Code of Practice on Working near Electricity Supply Lines (2005 Edition)

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Appendix 1: Legislation
Relevant legislation enforced by the Director of Electrical and Mechanical Services ("the Director")

Appendix 1 contains the following legislation in connection with the legal requirements of working near electricity supply lines:

A.1.1 Section 10 of ESLPR - Requirements relating to works in the vicinity of electricity supply lines
A.1.2 Section 11 of ESLPR - Remedial Notices
A.1.3 Section 18 of ESLPR - Defence
A.1.4 Section 6A & 6B of the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance - General duties of a proprietor and persons employed
A.1.5 Other legislation

A.1.1 The Electricity Supply Lines (Protection) Regulation ("ESLPR"), made under the Electricity Ordinance, (Cap.406) ("EO"), applies to any works in the vicinity of "electricity supply lines¹³". In particular, Section 10 of ESLPR requires that:

" 10. Requirements relating to works in vicinity of electricity supply lines

(1) A person shall not -

(a) carry out or cause or permit another to carry out in the vicinity of an underground electricity cable any works which are below ground level; or
(b) carry out or cause or permit another to carry out in the vicinity of an overhead electricity line works of any kind,

unless before the works are begun all reasonable steps have been taken to ascertain the existence within the proposed works site and its vicinity of any such underground electricity cable and its alignment and depth or of any such overhead electricity line and its alignment, distance from the ground and voltage, as the case may be.

(2) A person who -

(a) carries out or causes or permits another to carry out in the vicinity of an underground electricity cable any works which are below ground level; or
(b) carries out or causes or permits another to carry out in the vicinity of an overhead electricity line works of any kind,

shall ensure that all reasonable measures are taken to prevent the occurrence of an electrical accident or an interruption to the supply of electricity arising from those works.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (1) as it applies in relation to works in the vicinity of an underground electricity cable, and without affecting the generality of that subsection, reasonable steps shall not be regarded as having been taken unless a competent person has undertaken an investigation for the purpose of ascertaining the existence within the proposed works site and its vicinity of any such underground electricity cable and its alignment and depth and has provided a written report of his findings as to those matters.

(4) Subject to section 11(7), where the Director has approved a code of practice for any of the requirements of paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (1) or (2), then, subject to subsection (3), compliance with the provisions of that code shall be deemed to constitute the taking of all reasonable steps, or the taking of all reasonable measures, as the case may be, for the purpose of that requirement.

(5) A competent person who undertakes an investigation to ascertain the existence, alignment and depth of an underground electricity cable -

(a) shall not delegate the function and duty of the investigation to another person;
(b) may carry out the investigation with the assistance of any other persons, but such persons shall be directly supervised by that competent person at the proposed works site in the course of the investigation;
(c) shall carry out the investigation in a manner that does not cause damage to, or impair the operation of, the underground electricity cable; and
(d) shall provide the person requesting the investigation with a written report of his findings as to that matter."

A.1.2 Section 11 of ESLPR empowers the Director to serve on a person remedial notice for contravention of a requirement under the ESLPR stating his opinion and reason for such notice, directing the person as appropriate to remedy the contravention or the matter as follows -

"11. Remedial notices

(1) Where the Director is of the opinion that a person -

(a) is contravening a requirement under this Regulation; or
(b) has contravened such a requirement in circumstances that make it likely that the contravention will continue or be repeated,

he may serve on the person a notice ("remedial notice") stating that he is of that opinion, giving particulars as to why he is of that opinion, and directing the person to remedy the contravention or the matter occasioning it, as the case may be, within the period specified in the notice.

(2) Except as provided in subsection (3), the period to be specified in a remedial notice under subsection (1) shall be a period of not less than 14 days.

(3) If the Director is of the opinion that the circumstances of the contravention are such that there is an undue risk of an electrical accident or an interruption to the supply of electricity occurring, he may specify in the remedial notice such lesser period as he reasonably considers appropriate in the circumstances.

(4) A remedial notice may contain instructions as to the measures to be taken to remedy any contravention or matter to which the notice relates, and any such instructions may be framed -

(a) wholly or in part by reference to any approved code of practice; and
(b) so as to afford the person on whom the notice is served a choice between different ways of remedying such contravention or matter.

(5) Subject to section 43(4) of the Ordinance, a direction specified in a remedial notice shall take effect at the time of the notice being served or at such later date, if any, as may be specified in the notice.

(6) In addition to service as provided under section 52 of the Ordinance, service of a remedial notice on a person who is a site contractor may also be effected by delivering the notice to a person at the works site who appears to be the person in charge of the site activities or who identifies himself as being the site contractor¡¦s representative on the site.

(7) Where -

(a) the Director has approved a code of practice for any of the requirements of paragraph (a) or (b) of section 10(1) or (2) ; and
(b) the Director has served a remedial notice under subsection (1) in relation to a contravention of the same paragraph,

then, subject to section 10(3), compliance with the provisions of that code and the direction in that notice shall be deemed to constitute the taking of all reasonable steps, or the taking of all reasonable measures, as the case may be, for the purposes of that requirement.

(8) For the purposes of subsection (7), where there is any conflict or inconsistency between any provision in the code of practice and any direction in the remedial notice, then that direction shall, to the extent of that conflict or inconsistency, as the case may be, prevail over that provision."

A.1.3 Section 18 of ESLPR sets out the defence provision to a prosecution brought against any person under section 17(4) of ESLPR as follows -

"18. Defence

It shall be a defence to a charge under section 17(4) alleging a contravention of section 10(2) for the person charged to show that -

(a) before the works began, all reasonable steps had been taken for the purposes of section 10(1) ; and
(b) any failure in the taking of all reasonable measures for the purposes of section 10(2) was due to reliance on information contained in a report prepared by a competent person or on information provided by the electricity supplier who is the owner of the electricity supply line concerned."

Relevant legislation enforced by Commissioner for Labour

A.1.4 The Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance (Cap.59) places duties on both proprietors and their employees with regard to health and safety at work in industrial undertakings -

a) Section 6A places a duty on the proprietor of an industrial undertaking to ensure, among other things, so far as is reasonably practicable, the provision and maintenance of plant and systems of work that are safe and without risks to health, and the provision of such information, instruction, training and supervision as is necessary to ensure the health and safety at work of employees. A proprietor who contravenes this section commits an offence.

b) Section 6B imposes a duty on every employee to take reasonable care for the health and safety of himself and of others who may be affected by his acts or omissions. He must also co-operate with the proprietor to enable him to meet his obligations under Section 6A. A person who wilfully does anything while at work likely to endanger himself or others commits an offence.

Other legislation

A.1.5 Public utilities and others intending to carry out works in roads or Government land must obtain a permit from Highways Department or other government departments as appropriate and comply with the conditions contained in the permit. For emergency and excepted works, the agreed requirements and procedures between utilities and government departments prevailing at that time shall be observed.

¹³ "Electricity supply line" means an electric line, or any cable used in conjunction with such a line for the purpose of transmitting control signals, which is owned by an electricity supplier.

"Electric line" means -

(a) a conductor used for the purpose of conveying, transmitting or distributing electricity and any casing, coating, covering, tube, pipe or insulator enclosing, surrounding or supporting such conductor, or any part of it;
(b) any apparatus connected with such conductor or other thing mentioned in paragraph (a) for the purpose of conveying, transmitting or distributing electricity,

and in paragraph (a), reference to a conductor used for the purpose of conveying, transmitting or distributing electricity includes reference to a wire or to any other means used for that purpose. [Go Back]