Section 2: Interpretation

2. Interpretation In this Act— “authority” means— (a) for the city of Port Louis, except as otherwise provided, the Municipal City Council of Port Louis and the Board; (b) for the towns of Curepipe, Quatre Bornes, Beau Bassin-Rose Hill and Vacoas-Phoenix, except as otherwise provided, the Municipal Town Councils of those towns; E3 – 1 [Issue 9] Electricity Act (c) elsewhere, and with regard to buildings, lands or other property belonging to Government, whether situated within the limits of Port Louis or of those towns, the Board; “Board” means the Central Electricity Board constituted under the Central Electricity Board Act; “building”— (a) means any building; and (b) includes the site thereof and any site intended to be used for building; “connection agreement” means an agreement between a person and the Board for the purpose of connecting a generating station to the network of the Board in accordance with such enactments or codes, schemes and safety standards as the Board considers appropriate; “consumer” means any authority, company, person or body of persons supplied or entitled to be supplied with electrical energy by an undertaker; “electric line” means a wire or wires, conductor or other means used for the purpose of conveying, transmitting or distributing electricity with any pole, casing, coating, covering, tube, pipe or insulator enclosing, surrounding or supporting the same or any part thereof, or any apparatus connected therewith for the purpose of conveying, transmitting or distributing energy; “electrical energy” includes electricity; “electro-medical institute” means any premises or part of any premises used for the treatment of the public with X-ray diathermy, or ultraviolet radiations, or where other electro-medical and electrosurgical treatment is administered; “energy” means electrical energy derived from a renewable or nonrenewable source, or both; “factory” means— (a) any place where persons are employed in manual labour and where work is carried on by way of trade for the purpose of gain for— (i) the making or producing of any article or part of any article; (ii) the altering, repairing, ornamenting, finishing, cleaning or washing or breaking up or demolition of any article; or (iii) the adapting for sale of any article; (b) any premises where persons are employed in manual labour and where electrical energy is generated, converted or transformed for supply by way of trade or for the purpose of traction or of railway, tramway or other means of public conveyance, or for the purpose of any industrial or commercial undertaking or of any public building; [Issue 9] E3 – 2 Revised Laws of Mauritius “general supply”— (a) means the general supply of energy to ordinary consumers; and (b) includes the general supply of energy to the public lamps where the authority is not itself the undertaker; “generating station”— (a) means any station for generating electricity; and (b) includes any building and plant used for the purpose, and any site intended to be used for a generating station; but (c) does not include any station for transforming, converting or distributing electricity; “generation” means the conversion of other forms of energy into electrical energy; “high voltage” means a voltage normally above 650 volts; “low voltage” means a voltage not exceeding 250 volts under normal conditions subject to the percentage variation allowed; “main” means the portion of any conductor which is used or intended to be used for the purp site intended to be used for a generating station; but (c) does not include any station for transforming, converting or distributing electricity; “generation” means the conversion of other forms of energy into electrical energy; “high voltage” means a voltage normally above 650 volts; “low voltage” means a voltage not exceeding 250 volts under normal conditions subject to the percentage variation allowed; “main” means the portion of any conductor which is used or intended to be used for the purpose of giving origin to service lines; “main transmission line” means all high voltage electric lines transmitting electricity from one generating station to any other generating station or to a substation, not being a substation used for the sole purpose of giving a supply to the main or mains owned by the same undertaker, together with any step up and step down transformer and switchgear necessary to, and used for, the control of such electric lines, and the buildings or such part thereof as may be required to accommodate such transformer and switchgear; “medium voltage” means a voltage exceeding 250 volts but not exceeding 650 volts under normal conditions subject to the percentage variation allowed; “Minister” means the Minister to whom responsibility for the subject of public utilities is assigned; “permit” means a permit granted under section 6 to act as an undertaker; “plant”— (a) means any machinery, engine, underground cable, high tension overhead line, substation, pole transformer and switchgear equipment, generating station, generating station equipment, hydroelectric works, including pipe lines and civil engineering works connected with the appropriation, diversion and impounding of water; and (b) includes the site thereof and any site intended to be used for such purposes; E3 – 3 [Issue 9] Electricity Act “private generating station” means a station used for supplying energy for the exclusive use of the owner of the station; “private purposes” means any purpose to which electricity may be applied, not being public purposes; “private residence”— (a) means any building which is not a factory, workshop, electromedical institute or theatre; and (b) includes any part of that building; “public purposes” means lighting and any other purpose to which electricity may be applied, in any street or any place belonging to, or subject to the control of, the authority, any church, any place of worship, any hall or any building belonging to, or subject to the control of, Government or any authority, or any theatre; “service line” means an electric line connecting a consumer’s wiring with a main for the purpose of supplying energy; “substation” means any premises, enclosure or part thereof, being large enough to admit the entrance of a person after the apparatus therein is in position, containing apparatus for transforming or converting energy to or from a voltage above medium voltage, other than transforming or converting solely for the operation of switchgear or instruments, with or without any other apparatus for switching, controlling or otherwise regulating energy, and includes the apparatus therein; “supply” includes sale; “supply of electricity in bulk” means a supply of energy to any authority, company or person authorised to supply electricity for public purposes in accordance with this Act; “system”— (a) means an electrical system in which all the conductors and apparatus are electrically connected to a common source of voltage; and (b) inc r or instruments, with or without any other apparatus for switching, controlling or otherwise regulating energy, and includes the apparatus therein; “supply” includes sale; “supply of electricity in bulk” means a supply of energy to any authority, company or person authorised to supply electricity for public purposes in accordance with this Act; “system”— (a) means an electrical system in which all the conductors and apparatus are electrically connected to a common source of voltage; and (b) includes all the conductors and apparatus and the manner in which they are connected, assembled and used; “tariff” means a method of charging for electrical energy in which a price is charged according to one single condition such as the number of units metered or the maximum demand, or the number of lighting fixtures on the installation or on which a fixed charge is made, based on a characteristic of the service, with an additional charge or charges for the units consumed; “telegraph wire” means telegraph, telephone, signal or similar wires, the voltage between any 2 of which or between any one and earth does not exceed 60 volts; [Issue 9] E3 – 4 Revised Laws of Mauritius “theatre” means any building or part of a building regularly or frequently used for dramatic, operatic, motion picture or other performance or shows, or which has a stage for such performance used with scenery and other stage appliances; “transformation”— (a) means the converting of one form of electrical energy into another; and (b) includes transformation by static transformers, motor generators, rotary converters or any other method; “undertaker” means a person authorised by the Board to supply electricity for any purpose where the generated electrical power exceeds 2 megawatts; “use” means the ultimate usage of electrical energy for lighting, power, heating, electro-chemical, electro-medical, wireless, testing and any other purpose; “works”— (a) means any electric lines, apparatus, installation; and (b) includes any buildings, machinery, engines, matters or things of any description required to make use of or to supply electricity and for the purposes of this Act. [S. 2 amended by s. 12 (b) of Act 27 of 2013 w.e.f. 17 February 2014; s. 15 (a) of Act 18 of 2016 w.e.f. 7 September 2016.]