Electricity Supplies (Country Areas) Act 1950 (SA)

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

ELECTRICITY SUPPLIES (COUNTRY AREAS) ACT, 1950 ELECTRICITY SUPPLIES (COUNTRY AREAS) ACT, 1950

being

Electricity Supplies (Country Areas) Act, 1950, No. 13 of 1950
[Assented to 26 October 1950]

An Act to make provision for further supplies of electricity to the sparsely settled areas of South Australia, to appropriate certain money out of the General Revenue of the State for such supplies, and for purposes incidental thereto.

BE IT ENACTED by the Governor of the State of South Australia, with the advice and consent of the Parliament thereof, as follows:

Short title

1. This Act may be cited as the Electricity Supplies (Country Areas) Act, 1950.

Interpretation

2. In this Act "the Electricity Trust" means the Electricity Trust of South Australia established under the Electricity Trust of South Australia Act, 1946-1949.

Power of Treasurer to make grants

3. (1) The Treasurer may from time to time make grants to the Electricity Trust for the purposes mentioned in this section.

(2) Every such grant—

(a)	shall be made upon terms and conditions agreed upon between the Treasurer and the Electricity Trust:
(b)	shall be used by the Electricity Trust to defray expenditure incurred by the Trust in generating electricity for supply to consumers in sparsely settled areas, and in transmitting and distributing electricity to such consumers.

Appropriation of one million pounds

4. (1) For the purpose of making grants under section 3 of this Act there may be issued and applied out of the general revenue of the State any moneys not exceeding in the aggregate one million pounds.

(2) This Act without further appropriation shall be sufficient authority for such issue and application of money and for making grants under section 3 of this Act.

Report on schemes under section 3

5. Every annual report prepared by the Electricity Trust under section 25 of the Electricity Trust of South Australia Act, 1946-1949, shall include a report on schemes approved and money expended under section 3 of this Act.

Subsidies to municipal and district councils

6. (1) A municipal or district council or any two or more of such councils jointly may submit to the Minister of Local Government (in this section called "the Minister") a scheme proposing that the council or councils shall establish, purchase, enlarge, extend or improve any electricity undertaking carried on or intended to be carried on by it or them, or shall do any two or more of those things.

(2) Any such scheme shall set out particulars of the work to be done and the transactions to be entered into, the estimated capital cost of the scheme, and the amount of money to be borrowed by the council submitting the scheme, or in the case of a joint scheme, by each council which is a party to the scheme.

(3) The Minister may refer any such scheme to the Electricity Trust for investigation and report and the Electricity Trust shall investigate and report to the Minister on every scheme so referred to it.

(4) Upon receipt of the report of the Electricity Trust the Minister may at his discretion—

(a)	approve or disapprove of the scheme;
(b)	request the council or councils which submitted the scheme to amend it or to include further particulars therein;
(c)	approve or disapprove of any scheme as so amended or added to.

(5) If the Minister approves of a scheme—

(a)	the council or, in the case of a joint scheme, each council which is a party thereto, may borrow the amount of money which, according to the terms of the scheme, is to be borrowed by that council;
(b)	the Treasurer may make a grant to the council of half of the actual capital expenditure by the council on the scheme, but not exceeding half of the estimated capital cost of the scheme as approved.

(6) Any such grant may be made in instalments as payments become due from time to time by the council.

(7) In this Act, "district council" includes the Renmark Irrigation Trust.

Amendment of approved schemes

7. (1) If the amount of money which, according to the terms of an approved scheme, is to be borrowed by any council or councils is insufficient to pay half of the cost of executing the scheme or if, for any other reason, the Minister deems it desirable to amend the scheme, he may, on the application of the council or councils concerned and on the advice of the Electricity Trust, approve of amendments of the scheme so as to provide for all or any of the following things:—

(a)	the borrowing of additional money:
(b)	any alteration or modification of, or addition to the work to be done or the transactions to be entered into under the scheme:
(c)	any alteration of the estimated capital cost of the scheme.

(2) Any such amended scheme may be carried into operation under section 6 of this Act in lieu of the scheme as originally approved.

Financial provision for schemes

8. (1) This Act without any further consents or authority shall be sufficient authority for a council to borrow money under section 6 or 7 of this Act and for the Treasurer to make grants for any scheme approved under either of those sections.

(2) Any money required by the Treasurer to make grants under section 6 or 7 of this Act shall be issued and applied out of the general revenue of the State.

Subsequent purchase of undertaking

9. When the Treasurer has made a grant under section 6 or 7 of this Act and the Electricity Trust subsequently seeks to obtain a loan from the Treasurer for the purchase of the electricity undertaking in respect of which the grant was made, or seeks to obtain the Treasurer’s consent to a loan for that purpose, the Treasurer, in determining the amount of any loan to be so made or consented to by him, may take into account the amount of the said grant.