Part 1Preliminary

Part 1—Preliminary 1—Short title This Act may be cited as the Electricity Act 1996. 3—Objects The objects of this Act are— (a) to promote efficiency and competition in the electricity supply industry; and (b) to promote the establishment and maintenance of a safe and efficient system of electricity generation, transmission, distribution and supply; and (c) to establish and enforce proper standards of safety, reliability and quality in the electricity supply industry; and (d) to establish and enforce proper safety and technical standards for electrical installations (including such standards relating to the design of electrical installations); and (e) to protect the interests of consumers of electricity. 4—Interpretation (1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears— annual electricity consumption level means a level of consumption of electricity determined in accordance with the regulations (and the regulations may, for that purpose, make provision for the estimation or agreement of the level in specified circumstances); authorised officer means a person appointed under Part 7 as an authorised officer; bush fire means a fire that originates in, or spreads through, forest, scrub, grass or other vegetation; bushfire risk area—see subsection (4); Commission means the Essential Services Commission established under the Essential Services Commission Act 2002; condition includes a limitation or restriction; contravention includes a failure to comply; council means a council within the meaning of the Local Government Act 1999 and includes the Outback Areas Community Development Trust; council officer means a person authorised by a council to exercise powers conferred on a council officer under this Act; customer means a person who has a supply of electricity available from a transmission or distribution network for consumption by that person and includes— (a) the occupier for the time being of a place to which electricity is supplied; and (b) where the context requires, a person seeking an electricity supply; and (c) a person of a class declared by regulation to be customers; disconnect electricity supply includes a procedure to interrupt or discontinue the electricity supply to a customer; electrical equipment means any electrical appliance or wires, fittings, equipment or accessories beyond an electrical outlet at which fixed wiring terminates; electrical installation means a set of wires and associated fittings, equipment and accessories installed in a place for the conveyance, control, measurement or use of electricity that is, or is to be, or has been, supplied for consumption in the place, including anything declared by regulation to be or form part of an electrical installation, but does not include— (a) electricity infrastructure owned or operated by an electricity entity; or (b) any wires, fittings, equipment or accessories connected to and beyond any electrical outlet at which fixed wiring terminates (other than any such outlet used to connect sections of fixed wiring); or (c) anything declared by regulation not to be or form part of an electrical installation; electricity entity means a person licensed under Part 3 to carry on operations in the electricity supply industry and includes (where the context requires) a person who has been licensed to carry on operations in the electricity supply industry under that Part whose licence has been suspended or cancelled or has expired; electricity infrastructure means— (a) electricity generating plant; and (b) powerlines; and (c) substations for converting, transforming or controlling electricity; and (d) equipment for metering, monitoring or controlling electricity; and (e) any wires, equipment or other things (including tunnels and cavities) used for, or in connection with, the generation, transmission, distribution or supply of electricity; and (f) anything declared by regulation to form part of electricity infrastructure, but does not include anything declared by regulation not to form part of electricity infrastructure; electricity officer means a person appointed under Part 4 as an electricity officer; electricity supply industry means the industry involved in the generation, transmission, distribution, supply or sale of electricity or other operations of a kind prescribed by regulation; employing authority means the person designated by proclamation as being the employing authority for the purposes of this definition; generation of electricity means the operation of any kind of electricity generating plant and all incidental and related operations, but does not include anything declared by regulation not to be generation of electricity; install includes place; internal switching manual means an internal manual relating to switching that— (a) the holder of a licence authorising the generation of electricity; or (b) the holder of a licence authorising the operation of a transmission or distribution network; or (c) the holder of a licence authorising system control over a power system; or (d) a person exempted from the requirement to hold a licence of a kind referred to in paragraphs (a) to (c), is required (under the conditions of the licence or exemption) to prepare and maintain in accordance with the regulations for the purposes of safety in connection with switching relevant to the operations of the licence holder or person; land includes— (a) an estate or interest in land (including an easement); or (b) a right or power over or in respect of land; National Electricity Rules means the National Electricity Rules as defined in the National Electricity (South Australia) Law; National Electricity (South Australia) Law—see the Schedule of the National Electricity (South Australia) Act 1996; National Energy Retail Rules means the National Energy Retail Rules as defined in the National Energy Retail Law (South Australia); naturally occurring vegetation means vegetation that has not been planted or nurtured by any person; NERL retailer means— (a) a person who is the holder of a retailer authorisation under the National Energy Retail Law (South Australia); or (b) an exempt seller within the meaning of the National Energy Retail Law (South Australia); network services means— (a) the transmission and distribution of electricity between electricity entities and from electricity entities to customers (including connection to a transmission or distribution network); and (b) controlling and regulating the quality of electricity; non‑bushfire risk area means a part of the State not within the bushfire risk area; nurture, in relation to vegetation, means actively assist the growth of the vegetation; occupier of land or a place means a person who has or is entitled to possession or control of the land or place; operations includes activities; powerline means— (a) a set of cables for the transmission or distribution of electricity and their supporting or protective structures, conduits and equipment; and (b) associated equipment for the transmission or distribution of electricity, but does not include a telecommunications cable or associated equipment; power system means a system for the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity or a part of such a system; principles of vegetation clearance means the regulations dealing with the clearance of vegetation from, or the planting or nurturing of vegetation near, public and private powerlines; private land means— (a) land alienated or contracted to be alienated from the Crown in fee simple; or (b) land occupied under a lease or licence from the Crown; or (c) land dedicated to a particular purpose and placed under the care, control and management of any person (whether or not that person is a Minister, agency or instrumentality of the Crown), except any such land vested in, or under the care, control or management of, a council and dedicated to, or held for, a public purpose; private powerline means a powerline— (a) designed to convey electricity at a prescribed voltage or less; and (b) situated on, above or under private land for the purpose only of supplying electricity to some point on that land; public powerline means any powerline except a private powerline; regulated entity means— (a) an electricity entity; or (b) a NERL retailer; retailing of electricity means the sale of electricity to customers, but does not include an activity declared by regulation not to be retailing of electricity; small customer means a customer with an annual electricity consumption level less than the number of MW.h per year specified by regulation for that purpose, or any customer classified by regulation as a small customer; supply of electricity means the delivery of electricity to a customer; system controller means a person licensed under Part 3 to exercise system control over a power system; Technical Regulator means the person holding the office of Technical Regulator under Part 2; telecommunications means the transmission of telephonic, radio, computer, television or other signals; transmission or distribution network means the whole or a part of a system for the transmission or distribution of electricity, but does not include anything declared by regulation not to be a transmission or distribution network or part of a transmission or distribution network; Tribunal means the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal established under the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2013; vegetation clearance scheme means a vegetation clearance scheme agreed or determined under Part 5. (2) A reference in this Act to a powerline, a network, infrastructure or other property of an entity includes a reference to a powerline, a network, infrastructure or other property that is not owned by the entity but is operated by the entity. (3) A proclamation made for the purposes of the definition of employing authority— (a) may apply by reference to a specified person, or by reference to the person for the time being holding or acting in a specified office or position; and (b) may, from time to time as the Governor thinks fit, be varied or substituted by a new proclamation. (4) For the purposes of this Act, the regulations may designate an area of the State to be the bushfire risk area. 5—Crown bound (1) This Act binds the Crown. (2) Nothing in this Act renders the Crown in any of its capacities liable to be prosecuted for an offence. (3) For the purposes of this section, a reference to the Crown extends— (a) not only to the Crown in right of this State but also (so far as the legislative power of the State permits) to the Crown in any other capacity; and (b) to an instrumentality of the Crown, and to an officer or employee of the Crown and any contractor or other person who carries out functions on behalf of the Crown. 6—Other statutory requirements not affected This Act is in addition to and does not derogate from the provisions of the National Electricity (South Australia) Act 1996, the Environment Protection Act 1993 or any other Act.