3. After Article 5 of the Electricity Supply (Northern Ireland) Order 1972(1) there shall be inserted the following Article—
5A.—(1) Where the Department is at any time proposing that any assets or functions of Northern Ireland Electricity should be transferred to another body corporate, Northern Ireland Electricity may do anything which in its opinion is appropriate for the purpose of—
(a)facilitating the implementation of the proposal for the transfer; or
(b)facilitating the implementation of, or securing a modification of, any related proposals of the Department.
(2) The proposals which are to be treated for the purposes of this Article as related to a proposal of the Department for the transfer of anything from Northern Ireland Electricity to a body corporate shall include any proposal relating to, or to any matter connected with—
(a)any of the assets or liabilities of Northern Ireland Electricity which would be affected by the transfer, or any such assets or liabilities after their proposed transfer;
(b)the exercise, whether before or after the transfer, of any function which it is proposed to transfer to or otherwise vest in that body corporate; or
(c)the establishment or formation, flotation, control, finances or employees of that body corporate or of any other body corporate which is, or in pursuance of any proposal of the Department may become, a member of the same group as that body corporate.
(3) In relation to a proposal for the transfer of any assets or functions of Northern Ireland Electricity it may also do anything which in its opinion is appropriate for the purpose of promoting the interests of—
(a)any body corporate to which it is proposed to transfer the assets or functions of Northern Ireland Electricity; or
(b)any body corporate which is, or in pursuance of any proposal of the Department may become, a member of the same group as a body corporate to which it is pro-posed to transfer the assets or functions of Northern Ireland Electricity.
(4) The powers conferred by this Article shall be without prejudice to any power conferred otherwise than by virtue of this Article.
(5) For the purposes of this Article a body corporate is a member of the same group as another body corporate if it is a holding company or subsidiary of that other body corporate or if it is another subsidiary of that other body corporate’s holding company; and in this paragraph “holding company” and “subsidiary” have the same meaning as in the Companies (Northern Ireland) Order 1986(2).
(6) References in this Article to a body corporate shall include references to a body corporate which has not been established or formed but which may be established or formed in pursuance of a proposal of the Department.”.