Western Australian Consolidated Acts Western Australian Consolidated Acts (1) If a consumer does
anything or suffers or permits anything to be done or omits to do anything
whereby electricity supplied by a supply authority escapes from any electric
line laid in, over or along any street or land before it reaches the meter on
the premises of the consumer, he shall be guilty of an offence.
Penalty: $500.
(2) Where a consumer
acts in contravention of subsection (1), in addition to prosecuting the
offender for such offence, the supply authority may —
(a)
disconnect such electric line and discontinue the supply of electricity to the
consumer during such time as the cause of the escape of electricity from such
line remains not remedied; and
(b)
recover from the consumer the amount of all loss which is sustained by the
supply authority in consequence of the wrongful act of such consumer.
(3) Any amount
recoverable by the supply authority under subsection (2)(b) may be
recovered in a court of competent jurisdiction.
Provided that where
the supply authority prosecutes a consumer for an offence under
subsection (1), the supply authority may in the same proceedings claim
payment of compensation for loss sustained as provided for in
subsection (2)(b), and, if the consumer is convicted of the offence with
which he is charged the Court may, in addition to imposing a fine in respect
of such conviction, assess and order payment of compensation by the consumer
to the supply authority; and in such case the amount of compensation ordered
to be paid shall be recoverable in the same manner as the fine is recoverable.
[Section 36 amended by No. 113 of 1965
s. 8; No. 63 of 1996 s. 4; No. 59 of 2004 s. 141.]