B.v.I. Electricity Corporation v Circle Corporation Ltd

• Jurisdiction: British Virgin Islands
• Court: High Court (British Virgin Islands)
• Judge: Joseph, J.
• Judgment Date: 03 April 1985
• Neutral Citation: VG 1985 HC 5
• Docket Number: Civil Suit no. 107 of 1983
• Date: 03 April 1985

High Court of Justice

Joseph, J

Civil Suit no. 107 of 1983

B.V.I. Electricity Corporation

and

Circle Corporation Ltd.

Appearances:

Mr. McWelling Todman, Q.C. and Mr. Paul Webster for plaintiff.

Mr. J.S. Archibald, Q.C. and Mr. Gerard Farara for defendant.

Public Utility - Electricity.

Facts: The plaintiff company claimed for the unpaid balance of cost of electric power supplied to the defendant during the period January 18, 1980 to February 16, 1983. Drops in consumption in electric power were brought to attention of the secretary/accountant of the plaintiff company. The plaintiff company took certain action which resulted in subsequent readings of the defendant's meter showing a high consumption. The defendant was informed that there had been an under billing of its account up to February 1983. The under billing was due to incorrect meter reading and faulty wiring.

Held: The plaintiff's conduct of submitting bills to the defendant and accepting payment for electricity consumed as shown on bills without indicating that there was under billing amounted to a waiver of the sum for which no bills were submitted. No case submission upheld.

Joseph, J.

1 This action was instituted by the plaintiff by the filing on 23rd November 1983, of a writ of summons indorsed with a statement of claim in Which it claims that the defendant is indebted to the plaintiff; for the sum of $153,278.71 being unpaid balance of the cost of electric power supplied to the defendant's premises at Port Purcell, Tortola, during the period January 18th, 1980, to February 16th, 1983.

2 The defendant denies that it is indebted to the plaintiff and claims that it regularly paid in full all bills sent monthly by the plaintiff throughout the period January 18th, 1980 to February 16th, 1983, and that every bill stated the full measure and value of electric power supplied to the defendant according to the register of the plaintiff's meter which the plaintiff installed and kept regularly inspected on the defendant's premises.

3 Further, the defendant alleges that the plaintiff's claim is not a proper charge under the British Virgin Islands Electricity Corporation Ordinance, 1978 (No. 7 of 1978) (hereafter referred to as the Ordinance) and is therefore illegal. The defendant also alleges that the action of the plaintiff is unmaintainable owing to the laches, acquiescence and delay of the plaintiff.

4 The facts I have found are — that in December, 1982, after a conversation with St. Clair Scatliffe, Senior Accounts Officer of the plaintiff corporation, Phenic Royer, Senior Inspection Officer, went to the premises of the defendant and checked the meter at the back of the premises.

5 He compared the readings in the field book with his reading of the meter and discovered that whereas the meter carries six digits, only five digits were being recorded in the field book by the meter readers. He reported the matter to Mr. Scatliffe. Mr. Robert Arnott, General Manager, who also checked the meter in December, 1982, testified that the final digit on the meter that records units from zero to ten, was not being recorded. Mr. Arnott told a senior employee of the defendant what he had discovered.

6 In February, 1983, Mr. Royer returned to the premises of the defendant to check out a reported voltage drop. He stated that there was a voltage drop. He explained that the defendant was connected with a three phase supply of electricity: that one of the phases carrying too wires were connected in such a manner that the two wires by-passed the current transformer of the meter, so that whatever current was being used on these wires did not register on the meter.

7 Mr. Royer testified that a record book recording inspections of installation, shows that there was an inspection of the installation at the premises of the plaintiff on the 27th August, 1980 when there was a check of additional wiring — and on the 7th December, 1982. He also stated that he measures the amount of electricity energy a consumer uses by what the meter registers: that when a meter is not registering correctly, an investigation is made and a correction is made. He stated that the meter at the defendant's premises was corrected in February, 1983.

8 Mr. Scatliffe admitted that monthly bills showing the number of units alleged to have been shown by the meter for period January, 1980, to February, 1983, had been submitted to the defendant and had been paid.

9 The first drop in consumption in January, 1980, was brought to the attention of John Shipley, Secretary/Accountant of the plaintiff in December, 1982. The drop in consumption in August, 1981, was brought to his attention in February, 1983. On the 15th February 1983, the plaintiff took certain action, the result of which was that subsequent readings of the meter showed a higher consumption than was previously recorded.

10 By a letter dated 29th Parch, 1983, Howard Dart, General Manager of the defendant company wrote the plaintiff corporation forwarding copies of electricity bills for February and March and commenting that there seemed to be a discrepancy in the bills as the defendant's electricity bill had never before those months come close to $7,000, Mr. Arnott admitted receiving this letter, but did not reply as he was about to go on leave, which he did in mid April. Mr. Arnott wrote an the letter the words (leave for John” meaning he said, John Shipley.

11 Mr. Dart wrote a letter 28th April 1983, to the plaintiff, requesting that a meter reader “show me how he arrives at reading our meter” as the bill was much more than previously. This letter carries a note made by R.C. Broomfield, Acting General Manager, to Mr. Scatliffe requesting to check the latest readings and advise him. No meter reader was sent to the defendant's promises as requested by Mr. Dart.

12 On 4th May, 1983, Mr. Broomfield wrote Mr. Dart advising him of the incorrect meter reading and the faulty wiring, and explaining that the bills submitted subsequent to the above discovery would show considerable increases over previous bills. He informed Mr. Dart that there had been underbilling of the...