be so secured that they cannot be opened except by means of a special appliance. Street boxes shall be either filled solid with cable compound or, if not so filled, shall be inspected from time to time for the presence of gas, and suitable action shall be taken to check its influx and accumulation.

18. INSULATION OF ELECTRIC MAINS.

Every main, either overhead or underground, shall be tested for insulation after having been placed in position and before it is used for the purposes of supply, the testing pressure being at least 110 volts, and the licensee shall duly record the results of the tests of each main or section of a main, and forthwith forward a report thereof to the District Engineer of the Public Works Department at Gisborne.

The insulation of every complete circuit used for the supply of energy, including all machinery, apparatus, and devices forming part of or in connection with such circuit, shall be so maintained that the leakage current shall not under any conditions exceed one-thousandth part of the maximum supply current. Every leakage shall be remedied by the licensee without delay. Every such circuit shall be tested for insulation at least once in every week, and the licensee shall duly record the results of the tests and forward a report thereof at the end of each month to the District Engineer of the Public Works Department at Gisborne.

19. CONTINUITY OF SUPPLY.

From and after the time when the licensee commences to supply energy in pursuance of this license he shall maintain continuously sufficient power for the use of all the consumers for the time being entitled to be supplied, provided that for any purposes connected with the efficient working of the undertaking the Minister may give permission to the licensee to discontinue the supply at such intervals of time and for such periods as he may think expedient. When the supply is so discontinued public notice shall be given, when practicable, of such discontinuance and of the probable duration thereof.

20. SUPPLY TO CONSUMERS.

The owner or occupier of any premises within the area of supply included in the license shall be entitled to a supply of electrical energy on the following conditions:—

(a.) If within 60 ft. of an electric line belonging to the licensee the service shall be made free of cost.

(b.) If more than 60 ft. distant from any electric line belonging to the licensee, the licensee shall run the necessary service mains for a distance of 60 ft. free of charge, and the consumer shall pay the cost of the service wires for the balance of the distance, such payment not exceeding 1s. per foot of distance.

(c.) If the plant or mains of the licensee are insufficient to supply the applicant with electric energy the service may, with the consent of the Minister, be postponed for a period not exceeding twelve months. Otherwise service shall be made within fourteen days of application.

(d.) Every consumer within any part of the area included in the license shall be entitled to a supply of electrical energy on the same terms on which any other consumer in such part of the area is entitled under similar circumstances to a corresponding supply.

(e.) If the nature of the proposed consumption of energy by any applicant is such as is likely to seriously interfere with the maintenance of a constant pressure on the lines in accordance with clause 3, the licensee may, with the approval of the Minister, require the consumer to install such apparatus as shall enable the conditions of clause 3 to be complied with.

(f.) The licensee may require services to be wired or installed by competent tradesmen, but no preference shall be given to services wired or installed by any individual contractor or firm of contractors.

(g.) The charge for electrical energy shall not exceed the rate fixed from time to time by the Minister.

21. SERVICE CONNECTIONS.

The licensee shall be responsible for all electric lines or wires, fittings, and apparatus belonging to him or under his control which may be upon a consumer’s premises being maintained in a safe condition and in all respects fit for supplying energy.

In delivering the energy to a consumer’s terminals the licensee shall exercise all due precautions so as to avoid risk of causing fire on the premises.

A suitable safety-fuse or other automatic circuit-breaker shall be inserted in each service line within a consumer’s premises as close as possible to the point of entry, and contained within a suitable locked or sealed receptacle of fireproof construction.

All electric wires and apparatus on a consumer’s premises, except such parts as require to be earthed, shall be highly insulated and suitable for the voltage at which the supply is given. They shall be thoroughly protected against injury to the insulation or access of moisture. All electric wires shall be so fixed and protected as to prevent the possibility of electrical discharge to any adjacent metallic substance.