2390
THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.
[No. 57

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.

14. 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 Council as regards both electrical and mechanical conditions.

15. 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.

16. 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.

17. 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.

18. 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.

19. 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 500 volts, and the Council shall duly record the results of the tests of each main or section of a main and forthwith forward a report thereof to the Resident Engineer of the Public Works Department at Invercargill.

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 Council without delay. Every such circuit shall be tested for insulation at least once in every week, and the Council shall duly record the results of the tests and forward a report thereof at the end of each month to the Resident Engineer of the Public Works Department at Invercargill.

20. CONTINUITY OF SUPPLY.

From and after the time when the Council commences to supply energy in pursuance of this license, it 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 Council 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.

21. 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 the building-line of any street in which an electric distribution-line belonging to the Council exists, the service shall be made free of cost.

(b.) If more than 60 ft. distant from such building-line, the Council 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 Council are insufficient to supply the applicant with electrical 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 4, the Council may, with the approval of the Minister, require the consumer to install such apparatus as shall enable the conditions of clause 4 to be complied with.

(f.) The Council 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.) If payment by the consumer is delayed more than thirty days after the date of rendering a correct account, the supply of electricity to such premises may be cut off without notice, and need not be restored until all arrears are paid.

22. SERVICE CONNECTIONS.

The Council shall be responsible for all electric lines or wires, fittings, and apparatus belonging to it or under its 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 Council 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.

23. INSTALLATION ON CONSUMER’S PREMISES.

The Council shall not connect the wires and fittings on a consumer’s premises with its mains, or in the case of premises already connected continue the supply from its mains, unless it is reasonably satisfied that the requirements of this license are complied with, that the wiring and fittings are suitable for the voltage at which supply is being given, that the installation generally is in accordance with the requirements of good practice, and that the connection or continuance of supply would not cause a leakage from those wires and fittings exceeding one ten-thousandth part of the maximum supply current to the premises.

For the purpose of satisfying itself that the requirements of this license are being observed in so far as they apply to wires on a consumer’s premises, the Council may require that notice be served upon it of the intention to install wires, fittings, lamps, motors, or other apparatus on any premises, and may inspect the same during any reasonable hours while the installation of such is in progress.

24. TESTING CONSUMER’S INSTALLATION.

If the Council is reasonably satisfied, after making all proper examination by testing or otherwise, that the wirings and fittings are not suitable for the voltage being employed, that a leakage exists at some part of a circuit of such extent as to be a source of danger, and that such leakage does not exist at any part of the circuit belonging to the Council, or that any other requirements of this license are not being complied with, then and in such case any officer of the Council duly authorized by it in writing may, for the purpose of discovering whether the leakage exists at any part of a circuit within or upon any consumer’s premises, or whether the wiring is suitable and the general requirements of the license are complied with, by notice require the consumer, at some reasonable time after the service of the notice, to permit him to inspect and to test the wires and fittings belonging to the consumer and forming part of the circuit.