Hydro-Electric Development (Scotland) Act 1943
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1943 c. 32 |
| Year | 1943 |
Hydro-Electric Development (Scotland) Act, 1943
(6 & 7 Geo. 6.) CHAPTER 32.
An Act to provide for the establishment of a Board for the development of supplies of electricity in the North of Scotland; to authorise the Board to generate and supply electricity and for purposes connected with the matters aforesaid.
[5th August 1943]
Be it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
Establishment and Powers of North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board.
1 Establishment of North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board.
(1) For the purposes of this Act there shall be established a public authority to be called the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board (in this Act referred to as ‘the Board’) consisting of persons appointed in accordance with the First Schedule to this Act.
(2) The provisions of the First Schedule to this Act shall have effect with respect to the constitution and proceedings of the Board.
2 General powers and duties of the Board.
(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Board shall be responsible for initiating and undertaking the development of all further means of generation of electricity by water power within the area defined in the Second Schedule to this Act (hereinafter referred to as ‘the North of Scotland District’) and it shall be the duty of the Board so far as practicable—
(a ) to provide supplies of electricity required to meet the demands of ordinary consumers in such parts of the North of Scotland District (including isolated areas) as are outside the areas of supply of other authorised undertakers;
(b ) to provide supplies of electricity required to meet the demands of authorised undertakers operating within the said District:
Provided that the Board shall not supply electricity directly to authorised undertakers within the area of supply of a power company, unless the power company consent or the Electricity Commissioners are satisfied that the Board can give a supply suitable to the needs of the authorised undertakers appreciably more economically than the power company;
(c ) to provide supplies of electricity suitable for the needs of large power users in the said District:
Provided that the Board shall not supply electricity directly to any large power user within the area of supply of other authorised undertakers, unless those authorised undertakers consent or the Electricity Commissioners are satisfied that the Board can give a supply suitable to the needs of the large power user appreciably more economically than the authorised undertakers; and
(d ) to supply electricity to the Central Electricity Board.
(2) It shall be the duty of the Board subject to the provisions of subsection (1) of section sixteen of this Act to give priority to the demands of the consumers and authorised undertakers mentioned in paragraphs (a ) and (b ) of the last foregoing subsection over all other demands for the electricity generated by them.
(3) The Board shall, so far as their powers and duties permit, collaborate in the carrying out of any measures for the economic development and social improvement of the North of Scotland District or any part thereof.
3 Powers of Board for discharge of their functions.
3. The Board may—
4 Development scheme.
(1) It shall be the duty of the Board as soon as may be after their appointment to prepare a general scheme for the exercise of their powers and duties (hereinafter referred to as the ‘development scheme’) showing, so far as practicable, the water power resources which the Board propose to examine with a view to their possible use for the purpose of generating electricity.
(2) The development scheme shall be submitted to the Electricity Commissioners for their approval, and if the scheme is so approved, the Board shall submit it to the Secretary of State for confirmation.
(3) If the scheme is not confirmed by the Secretary of State, it shall be the duty of the Board to prepare a fresh scheme in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this section.
(4) As soon as may be after the confirmation of the development scheme, the Board shall deposit a copy of the scheme, and keep it available for inspection, at the offices of the Board and at one or more convenient places within the locality to which the scheme relates, and shall publish in such form, and in such newspapers as the Secretary of State may require, a notice stating that the scheme has been so confirmed, and the offices and places at which copies of the scheme are so deposited for inspection.
5 Constructional schemes.
(1) With a view to—
(a ) the execution of works necessary for the generation of electricity from any of the water power resources specified in the development scheme, or of other works in any part of the North of Scotland District for the generation or transmission of electricity; or
(b ) the construction of main transmission lines outside the said District required for the supply of electricity to the Central Electricity Board; or
(c ) the provision for the officers and servants of the Board and for persons engaged in or in connection with the construction, maintenance or management of any works authorised by this Act of housing accommodation and any other buildings serving a beneficial purpose in relation to the requirements of such officers and servants or persons,
the Board shall from time to time prepare schemes (hereinafter referred to as ‘constructional schemes’) for any or all of those purposes.
(2) A constructional scheme shall contain particulars with regard to such matters, and shall be accompanied by such maps, drawings and plans as the Secretary of State may require.
(3) When the Board have prepared a constructional scheme, they shall submit it to the Electricity Commissioners for their approval, and if the scheme is so approved, the Board shall submit it to the Secretary of State for confirmation and shall publish in such form and in such newspapers as the Secretary of State may require a notice stating that the scheme has been prepared and has been so approved and submitted for confirmation and specifying the situation of any works proposed to be undertaken and of any land proposed to be acquired. The Board shall send copies of the said notice to the persons appearing from the valuation roll to be the owners and the occupiers of any land proposed to be acquired and shall also deposit a copy of the scheme and keep copies available for inspection and sale at the offices of the Board and at one or more convenient places, and the notice published as aforesaid shall state where the copies of the scheme are so deposited and shall also specify a period of forty days within which and the manner in which objection thereto may be made to the Secretary of State.
(4) If on the expiry of the time within which objection may be made to a constructional scheme the Secretary of State, on considering the scheme together with any objections made thereto and after holding such inquiry (if any) as he thinks fit, is of the opinion that it is in the public interest that the Board should be authorised to carry out the scheme, he may make an order confirming the scheme without amendment or with such amendments as the Board with the approval of the Electricity Commissioners may submit:
Provided that, where any person who has lodged objection to the scheme requests that an inquiry shall be held, the Secretary of State shall, unless he is of opinion that the objection is frivolous, cause an inquiry to be held before confirming the scheme.
(5) Every order made by the Secretary of State confirming a constructional scheme shall be laid before Parliament as soon as may be after it is made together with a copy of the scheme as confirmed, and if either House of Parliament within the next forty days after such an order as aforesaid is laid before it resolves that the order be annulled, the order shall thereupon be of no effect without prejudice, however, to the making of a new order.
In reckoning the said forty days, no account shall be taken of any time during which Parliament is dissolved or prorogued or during which both Houses are adjourned for more than four days.
(6) A constructional scheme shall become operative on the expiry of the period within which the order confirming the scheme might be annulled without its being so annulled; and the Board shall thereupon deposit copies of the scheme as...
To continue reading
Request your trial