The Governor-General may, by Order in Council, declare any two or more districts to be united, and to form one district, with such name as he thinks fit:

“Provided that no such Order in Council shall be made unless the Board of each of the districts proposed to be united has made a special order recommending that the districts should be united so as to form one district.

By the same or any other Order in Council the Governor-General shall fix the date for the first election of members of the Board of the united district and may make such provisions as he thinks necessary or expedient for the purpose of giving effect to the union or facilitating the administration of the Boards of the districts to be united during the transitional period between the time when special orders are made recommending that the districts should be united and the time when the Board of the united district is able to function.

The date fixed for the first election may be any date not later than the date of the next triennial election of Electric Power Boards and any Order in Council under this section may provide that members of the Boards of the districts to be united, or such number of those members as may be determined in accordance with the Order in Council, shall, until members elected at the first election of the Board of the united district come into office, constitute the Board of the united district, subject to such conditions as may be prescribed in the Order in Council.

Except as otherwise provided by or under this section, the provisions of this Act as to the first election of members of the Board of a new district shall apply with respect to the first election of the Board of a united district.

For the purposes of this section two or more districts shall be deemed to be united on a date fixed in that behalf by Order in Council under this section, which may be a date before or after the date fixed for the first election of members of the Board of the united district.

Notwithstanding the provisions of this or any other Act and notwithstanding that an election may have been held for members of the Board of a united district, the members elected shall not come into office before the date fixed under subsection (5) of this section.

On the union of two or more districts under this section the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:

Subject to the provisions of this section, the Governor-General may, from time to time, by Order in Council—

No area shall be included in a district pursuant to an Order in Council under subsection (1) of this section if a licence is in force under Part XIII of the Public Works Act 1928 authorising any local authority to supply electrical energy in the area, whether or not the area is within an outer area, without the consent of that local authority.

No area shall be included in a district pursuant to an Order in Council under subsection (1) of this section unless the Board of every district affected has made a special order recommending that the area or areas proposed to be included in a district should be so included.

Notice of any special order under subsection (3) of this section shall be published at least once in a newspaper circulating in the area proposed to be included and a copy of the order shall be served on every local authority having jurisdiction in that area.

If a request in writing signed by not less than fifteen per cent of the ratepayers within the area proposed to be included in a district under this section that the area should not be so included is, within twenty-eight days after the date of the first publication of the notice under subsection (4) of this section, delivered to the Minister, no Order in Council under this section shall be issued in respect of that area.

Notwithstanding the provisions of this or any other Act, any area to which any Order in Council under subsection (1) of this section applies shall, from a date to be prescribed in that behalf in the Order in Council, be deemed to be included in the appropriate district in accordance with the Order in Council.

Where a notice has been published under subsection (4) of this section, any provision of this Act, other than this section, relating to the change of boundaries of a district shall be deemed to be suspended so far as it applies to any area to which the notice relates until an Order in Council under this section relating to the area has been made or, as the case may be, a request under subsection (5) of this section has been delivered to the Minister.”

Subject to the provisions of section 56 of the Local Authorities Loans Act 1956, all money belonging to the Board shall be paid into such bank as the Board from time to time appoints, to an account to be called the Power Fund Account.

Subject to the provisions of this section, no money shall be drawn out of the Power Fund Account except pursuant to a resolution of the Board; and all money shall be paid by the Board in cash, or by cheque signed by any member of the Board authorised by the Board to sign cheques and countersigned by the Treasurer or any other person authorised in that behalf by the Board:

“Provided that it shall be lawful to make payments between meetings of the Board without a prior resolution of the Board.

At each ordinary meeting of the Board there shall be submitted for its approval a list of all payments made under subsection (2) of this section without a prior resolution of the Board since the last preceding ordinary meeting of the Board.

Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (2) of this section, it shall be lawful for any Board, with the prior consent in writing of the Audit Office (which consent may be general or specific) and subject to such conditions as the Audit Office prescribes, to pay any money by cheque issued by means of a cheque-writing machine, and every cheque issued by means of such a machine and bearing the facsimile of the signature of the Treasurer or of the Treasurer and such other person as the Board may by resolution authorise in that behalf shall be deemed to have been duly signed and countersigned in accordance with this section.”

If any land taken under this Act or otherwise acquired by the Board or any buildings erected on any such land are not required for the purposes of the Board, the Board may—

Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit or affect the provisions of section 122 of this Act.”

Every order, notice, or other such document requiring authentication by the Board may, unless otherwise provided, be signed by any two members of the Board or by an officer of the Board authorised by the Board in that behalf, and need not be under seal.”