53   Protection of certain electricity works

(1)  This section applies to all electricity works that, immediately before the commencement of the Electricity Supply Amendment (Protection of Electricity Works) Act 2006, were situated in, on or over land not owned by the network operator having control of those works, whether or not their presence, operation or use is supported by an agreement or other authority:

(a)  including any electricity works that, since that commencement, have been erected or installed on the same site for the purpose of repairing, replacing, modifying or upgrading those works, and

(b)  excluding any electricity works whose presence in, on or over the land is supported by a registered easement in favour of the network operator.

(2)  No action by the owner or occupier of the land lies against the network operator by reason of:

(a)  the presence in, on or over the land of electricity works to which this section applies, or

(b)  the operation or use of electricity works to which this section applies that are present in, on or over the land,

      and, as between the owner or occupier of the land and the network operator, the presence of those works, and their operation and use, are taken to be lawful for all purposes.

(3)  Nothing in subsection (2) relieves a person from any civil liability for negligence (as defined by section 5 of the Civil Liability Act 2002) to which the person becomes subject as a consequence of the way in which any electricity works to which this section applies are operated or used, are maintained, repaired, replaced, modified or upgraded or are removed.

(4)  In this section, registered easement means an easement that is registered:

(a)  in the Register kept under the Real Property Act 1900, in the case of land under the provisions of that Act, or

(b)  in the General Register of Deeds kept under the Conveyancing Act 1919, in the case of any other land.