UK Offence Report

Electricity supply

article 20 of The Electricity Supply (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Order 1987

This offence was read from the text as made, and no revised version was available, so a later revocation could not be ruled out. Check the current text at legislation.gov.uk.

What the provision says

20 In Schedule 3 to the Electricity Supply Order— a in paragraph 8 (obligation to supply electricity)— i for sub-paragraph (2) there shall be substituted— 2 Sub-paragraph (1) shall not apply in relation to— a any premises to which a supply of electricity is given directly by a private generator through electric lines belonging to the Service; or b any main used only for the purpose of giving a separate supply of electricity for industrial purposes. ; ii after sub-paragraph (6) there shall be inserted— 7 If any person— a knowingly damages electric fittings belonging to the Service by exceeding the maximum consumption specified in a notice under subparagraph (4)(a) served by him upon the Service; or b knowingly damages any electric fittings belonging to the Service by permitting other electric fittings to become defective or to fail to comply with regulations made under Article 36; the amount of the damage caused to the Service shall be a debt recoverable summarily. ; b paragraph 15(3) (access to remove, inspect, and replace meters) shall cease to have effect; c in paragraph 22 (power to cut supply in case of default)— i in sub-paragraph (1)(a) the words “or electric fittings” shall cease to have effect; ii for sub-paragraph (1)(b) there shall be substituted— b in respect of the provision and laying of an electric line for the supply of electricity as mentioned in paragraph 8(3); or c under a contract made under paragraph 10(1); ; d in paragraph 23 (penalty for damaging or interfering with meters)— i after sub-paragraph (1) there shall be inserted— 1A If any person permits another person to commit an offence under sub-paragraph (1) he shall also be guilty of an offence under that sub-paragraph. ; ii for sub-paragraph (4) there shall be substituted— 4 The existence of any damage to any lines, meter or other fittings belonging to the Service under the custody or control of the occupier of the premises in which those fittings are installed shall, in any proceedings relating to an offence under sub-paragraph (1), be evidence that the damage, alteration or prevention, as the case may require, has been fraudulently and wilfully caused by the consumer using the meter. ; e after paragraph 24(2) (damage or interference with works) there shall be inserted— 2A If any person permits another person to commit an offence under sub-paragraph (1) or (2) he shall also be guilty of an offence under that sub-paragraph. ; f in paragraph 25 (penalty for fraudulently using the electricity of the Service)— i after sub-paragraph (1) there shall be inserted— 1A If any person permits another person to commit an offence under sub-paragraph (1) he shall also be guilty of an offence under that sub-paragraph. ; ii in sub-paragraph (2) at the end there shall be added “and the amount of any loss caused to the Service shall be a debt recoverable summarily”; g in paragraph 26 (reconnecting supply) after “reconnects” there shall be inserted “or permits the reconnection of.”; h after paragraph 26 there shall be inserted— Penalty for resale or supply of electricity to person disconnected 26A 1 If any person, without the consent of the Service, re-sells or supplies the electricity supplied to him by the Service to any person whose supply of electricity has been disconnected by the Service he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

Text as made, from legislation.gov.uk. © Crown copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.

Who it binds, and what has to be proved

Binds
a person
Conduct
acting without the licence or authorisation required
Fault element
Requires proof of a state of mind
Burden of proof
No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

The prosecution must prove both that the conduct happened and that it was done with the state of mind the provision names (fraudulently, knowingly, wilfully).

The provision states no defence, so the prosecution bears the burden on every element of the offence.

Classifier’s reasoning: mens rea word in the offence-creating words: knowingly, wilfully, fraudulently; qualified by absence of consent (an element).

What would breach article 20?

These are illustrations, not law. They are generated from the provision’s own words to show the shape of the offence. Whether any particular conduct is caught depends on the full text, on any amendment since, and on the facts.

  1. On these words it is an offence to apply in relation to— a any premises to which a supply of electricity is given directly by a private generator through electric lines belonging to the Service.
  2. Starting the activity before the licence is granted, rather than on the day it takes effect under the Electricity Supply (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Order 1987.
  3. Carrying on after a licence has expired, been surrendered or been suspended.
  4. Relying on somebody else's authorisation, where the provision requires the person doing the act to hold one.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Summary only — tried in a magistrates’ court
Maximum fine
£1,000
Standard scale
Level 3
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

in Northern Ireland a reference to a level is construed as referring to the standard scale as it currently stands (Fines and Penalties (NI) Order 1984 art.5(3)), not as it stood when the instrument was made.

Sentencing

Offences of this kind are usually sentenced under the guidelines below. This is a mapping by subject, not a finding about this provision, and the links go to a search of the Sentencing Council’s own site.

Prosecution figures

No published per-offence figure was found for this provision, and it could not be matched to a Ministry of Justice offence code. Offences created by statutory instrument very largely do not have one. Absence of a figure is not evidence that the offence is unused.

Status and lifecycle

Current status
Status not determined
Made
21 July 1987
In force from
22 September 1987
Extent
Not stated

How this was established: read from the text as made; no revised version available, so later revocation could not be ruled out.

What the instrument is for

(This note is not part of the Order) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

This Order makes miscellaneous amendments to the Electricity Supply (Northern Ireland) Order 1972. The main amendments are— a to rename the Northern Ireland Electricity Service as Northern Ireland Electricity; b to facilitate the generation of electricity by persons other than Northern Ireland Electricity; c to extend the functions and borrowing powers of Northern Ireland Electricity; d to require Northern Ireland Electricity to adopt and support schemes for use of heat produced from the generation of electricity; e to extend the purpose for which the Department of Economic Development may compulsorily acquire land; f to make new provision with respect to powers of entry; g to require notice of construction of private generating stations to be given to Northern Ireland Electricity; h to enable Northern Ireland Electricity to require a person to remedy any electric line made unsafe by his action; and i to increase the time within which prosecutions for certain offences can be brought.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

Other offences in the same instrument

How this was identified as an offence

Everything above rests on the judgement that this provision creates a criminal offence, rather than mentioning one. That judgement is made by rule, from the words of the provision, and this is the rule that made it — with a confidence of 0.96.

Basis
the provision says a person “commits an offence”; the provision says a person is “guilty of an offence”; the provision states liability on summary conviction; the provision states a penalty in older drafting
Confidence
0.96 of 1.00

A provision that states a penalty for an offence created elsewhere can read very like one that creates an offence, and the rules can mistake the one for the other. If the text quoted above sets a penalty for something made an offence by another provision, treat the classification on this page with that in mind, and read the instrument.

Check the source