S.I. No. 135/1976:

DUBLIN GAS ORDER, 1976.

DUBLIN GAS ORDER, 1976.

I, PETER BARRY, Minister for Transport and Power, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 10 of the Gas Regulation Act, 1920, and the Transport, Fuel and Power (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order, 1959 ( S.I. No. 125 of 1959 ), hereby order as follows:

1. (1) This Order may be cited as the Dublin Gas Order, 1976.

(2) This Order shall come into operation on the 25th day of June, 1976.

2. The Interpretation Act, 1937 (No. 38 of 1937), applies to this Order.

3. (1) In this Order:

"the Acts" means the Alliance and Dublin Consumers' Gas Acts, 1866 to 1909;

"the Order of 1954" means the Dublin Gas Order, 1954 ( S.I. No. 147 of 1954 );

"the Order of 1966" means the Dublin Gas Order, 1966;

"the Company" means the Alliance and Dublin Consumers' Gas Company.

(2) ( a ) In this Order "the Stockholders' Funds" means the aggregate of:--

(i) the amount of the Ordinary Stock of the Company issued and paid up, and

(ii) the interest of the members of the Company in the capital and revenue reserves of the Company.

( b ) For the purposes of paragraph (2) (a) (ii) of this Article, the interest of the members of the Company in the capital and revenue reserves of the Company shall include taxation equalisation account and unappropriated balances on profit and loss accounts but shall be arrived at after deducting--

(i) sums set aside for future taxation (excluding taxation equalisation account);

(ii) any amount standing to the debit of the profit and loss accounts of the Company;

(iii) any nominal amount heretofore added or which may hereafter be added to the amount of the Ordinary Stock on conversion of Stock in accordance with the provisions of the Acts.

( c ) For the purpose of ascertaining the Stockholders' Funds, the fixed assets of the Company may, from time to time, be valued by competent and duly qualified valuers and such valuations, if agreed by the Auditors of the Company, shall be conclusive and binding in so far as they form part of or are taken into account in ascertaining the Stockholders' Funds.

(3) Every word or expression to which a special meaning is assigned by the Acts or the Gas and Waterworks Facilities Act, 1870, or the Gas Regulation Act, 1920, shall, save where the context otherwise requires, have the same meaning in this Order.

4. All costs, charges and expenses of and incidental to the applying for and preparing and obtaining of this Order and otherwise in relation thereto shall be paid by the Company as part of the expenses of the undertaking.

5. ( a ) The form of the annual statement of accounts to be furnished by the Company pursuant to section 15 of the Gas Regulation Act, 1920, shall, in respect of the year ending on the 31st day of December, 1976, and in respect of each year thereafter, contain a statement of the Stockholders' Funds computed in accordance with Article 3 (2) of this Order.

( b ) The Auditors of the Company may certify the Statement of Stockholders' Funds as at the 31st day of December, 1975, computed in accordance with Article 3 (2) of this Order from the figures appearing in the statement of accounts furnished by the Company pursuant to section 15 of the Gas Regulation Act, 1920, in respect of the year ending on the 31st day of December, 1975, and such certified Statement of Stockholders' Funds shall, for the purposes of this Order, be deemed to have been stated in the said accounts for the year ending on the 31st day of December, 1975.

6. (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in section 40 of the Companies Clauses Consolidation Act, 1845, the Acts, in the Order of 1954, or the Order of 1966, the Company may borrow with or without security (including any mortgage or charge on the undertaking of the Company) such sums as the Directors of the Company may determine: PROVIDED that the total amounts so borrowed shall not exceed one and one half times the amount of the Stockholders' Funds as stated in the accounts of the Company pursuant to Article 5 of this Order.

(2) The sum stated to be the amount of the Stockholders' Funds in the last annual statement of accounts of the Company shall, for the purposes of this Article, be conclusive in favour of the Company and all persons dealing with the Company as to the amount of the Stockholders' Funds as at the date of any proposed borrowing by the Company.

(3) If the Company has at any time borrowings which are authorised by this Article, such borrowings shall, at all times thereafter, remain authorised borrowings of the Company notwithstanding that they may exceed one and one half times the sum stated to be the amount of Stockholders' Funds in any subsequent annual statement of accounts of the Company but so that the Company shall not at any time thereafter borrow further moneys until its indebtedness is reduced to a sum less than one and one half times the sum stated in the then current account as being the amount of the Stockholders' Funds appearing in the last annual statement of accounts of the Company or until the sum stated in such account as being the amount of the Stockholders' Funds is increased beyond two-thirds of the borrowings of the Company.

(4) Sums due by way of interest on moneys borrowed by the Company shall not be regarded as moneys borrowed by the Company unless they are, pursuant to the terms on which such moneys were borrowed, or otherwise, added to the principal sum borrowed so as to bear interest at the same rate as that borne by the principal sum in which event such sums, so capitalised, shall be regarded as moneys borrowed by the Company; but so that if, but for this provision, such capitalisation would result in the moneys borrowed by the Company exceeding the limits provided for in this Article, such limits shall be deemed not to have been exceeded.

(5) References in this Article to the annual statement of accounts of the Company or to the account of the Stockholders' Funds shall be taken to be references to the last such account furnished by the Company pursuant to the provision of section 15 of the Gas Regulation Act, 1920, notwithstanding that such last account may relate to a period ending on a 31st day of December prior to the 31st day of December preceding the date on which the Company exercises the power conferred on it by this Article.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 25th day of June, 1976.

PETER BARRY,

Minister for Transport and Power.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

This Order authorises the Alliance and Dublin Consumers' Gas Company to increase its borrowing powers up to a sum equal to one and a half times the Stockholders' Funds in the Company which are to be ascertained in accordance with the definition contained in this Order and are to appear in its annual statement of accounts.