Legal proceedings
17. After Article 48 of the Electricity Supply Order there shall be inserted—
“Legal proceedings
48A.—(1) Notwithstanding anything in Article 19 of the Magistrates' Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1981, proceedings for an offence under paragraph 23, 24, 25, 26, 26A or 27 of Schedule 3 may be brought at any time within 6 months from the date on which evidence sufficient in the opinion of the Service to warrant the proceedings came to the knowledge of the Service; but no such proceedings shall be brought by virtue of this Article more than 2 years after the commission of the offence.
(2) For the purposes of this Article a certificate signed on behalf of the Service and stating the date on which such evidence as aforesaid came to the knowledge of the Service shall be conclusive evidence of that fact; and a certificate stating that matter and purporting to be so signed shall be deemed to be so signed unless the contrary is proved.”.