ELECTRICITY NETWORKS (STATUTORY EASEMENTS) ORDINANCE

ELECTRICITY NETWORKS (STATUTORY EASEMENTS) ORDINANCE

LAWS OF HONG KONG

ELECTRICITY NETWORKS (STATUTORY

EASEMENTS) ORDINANCE

CHAPTER 357





CHAPTER 357

ELECTRICITY NETWORKS (STATUTORY EASEMENTS)
ORDINANCE

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

Section Page

1. Short title ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .. ... ... ... ... ... ... 2

2. Interpretation ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 2

3. Provisions of Ordinance to apply to power company by order of Governor
in
Council ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 3
4. Statutory easements ... ...
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 3

5. Easements not to have effect until order registered ... ... ... ... ... ... 4

6. Registration of order to be advertised in press ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 4

7. Rectification etc. of approved scheme ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 4

8. Right of access over other land ... ... ... ... ... .... ... ... ... ... ... 5

9. Restrictions on exercise of rights under section 4 or 8 ...
... ... ... ... ... 6

10. Compensation for diminution of value of land ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 7

11. Liability for loss or damage ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .... ... ... ... 7

12. Offence to obstruct power company ... ... ... . ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 8





CHAPTER 357

ELECTRICITY NETWORKS (STATUTORY EASEMENTS)

To provide for the creation of easemenis in and over land in favour of
certain undertakings which generate, transmit or distribute
electricitv; and for matters incidental thereto and connected
thereit.iiii.

[11 July 1980.]

1. This Ordinance may be cited as the Electricity Networks
(Statutory Easements) Ordinance.

2. In this Ordinance, unless the context otherwise requires-

'approved scheme' means a scheme approved by the Secretary for
for the purposes of sectign 3; (Amended,
L.N. 245/81)



'electricity line' means a wire, cable, conductor or other means of
transmitting or distributing electricity from one location to another
above or below ground, and any casing. coating, covering, tube,
pipe, insulator. pole. mast or pylon enclosing, surrounding or
supporting the same or any part thereof or any apparatus or
ancillary facilities connected therewith;

'electricity network' means a system for the transmission or distribution
of electrical energy consisting of one or more electric lines, but
does not include any such system which is in operation at the
commencement of this Ordinance;

'owner', in relation to any land, means-

(a) a person registered or entitled to be registered as owner of
such land in the Land Office;

(b) a person having any estate or interest in such land, or in
lawful occupation thereof, under an instrument registered in
the Land Office;

'power company' means a person or any body of persons, corporate or
unincorporate, by whom electricity is generated or transmitted or
distributed;

'route' means the alignment of the electric lines of an electricity
network as specified by the terms of the approved scheme relating
to such electricity network;

'terms', in relation to an approved scheme, includes the conditions,
specifications, restrictions and other stipulations contained therein,
and any plans, maps, drawings or other documents forming part
thereof or referred to therein;





'works' means the construction, operation, maintenance, repair or
replacement of an electricity network or any part thereof, or the
investigation or examination thereof or of any land situated on the
route thereof.

3. 1) Where the Governor in Council is satisfied that a that
power company is carrying out or is about to carry out any works
relating to an electricity network across any land in Hong Kong in
accordance with the terms of a scheme approved by the Secretary for c
Lands and Works for the purposes of this section, the Governor in
Council may, at the request of the company made in writing to the
Secretary for Land Works order that the provisions of this Ordinance
shall apply to the company for the purpose of enabling the
company to carry out such works in accordance with the approved
scheme. (Amended, L.N. 245/81)

(2) Before an order is made under this section in respect of an
electricity network, the approved scheme relating thereto shall be
deposited in the Land Office.

(3) It shall be sufficient for the purposes of an order made under
this section to refer therein to an approved scheme by the description
and date assigned thereto in the Land Office for the purposes of
subsection (2).

4. (1) Subject to this Ordinance, a power company specified in an
order made under section 3 may, in accordance with the terms of the
approved scheme relating to the electricity network in respect of which
the order is made, exercise from time to time all or any of the following
rights in or over land situated on the route of such electricity network-

(a)the right to place and retain any electric line above or below
ground across such land; and

(b)the right to carry out any works required for the purposes of
paragraph (a) on such land, including the right to excavate,
drain, remove or cover over any part of the soil of such land,
and to lop, cut or remove any trees, shrubs, growing crops or
vegetation of any kind on such land which obstruct or
interfere with any electric line; and

(c)the right to enter on and pass over or under such land with
such persons, animals, vehicles and equipment and to do all
such acts thereon as may be necessary for or incidental to the
exercise of any right conferred by this section,

but nothing in this section shall authorize the power company to place,
construct, erect or retain any permanent structure, pole, mast or pylon
on such land.

(2) In this section 'land' does not include unleased land within
the meaning of the Crown Land Ordinance which is not occupied under
Part II of that Ordinance.





5. (1) The rights conferred by section 4 shall not be exercisable in
or over any land by virtue of an order made under section 3 unless the
order is registered under the Land Registration Ordinance.

(2) It shall be the duty of the power company specified in an order
made under section 3 to register the order under the Land Registration
Ordinance not later than 14 days after the date of publication of the
order in the Gazette.

6. (1) Where an order made under section 3 is registered under the
Land Registration Ordinance, the power company specified in the order
shall, once in each of 2 consecutive weeks, publish in 2 Chinese
language newspapers and an English language newspaper an
advertisement containing the matters specified in subsection (2) in
respect of such order:

Provided that

(a)such period of 2 consecutive weeks shall, for the purposes of
this section, be deemed to commence on the date of
publication of the first such advertisement;

(b)the first such advertisement shall be so published not later
than 14 days after the date of registration of such order.

(2) An advertisement published under this section shall contain-

(a)a statement of. the fact that an order made under section 3 has
been registered under the Land Registration Ordinance;

(b)the number and date of the order, the date of registration and
the number of the memorial thereof,

(c) particulars of the land affected by the order;

(d)a statement of the rights exercisable in or over such land
under this Ordinance;

(e)the name and business address of the power company
specified in the order; and

(f) a statement that claims for compensation under section 10
may be submitted in writing to the company at that address
not later than 12 months after the date of registration of the
order and, if the parties fail to agree, to the Lands Tribunal for
final determination.

7. (1) The Governor may, at the request in writing (addressed to the
Secretary for Lands and Works)of a power company specified in an order
made under section 3, direct that the terms of the approved scheme in
respect of which the order is made





shall be rectified, modified or varied in such manner and to such extent
as may be agreed in writing by the company and the Secretary for Lands
and Works, and any such agreement shall be deposited in the Land
Office and annexed to the copy of the scheme deposited therein under
section 3(2). (Amended, L.N. 245/81)

(2) Where an agreement for the rectification, modification or
variation of the terms of an approved scheme is deposited in the Land
Office under subsection (1), the Governor may by order declare that,
subject to subsection (3), the approved scheme shall have effect
subject to such rectification, modification or variation, as the case may
be; and any reference in this Ordinance or any order thereunder to an
approved scheme shall be construed as including a reference to an
approved scheme as so rectified, modified or varied.

(3) Where the terms of an approved scheme are rectified, modified
or varied by an order made under subsection (2) in such manner or to
such extent that-

(a)any part of the route of the electricity network comprised in
the scheme is altered; or

(b) any reference therein to land is added or substituted,

the rights conferred by section 4 shall not be exercisable in or over any
land affected by the part of the route which is so altered or in respect of
which such reference is so added or substituted unless the order is
registered under the Land Registration Ordinance.

(4) Sections 5(2) and 6 shall apply in relation to the registration of
an order made under subsection (2) as they apply in relation to the
registration of an order made under section 3.

8. (1) Subject to this Ordinance, where-

(a) a power company specified in an order made under section 3
intends to carry out any works relating to the electricity
network in respect of which the order is made; and

(b) it is necessary for that purpose for the company's officers,
servants or agents or other persons authorized by the
company to enter on and cross over any land in order to gain
access to the site of such works,

the company, its officers, servants or agents or other persons
authorized by the compiny in that behalf may enter on and cross over
such land to and from such site with such persons, animals, vehicles
and equipment as may be necessary for or incidental to the carrying out
of such works.

(2) Nothing in this section n shall apply to unleased land within
the meaning of the Crown Land Ordinance which is not occupied under
Part 11 of that Ordinance.





9. (1) Subject. to this section, a power company shall, before
exercising any right conferred by section 4 or 8 in respect of any land,
serve notice of its intention to do so on the-owner of the land; and for
the purposes of this section notice shall be deemed to have been duly
served on the owner of land if, but only if-

(a) it is delivered to him; or

(b) it is sent by registered post addressed to him at his last postal
address known to the power company; or

(c) where the owner is not known or cannot be found or for any
reason it is not practicable to serve the notice in accordance
with paragraph (a) or (b), it is published-

(i) in the Gazette; and

(ii) in 2 Chinese language newspapers and an English
language newspaper,

not less than 30 days prior to the exercise of such right:

Provided that in the case of emergency, a power company
intending to exercise any such right in respect of any land may notify
the owner of such land of its intention in such manner as the power
company may deem practicable in the circumstances of the case, and
subsections (2), (3) and (4) shall hot apply to such case.

(2) Where the owner of any land on whom notice is served
by a power company under subsection (1) wishes to object to the
exercise by the power company of any rights to which the notice
refers, he shall, before the expiration of the period of such notice,
notify the power company in writing of his objection and the
grounds thereof, and the power company shall, unless the objection
is sooner withdrawn or resolved, deliver particulars in writing
thereof to the Secretary for Lands and M' not later than 14 days after
the expiration of such period.
(3) Where particulars of any objection are delivered to the Secretary for
Lands and Works under subsection (2), he may direct a public officer
to attend, within a period of not more than 30 days after the date of
delivery of such particulars, on the owner by
whom the objection is made and the power
company, respectively, and to receive and record
any representations as to the matters in dispute
put forward by the owner or the power company,
as the case may be, and to submit a report in
respect thereof for the consider ion qf the i
Secretary for Lands and Works.

(4) The Secretary for Lands and Works shall consider any objection of
which particulars are delivered to him under subsection (2) and any
report directed to be
submitted to him under subsection (3) in respect thereof, and shall give
such directions to the power company relating to the exercise by the
power company of any rights to which the objection relates as he may
deem proper having regard to the public interest and shall give notice of
such directions to the





owner concemed; and it shall be the duty of the power company and
the owner to comply with such directions.
(Aniended, L.N. 245/81)

10. (1) Where an order made under this Ordinance affecting
any land is registered by a power company under the Land Registra-
tion Ordinance, the company shall be liable to pay compensation to
the person who, at the date of registration of the order, is the owner
of the land in respect of any diminution of the value of his estate or
interest therein attributable to the registration of tlie order.

(2) Any person claiming to be entitled to be paid compensa-
tion by a power company under this section in respect of any
land may, not later than 12 months after the date of registration of
an order made under this Ordinance affecting such land. deliver
particulars of the claim in writing to the company.

(3) If, within a period of 28 days after the delivery of the
particulars of any claim to a power company under this section, the
claimant and the company fail to reach agreement in respect of the
company's liability, if any, under this section, the claimant may, not
later than 60 days after the expiration of that period, submit the
claim to the Lands Tribunal for determination.

(4) The Lands Tribunal shall have jurisdiction to determine
the amount of compensation, if any, payable in the case of any
claim submitted to the Tribunal under this section; and in the
application of the Lands Tribunal Ordinance to any such deter-
mination, section 11(1) of that Ordinance shall have effect as if
for paragraphs (a) and (b) thereof there were substituted the
words 'the amount of compensation payable in the case of any
claim submitted to it under section 10 of the Electricity Networks
(Statutory Easements) Ordinance'.

(5) In the determination of the amount of compensation, if
any, payable under this section, no compensation shall be given in
respect of-

(a) any expectancy or probability of the grant or renewal or
continuance by the Crown or any person of any licence,
permission, lease or permit whatsoever;

(b) any use of the land which is not in accordance with the
terms of the Crown lease under which the land is held.

(6) For the purposes of this section, 'value', in relation to any
land affected by an order made under this Ordinance, means the
open market value of the land assessed as at the date of registration
of the order.

11. (1) Subject to this section, nothing in thisOrdinance shall
affect the liability of any person in respect of any loss or damage
caused by or arising out of the exercise of any rights under this
Ordinance.





(2) Where by reason of the exercise by a power company of
any rights under this Ordinance in or over any land-

(a)any fixtures, growing crops, farm produce or plants on
such land are damaged; or

(b)in the case of land which is used exclusively for the pur-
pose of tillage, the use of such land for that purpose is
temporarily prevented or restricted to such extent as to
cause any loss,

the company shall be liable for such loss or damage notwith-
standing that the company acted with reasonable care or that the
loss or damage could not have been avoided without preventing or
hindering the exercise of such rights:

Provided that if the company proves that the loss or damage
resulted wholly or partially either from an act or omission done with
intent to cause any loss or damage by the person who suffered the
loss or damage or from the negligence of that person, the company
shall be exonerated wholly or partially from its liability to such
person.

(3) This section shall not apply in relation to any claim for
compensation in respect of the diminution of the value of any estate
or interest in land.

12. Any person who wilfully obstructs or interferes with the
lawful exercise by any power company or its officers or servants or
agents, or persons authorized by the company in that behalf, of any
rights exercisable by the company under this Ordinance in respect of
any land commits an offence and is liable to a fine of $5,000 and to
imprisonment for 6 months.
Provisions of Ordinance to apply to power company by order of Governor in Council. Statutory easements. (Cap. 28.) Easements not to have effect until order registered. (Cap. 128.) Registration of order to be advertised in press. (Cap. 128.) Rectification etc. of approved scheme. (Cap. 128.) Right of access over other land. (Cap. 28.) Restrictions on exercise of rights under section 4 or 8. Compensation for diminution of value of land. (Cap. 128.) (Cap. 17.) (Cap. 357.) Liability for loss or damage. Offence to obstruct power company.

Provisions of Ordinance to apply to power company by order of Governor in Council. Statutory easements. (Cap. 28.) Easements not to have effect until order registered. (Cap. 128.) Registration of order to be advertised in press. (Cap. 128.) Rectification etc. of approved scheme. (Cap. 128.) Right of access over other land. (Cap. 28.) Restrictions on exercise of rights under section 4 or 8. Compensation for diminution of value of land. (Cap. 128.) (Cap. 17.) (Cap. 357.) Liability for loss or damage. Offence to obstruct power company.

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