Electricity Act 1994

This section applies to an inspection officer who enters a place.

However, if an inspection officer enters a place to get the occupier’s consent to enter a place, this section applies to the inspection officer only if the consent is given or the entry is otherwise authorised.

The inspection officer may, for a prescribed purpose—

search any part of the place; or

inspect, measure, test, photograph or film any part of the place or anything at the place; or

take a thing, or a sample of or from a thing, at the place for analysis or testing; or

copy a document at the place; or

take into or onto the place any persons, equipment and materials the inspection officer reasonably requires for exercising a power under this part; or

require a person at the place to give the inspection officer reasonable help to exercise the inspection officer’s powers under paragraphs (a) to (e); or

require a person at the place to answer questions by the inspection officer to help the inspection officer ascertain whether this Act is being or has been complied with.

When making a requirement mentioned in subsection (3)(f) or (g), the inspection officer must warn the person it is an offence to fail to comply with the requirement, unless the person has a reasonable excuse.

A person given a requirement under subsection (3)(f) or (g) must comply with the requirement, unless the person has a reasonable excuse.

It is a reasonable excuse for the person to fail to comply with the requirement that complying with the requirement might tend to incriminate the person.

A reasonable excuse does not include a matter of mere convenience.

In this section—

for monitoring and enforcing compliance with this Act; or

if the purpose of the entry was to help an approved auditor carry out an audit commissioned under section 135IT and the occupier of the place is a person to whom the audit relates—for the carrying out of the audit.