Electricity (Scotland) Act 1979

Electricity (Scotland) Act 1979
Act of Parliament
	Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to consolidate certain enactments relating to the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board and the South of Scotland Electricity Board and to functions of the Secretary of State in relation to the generation and distribution of electricity in Scotland with amendments to give effect to recommendations of the Scottish Law Commission.
Citation	1979 c. 11
Introduced by	The Lord Advocate (Mr. Ronald King Murray) (Commons)
Territorial extent	Scotland
Dates
Royal assent	22 March 1979
Commencement	22 April 1979
Repealed	9 November 2001
Other legislation
Repeals/revokes	Gas and Electricity Act 1968 ; Electricity (Scotland) Act 1969 ;
Repealed by	Electricity Act 1989 (Commencement No. 3) Order 2001
Status: Repealed

Last updated August 30, 2025

The Electricity (Scotland) Act 1979 (c. 11) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which consolidated enactments relating to the Scottish electricity boards and removed certain anomalies.

Background

The Scottish Law Commission had reviewed the operation of electricity supply industry in Scotland that had been established by the Electricity Act 1947. The Commission noted a number of anomalies in the operation of the law with respect to electricity supply. There were five principal issues:^[1]

Constitution and functions of electricity boards.
Authorisation to supply electricity in another area or district where the agreement of the other board concerned cannot be obtained.
Powers of entry on land.
Directions as to the use and disposal of certain assets.
Offences.

The Scottish Law Commission published a command paper Report on the consolidation of certain enactments relating to electricity in Scotland. Cmnd. 7178 dated May 1978.^[1]

The Electricity (Scotland) Act 1979 enacted the recommendations of the Scottish Law Commission which were intended to remove anomalies in the law.

Electricity (Scotland) Act 1979

The Electricity (Scotland) Act 1979 received royal assent on 22 March 1979. Its long title is ‘An Act to consolidate certain enactments relating to the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board and the South of Scotland Electricity Board and to functions of the Secretary of State in relation to the generation and distribution of electricity in Scotland with amendments to give effect to recommendations of the Scottish Law Commission.’

Provisions

Source:^[2]

The act comprises 47 sections in three parts, plus 12 schedules:

Part I The Boards

Constitution

Section 1. Constitution of Boards.
Section 2. Definition and variation of districts.

Principal functions

Section 3. Functions of the Boards.
Section 4. General duties in exercising functions.
Section 5. Duty in relation to amenity.
Section б. Duty of North Board in relation to economic development.

Powers and duties

Section 7. Ancillary powers.
Section 8. Powers of Boards to enter into agreements with each other, and with other Boards and persons.
Section 9. Purchase and supply of electricity.
Section 10. Constructional schemes.
Section 11. Acquisition of land etc. for purposes of constructional schemes.
Section 12. Compulsory purchase of land.
Section 13. Ancillary powers in relation to land.
Section 14. Power to conduct experiments.
Section 15. Research into heating from electricity.
Section 16. Agreements for technical assistance overseas.

Consultation

Section 17. Consultative Councils.

Finance

Section 18. General Fund.
Section 19. General reserve fund of the South Board.
Section 20. Sums which are to be chargeable by the South Board to revenue account.
Section 21. Application of surplus revenues of the South Board.
Section 22. Fixing and variation of tariffs.
Section 23. Maximum charges for reselling electricity supplied by the Boards.
Section 24. Exchequer advances to the Boards.
Section 25. Power to Treasury to guarantee loans to the Boards.
Section 26. Power to issue stock.
Section 27. Power of Boards to borrow.
Section 28. Application of money.
Section 29. Limit on aggregate of amount outstanding.
Section 30. Accounts and audit.
Section 31. Exemption from Taxes.

Part II Powers of the Secretary of State.

Section 32. Powers of the Secretary of State.
Section 33. Powers to give directions.
Section 34. Transfer of orders.
Section 35. Control of new private hydro-electric generating stations.
Section 36. Compensation for members and officers of the Board.
Section 37. Pension rights.
Section 38. Inquiries.

Part III General and Miscellaneous

Section 39. Disputes between Boards.
Section 40. Orders and regulations.
Section 41. Offences and penalties.
Section 42. Annual Reports, statistics and returns.
Section 43. Power of Boards to promote and oppose private legislation.
Section 44. Service of notices etc.
Section 45. Interpretation.
Section 46. Transitional and saving provisions and consequential amendments and repeals.
Section 47. Short title, extent and commencement.

Schedules

Schedule 1. Constitution and proceedings of the Boards.
Schedule 2. Districts.
Schedule 3. Supply of electricity to railways.
Schedule 4. Constitution and function of Amenity Committee and Fisheries Committee.
Schedule 5. Constructional schemes.
Schedule 6. Adaptions and modifications of Land Clauses Act and of the Railways Clauses Consolidation (Scotland) Act 1845.
Schedule 7. Consultative Councils.
Schedule 8. Provisions as to Inquiries.
Schedule 9. Service of Notices.
Schedule 10. Transitional and saving provisions.
Schedule 11. Consequential amendment.
Schedule 12. Repeals.

Effects of the act

The Act repealed the whole of the following acts:^[2]

The act repealed the whole of the following acts with the exception of certain sections:

The Hydro-Electric Development (Scotland) Act 1943
The Electricity Act 1947
The Electricity Reorganisation (Scotland) Act 1954
The Electricity Act 1972

The act repealed sections of:

The Electricity Act 1957
The Electricity and Gas Act 1963

Repeal

The Electricity (Scotland) Act 1979 was principally repealed by the Electricity Act 1989 which privatised the electricity supply industry. The provisions in section 1 and schedule 1 on the constitution of the electricity boards remained in force until 2001, when they were repealed by the Electricity Act 1989 (Commencement No. 3) Order 2001.^[3]

References

1 2 Scottish Law Commission (1978). "Report on the consolidation of certain enactments relating to electricity in Scotland. Cmnd. 7178" (PDF). Scottish Law Commission. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
1 2 "Electricity (Scotland) Act 1979" (PDF). Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
↑ "Electricity (Scotland) Act 1979 latest available". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 28 September 2023.

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[:0-1] 1 2 Scottish Law Commission (1978). "Report on the consolidation of certain enactments relating to electricity in Scotland. Cmnd. 7178" (PDF). Scottish Law Commission. Retrieved 27 September 2023.

[:1-2] 1 2 "Electricity (Scotland) Act 1979" (PDF). Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2023.

[3] "Electricity (Scotland) Act 1979 latest available". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 28 September 2023.

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Electricity (Scotland) Act 1979

Contents

Background

Electricity (Scotland) Act 1979

Provisions

Schedules

Effects of the act

Repeal

See also

References