(1) A licensee or any person duly authorised by a licensee may, at any reasonable time, and on informing the occupier of his intention, enter any premises to which energy is or has been supplied by him, of any premise or land, under, over, along, across, in or upon which the electric supply-lines or other works have been lawfully placed by him for the purpose of-
(a) Inspecting, testing, repairing or altering the electric supply, lines meters, fittings, works and apparatus for the supply of energy belonging to the licensee; or
(b) Ascertaining the amount of energy supplied or the electrical quantity contained in the supply; or
(c) Removing where a supply of energy is no longer required, or where the licensee is authorised to take away and cut off such supply, any electric supply-lines, meters fittings, works or apparatus belonging to the licensee.
(2) A licensee or any person authorised as aforesaid may also, in pursuance of a special order in this behalf made by a Magistrate of the first class or in a presidency-town, by a Presidency Magistrate and after giving not less than twenty-four hours’ notice ill writing to the occupier-
(a) Enter any premises or land referred to in sub-section (1) for any of the purposes mentioned therein:
(b) Enter any premises to which energy is to be supplied by him, for The purpose of examining and testing the electric wires fittings, works and apparatus for the use of energy, belonging to the consumer.
(3) Where a consumer refuses to allow a licensee or any person authorised as aforesaid to enter his premises or land in pursuance of the provisions of sub-section (1), or, sub-section (2), when such licensee or person has so entered, refuses to allow him to perform any act which he is authorised by those sub-sections to perform, or fails to give reasonable facilities for such entry or performance, the licensee may, after the expiry of twenty-four hours from the service of a notice in writing on the consumer, cut off the supply to the consumer for so long as such refusal or failure continues, but for no longer.
21. Restriction on licensees controlling or interfering with use of energy.
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(1) A licensee shall not be entitled to prescribe any special form of appliance for utilisilig energy supplied by him, or, save as provided in any conditions made under subsection (2) or by Section 23, subsection (2), or by Section 26, sub-section (7), in any way to control or interfere with the use of such energy:
Provided that no person, may adopt any form of appliance, or use the energy supplied to him, so as unduly or improperly to interfere with-
(a) The safety or efficient working of licensee electric supplylines or other works: or
(b) The supply or energy by the licensee to any other person.
(2) A licensee may, with the previous sanction of the State Government, given after consulting the State Electricity Board and also the loco authority, where the licensee is not the local authority, make conditions not inconsistent with this Act or with his intend to become consumers, and may, with the like sanction given after the like consultation, add to or alter or amend any such conditions; and any conditions made by a licensee without such sanction shall be null and void:
Provided that any such conditions made before the 23rd day of January, 1922 shall, if sanctioned by the State Government on application made by the licensee before such date as the State Government may, by general or special order, fix in this behalf, be deemed to have been made in accordance with the provisions of this sub-section.
(3) The State Government may, after the like consultation, add any new condition or cancel or amend any condition or part of a condition previously sanctioned under subsection (2) after giving to the licensee not less than one month’s notice in writing of its intention so to do.
(4) Where any difference or dispute arises as to whether a licensee has prescribed any appliance or controlled or interfered with the use of energy in contravention of sub-section (1), the matter shall be either referred to an Electrical Inspector and decided by him or, if the licensee or consumer so desires, determined by arbitration.