Gas Under takings Act 1929

1 Power of Board of Trade to make orders increasing authorised amount of share capital or of loans.

(1) Notwithstanding anything in any enactment (including this Act) imposing a limit on the amount of share capital which may be raised or of money which may be borrowed by undertakers, not being a local authority, for the purposes of their undertaking, the Board of Trade may, on the application of any such undertakers and subject to the provisions of this section, by order authorise the undertakers on such conditions as may be specified in the order for the purposes of their undertaking—

(a ) to raise, at any time during the period of three years after the date on which the order comes into operation, any such amount of share capital as may be specified in the order; and

(b ) to borrow on mortgage of their undertaking or by the creation and issue of debenture stock any amount not exceeding the aggregate amount of the paid up share capital of the undertaking for the time being and of any premiums paid in respect thereof.

(2) An order shall not be made under this section except with the consent of the local authority:

Provided that if, in the opinion of the Board of Trade, the consent of the local authority is unreasonably withheld, the Board may, in the case of applicants who have within the period of fifteen years preceding the date of the application obtained in relation to their undertaking either a special Act or a provisional order confirmed by an Act, make the order notwithstanding that such consent has not been given.

(3) An order under this section may contain such modifications of any enactment applying to the undertakers in respect of whom the order is made as, in the opinion of the Board, are necessary in order to give full effect to the order.

2 Authorised amount of loans.

2. Notwithstanding anything in any enactment, undertakers, not being a local authority, may borrow for the purposes of their undertaking on mortgage of their undertaking or by the creation and issue of debenture stock, any amount not exceeding one half of the aggregate amount of the paid up share capital for the time being of the undertaking and of any premiums paid in respect thereof.

3 Increase of authorised amount of reserved fund or of special purposes fund.

(1) Section thirty-one of the Gasworks Clauses Act, 1847 , (which provides for the formation of a reserved fund of a limited amount) and section thirty-three of that Act (which provides for the case where that fund amounts to the prescribed sum) shall, in the case of undertakers not being a local authority, have effect as if for the references therein to a sum equal to one-tenth of the nominal capital of the undertakers there were substituted references to a sum equal to one-tenth of the aggregate amount of the paid up share capital of the undertakers, of any premiums paid in respect thereof and of any outstanding loans raised by the undertakers on mortgage or by the creation and issue of debenture stock.

(2) Where any enactment applying to any such undertakers as aforesaid authorises the formation of a special purposes fund and limits the amount of that fund by reference to the paid up capital of the undertaking, the said enactment shall have effect as if for the reference to the paid up capital of the undertaking there were substituted a reference to the aggregate amount of the paid up share capital of the undertaking, of any premiums paid in respect thereof and of any outstanding loans raised by the undertakers on mortgage or by the creation and issue of debenture stock.

(3) Where at any time, by reason of any reduction in the amount of outstanding loans, the amount of a reserved fund formed by undertakers in pursuance of the said section thirty-one is in excess of the amount authorised by that section as amended by this section, the amount of the excess shall forthwith be carried by the undertakers to the credit of their net revenue account.

(4) Any special purposes fund formed by undertakers in pursuance of any enactment may be maintained at any amount to which it has lawfully been raised in pursuance of that enactment as amended by this section, notwithstanding any subsequent reduction in the amount of outstanding loans.

4 Extension of powers of purchase of residual products.

(1) Any undertakers may, notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any Act or Order relating to them, purchase in such quantities as they think fit from any company, body or person carrying on a gas undertaking (whether with or without statutory authority) or operating cocks ovens or carrying on any process of carbonisation or gasification of coal or coke any residuals arising from the manufacture of gas, or the carrying on of any such operation or process and products arising from a primary treatment of those...