Electricity and Gas Residential Customers South Australia and Victoria. keeping it fair

Transcription

1 Electricity and Gas Residential Customers South Australia and Victoria keeping it fair

2 Alinta Energy is a new retailer licensed to sell electricity and gas in South Australia and Victoria. Our challenge and commitment is to make energy more affordable for you. The Alinta Energy group has over 600,000 residential customers in Western Australia and plan to offer great energy deals to customers across New South Wales and Queensland in the future. Our group also has electricity generation and gas supply assets in many parts of Australia (and New Zealand). In South Australia, we produce over 30% of the state s energy through our two power stations at Port Augusta. In Victoria, we own and operate Bairnsdale gas-fired power station in Victoria s East Gippsland region. Whether it s someone working in one of our power stations in regional Australia, or the team member you speak to when you call with a query... all across Australia, our team is working together to make your energy more affordable. 2

3 How to contact the Alinta Energy team We know everyone s different when it comes to how they like dealing with companies. So choose to contact us in the way that suits you best. PHONE Monday to Friday from 8am to 7pm and Saturdays from 9am to 4pm (local time) FAX ONLINE POSTAL ADDRESS STREET ADDRESS alintaenergy.com.au Alinta Energy GPO Box 1302 Melbourne VIC 3001 Alinta Energy Level 7, 457 St Kilda Road Melbourne VIC 3000 Interpreter service National relay service To use the Teletypewriter (TTY) service, please call This is available for the cost of a local call. To use the Speak & Listen service, please call Large print A large print version of this document is available by calling A copy is also available at alintaenergy.com.au To use the Telephone Interpreter Service, please call

4 Welcome 2 Contact us 3 Concerns about the service you ve received? How to pay your account 6 Are you eligible for an energy concession? Need assistance paying your account? 7 Our Privacy Policy 8 Your Energy Contract 12 Contract Terms 13 Our Customer Charter 26 Glossary 34 Annexure for South Australian customers 37 Annexure for Victorian customers 38 Cancellation Notice

5 Questions about your new plan? Our aim is to provide you with options to choose from, so you can pick the plan which best suits your particular needs. We recommend you read this booklet and make sure you understand all the details. Please contact us if you have any queries. Concerns about the service you ve received? We also want to make sure you enjoy being a customer of Alinta Energy and welcome feedback, be it positive or negative. So if you re not happy with the service you re receiving from us, please let our team know as soon as you can so we can start resolving it for you. You can do this in a number of ways: call the team on (Monday to Friday 8am to 7pm and Saturdays from 9am to 4pm) log your feedback at alintaenergy.com.au post your comments to: Alinta Energy Feedback GPO Box 1302 Melbourne VIC 3001 Our commitment is to respond to you within five business days. Our aim is to resolve your query or complaint in this timeframe and to resolve your complaint in a fair and reasonable manner. However where we need more time to find the answer and solution, we will be sure to contact you within five business days to give you an update, and advise you of the time within which we expect to find the answer or solution. We will also confirm how frequently you d like to be updated moving forward. We will acknowledge your enquiry, complaint or dispute as soon as practicable but within 24 hours of receipt. Your complaint will be dealt with in accordance with our complaint handling procedures which can be found at alintaenergy.com.au. 5

6 How to pay your account One size doesn t always fit all, so we ve got a range of solutions for you to choose from when paying your Alinta Energy accounts. Each account you receive from us will include all our up to date payment options for the plan you are on, so keep an eye out in case we introduce anything new. Of course, if the plan you choose has a discount for paying by a particular method (such as Direct Debit), please make sure you pay each account using that method to ensure you receive your discount. PHONE OR WEB To make a payment from your MasterCard, VISA or American Express card, visit alintaenergy.com.au or call DIRECT DEBIT To set and forget, download a Direct Debit Application form from alintaenergy.com.au or call us on Your Direct Debit can come out of any cheque, savings, transaction or credit card account. BPAY Contact your bank or financial institution to make a payment from your cheque, savings, debit, credit card or transaction account. For more information visit IN PERSON Take your Alinta Energy account to any Post Office to pay by cash, cheque or EFTPOS. Are you eligible for an energy concession? South Australia If you are an energy customer in South Australia, the Department for Communities and Social Inclusion (formerly known as the Department for Families and Communities) provides a variety of concessions to help South Australians on low or fixed incomes including an energy concession of up to $158 per year (as at 1 July 2011). They have also recently introduced a Medical Heating and Cooling Concession. More information can be found in the Annexure for South Australian customers found on page 43 of this booklet. Eligibility for and entitlement to the concessions can be found at or you can call the Department for Communities and Social Inclusion Concessions Hotline on If you already receive an energy concession in South Australia, having your concession details transferred to Alinta Energy can be done in one simple phone call. Once you receive your first Alinta Energy electricity account, call the Department for Communities and Social Inclusion Concession Hotline and they will arrange the transfer. Your concession should then appear on future accounts from us, including a backdated amount to cover the concession not appearing on your first account. BY MAIL If cheque is your preferred method, just tear the payment options slip off the account you d like to pay, and post it with your cheque to the address shown on the slip. 6

7 Victoria If you are an energy customer in Victoria, the Department of Human Services offers a variety of concessions and benefits to assist low income Victorians with energy accounts. If you have a relevant concession card, you may be eligible for one of these concessions. More information can be found in the Annexure for Victorian customers found on page 44 of this booklet. Eligibility for and entitlement to the concessions can be found at concessions or you can call the Department for Human Services Concessions Information Line on Need assistance paying your account? Life can sometimes throw challenges your way. If you re having trouble paying an account by the due date, call us as soon as you can on and our team will be happy to talk you through the options available. This may include a payment extension, an instalment plan or other concessions, as shown in the Are you eligible for an energy concession section of this booklet. Full details of our hardship policy can be found on our website at alintaenergy. com.au or call us on and we will provide one to you. If you already receive an energy concession in Victoria, your concession details will be transferred to Alinta Energy. There is nothing you need to do for this to occur. 7

8 Introduction Alinta Energy respects and protects the privacy of its customers. This policy describes how we manage your personal information in accordance with the National Privacy Principles contained in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). Your personal information To enable us to sell energy and related services, we collect and hold personal information about you such as your name, date of birth, address, telephone or mobile phone number, other contact information and bank account or credit card details. We also collect and hold information relating to the supply of energy to your supply address such as information about your supply address, energy consumption, connection and interruptions and customer survey information. Occasionally, you provide personal information about other individuals to us, e.g. your representatives. We rely on you to inform those individuals that their personal information is being provided to us and that they may contact us for further information. Under the National Privacy Principles and the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), sensitive information includes information about a person s health, race, religion or criminal record. Generally, we do not collect or hold sensitive information about customers. However, in special cases we may collect and hold medical information from you, e.g. that a person ordinarily residing at your supply address is dependent on life support equipment. 8

9 How we collect personal information We collect personal information directly from you through: the operation of our telephone Customer Contact Centre; the marketing of our energy products including when offers are made to potential customers and contracts are entered into; your enquiries; our website; correspondence and messages from you; and your replies to offers and competitions in publications. Your phone calls may be monitored for training, service quality control and compliance purposes. We also collect personal information from third parties such as electricity and gas distributors, credit agencies, your representatives and contractors providing meter reading and payment agency services. In some circumstances we may obtain credit reports about you from a business that provides commercial credit worthiness information. When an individual browses our website, they do so anonymously. Personal information is not collected as they browse. We do not use cookies to collect statistical information on website usage. How we use personal information We use your personal information for our normal business operations, including: verifying your identity; contracting with you for the sale of energy; administering and managing the sale of energy to you including obtaining meter readings, billing, receiving payments and collecting debts; facilitating responses to your enquiries or complaints; marketing energy and other products and services; sending newsletters, offers and information to you; conducting credit checks; conducting customer surveys; and reporting to regulatory authorities and for regulatory compliance. If, after reasonable efforts, monies owed by you to us remain outstanding, we may supply relevant personal information and details of the monies owed to a credit agency. The information we may supply includes (but is not limited to): identity details that are sufficient to identify you; the fact that you have applied for credit and that we are a credit provider to you; advice about payments more than 60 days overdue which are in collection that we are permitted to report; that cheques drawn by you, or direct debit requests to your account, have been dishonoured; that, in our opinion, you have committed a serious credit infringement; and that credit provided to you has been paid or otherwise discharged. 9

10 Notification to a credit agency that any of your outstanding payments are no longer overdue will only be made following receipt of monies owed, including any accrued interest. At any time, you may opt out of receiving any communications from us other than as required for our normal business operations. We also use your personal information to provide you with information on products, services and offers that we believe may be relevant to you or that you would be interested in, even after you cease acquiring products or services from us. You can tell us if you do not want to receive such information by contacting us at When we disclose personal information We contract out certain services to facilitate the normal operation of our business. We take reasonable steps to ensure our contractors are bound by confidentiality and privacy obligations in relation to the protection of your personal information. We do not sell or give to other persons or organisations lists containing your personal information. How we secure personal information We take reasonable steps to protect the personal information we hold from misuse and loss and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. How we handle requests for access to personal information You may request access to details of the personal information that we hold about you at any time by contacting: Postal Address: Alinta Energy GPO Box 1302 Melbourne VIC 3001 Phone: Fax: Web: alintaenergy.com.au Phone calls will be answered Monday to Friday 8am to 7pm and Saturdays from 9am to 4pm. We will respond to any such request for access as soon as reasonably possible and in any event will acknowledge receipt within five days. We may require you to set out the request in writing. Wherever possible, we will provide a photocopy of your personal information details within five days of the request. If we cannot provide you access, we will provide a statement of our reasons. We take reasonable precautions to ensure that the personal information we collect, use and disclose is accurate, complete and up to date. If you believe there are errors in personal information we hold, you should let us know. We will consider if the information requires amendment. If we do not agree that there are grounds for amendment, then we will add a note to the personal information stating that you disagree and we will provide a statement of our reasons. Any questions about this policy or any complaints about our treatment of your privacy should be made in writing to our Privacy Officer using the details shown above. 10

11 Personal information that we share with related entities All personal information is collected and held by Alinta Energy or by its contractors on behalf of Alinta Energy. Some of this information may be disclosed to, and then also held by, related entities of Alinta Energy. This policy also applies to those related entities. Miscellaneous This policy represents our policy as at January We may change this policy from time to time. The current version is available at alintaenergy.com.au. Although we intend to observe this policy at all times, it is not legally binding on us in any way. From time to time we may regard it as necessary or desirable to act outside the policy. We may do so, subject only to any statutory rights a customer may have under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) or other applicable legislation. 11

12 Your energy contract with us is made up of the following parts: your offer; our energy price fact sheet; the contract terms included in the following pages; and where applicable, a direct debit arrangement. You would have been made aware of a lot of the details about your energy contract and the plan you ve chosen before you signed up with us. Please also take the time to read through the contract terms to ensure you re familiar with our obligations and your obligations. This energy contract only applies whilst you are a small energy customer. You must immediately notify us if you are not, or you cease to be, a small energy customer. If you are not, or you cease to be, a small energy customer then this energy contract will cease to apply. Your supply will continue on the standard contract terms that apply to non-small customers. This includes tariffs and pricing that apply to non-small customers. We will give you notice of your new contract terms, tariffs & pricing as soon as possible after we become aware of your change in customer status. These conditions will apply until you either enter into a new contract with us or another retailer. 12

13 Contract Terms These contract terms form part of an energy contract between us and you. If your supply address is in South Australia, the Annexure for South Australian Customers also applies. If your supply address is in Victoria, the Annexure for Victorian Customers also applies. What do we do Under this energy contract we agree to sell energy supplied to your supply address by your distributor. We also agree to arrange for your distributor to connect your supply address to its distribution system, if you ask us. We will arrange connection as soon as practicable after your request. We also agree to arrange for your distributor to supply energy to your supply address or, in the case of gas, to do this ourselves by arranging supply with your distributor. What you must do In return, you are required to pay amounts we bill you. Flexibility and portability If this energy contract covers just electricity or just gas and, later, you want it extended to both energy types please contact us. If we have an available plan we will provide you with a energy price fact sheet detailing the tariffs, charges and discounts applicable to the second energy type and, if you then notify us that those tariffs, charges and discounts are acceptable to you, we will take the necessary steps to become financially responsible for your supply address for the second energy type. From then, we will also sell the second energy type to you under this energy contract at those tariffs, charges and discounts. If this energy contract covers both electricity and gas and you decide to transfer to another retailer for one of those energy types, then, from when that other retailer becomes financially responsible for your supply address for that energy type, this energy contract will continue on but only in respect of the other energy type. Depending on the plan you have chosen, you may be liable for early termination fees. If you notify us that you want to transfer this energy contract to a new supply address because you are moving, then, from when you move, this energy contract will apply in respect of the new supply address on the terms initially detailed in your offer and our energy price fact sheet as well as these contract terms provided that, if different distribution, metering or other charges apply in respect the new supply address, there will be a corresponding difference in your tariffs. The term of the energy contract When the energy contract begins This energy contract begins on the day that you accept our offer whether you do this by signing our offer form, verbally accepting an offer made over the telephone or otherwise by accepting online. Cooling offyou have a right to cancel this energy contract without penalty within a cooling off period in accordance with the applicable Annexure. 13

14 When we start selling you energy Although this energy contract may have begun, we do not start selling you energy, and you have no obligation to pay us for energy, unless and until: we are satisfied with your eligibility for our offer; we are satisfied with your creditworthiness; the cooling off period has expired; your supply address has its own meter with a unique identifier such as a NMI in the case of an electricity meter and a MIRN in the case of a gas meter; and we have become financially responsible for your supply address in accordance with applicable laws and codes and if this energy contract includes gas, when we supply gas to you at the supply address. We will notify you when this occurs. If at any time before we start selling you energy we decide we are not satisfied with your eligibility for our offer or with your creditworthiness, we may ask you for a security deposit or refundable advance, or we may immediately terminate this energy contract by giving notice to you. We will not have to provide any compensation to you. When this energy contract ends This energy contract will end: if it is terminated by you. To do this you must provide us with 20 business days notice if the supply address is in South Australia and28 days notice if the supply address is in Victoria or, in either South Australia or Victoria, if you are vacating your supply address, 3 business days notice; if this is a fixed term energy contract, at the expiry date, in which case the section below on fixed term contracts applies; subject to applicable laws and codes, if you have breached this energy contract, we have disconnected your energy supply and you have lost your right to be reconnected under applicable laws and codes; if another retailer has become financially responsible for your supply address; if you have entered into a new energy contract with us for your supply address; if our contract with your distributor ends; or subject to the applicable Annexure, if we can no longer sell energy to you due to a last resort event. All accrued rights and obligations will not be affected when this energy contract ends. Fixed term contracts If this is a fixed term energy contract and you terminate it before the expiry date or another retailer has become financially responsible for your supply address before the expiry date due to action taken by you then, subject to applicable laws and codes, you may be liable for early termination fees as detailed in our energy price fact sheet. If this is a fixed term energy contract, then, no earlier than the first notice date prior to the expiry date and no later than the second notice date prior to the expiry date, we will advise you of: the expiry date; the terms that will apply to you after the expiry date if you make no other arrangements with us or another retailer. This will include the tariff and terms and conditions that will apply; and the options available to you including your ability to choose the retailer from whom you wish to purchase energy. 14

15 Arrangements if you vacate your supply address If you terminate this energy contract because you vacate your supply address you must provide at least 3 business days notice to us of the date on which you intend to vacate and give us your forwarding address. We will use our best efforts to ensure the meter is read, or metering data is obtained, on that date and at a time agreed with you. If having used best efforts we cannot read the meter at the time agreed or for any reason access to the meter is not available, then as soon as possible after that date we will read the meter and send you a final account at the forwarding address. If you do not give us the required notice, or you have provided the required notice but not agreed a time for the meter to be read, or we cannot access the meter, then you will continue to be liable for energy consumed at the supply address until the earlier of: we otherwise become aware you have vacated the supply address and the meter is read or metering data is obtained. This will happen within 3 business days of us becoming aware you have vacated the supply address, if you provide access to the meter, and otherwise as soon as reasonably possible; another customer enters into an energy contract with us for the supply address; or another retailer becomes financially responsible for the supply address. Last resort event If a last resort event occurs in respect of electricity or gas we are required to transfer you to another retailer. To effect this transfer we will, within 1 business day of the occurrence of the last resort event, provide the appointed retailer with your name and billing address and details of your meter. Tariffs, charges and discounts Applicable tariffs, charges and discounts Our tariffs and charges for electricity and gas are detailed in our energy price fact sheet. If the tariffs included in our energy price fact sheet are not the tariffs we generally apply to customers of your type, in your distribution area, with your meter type and any other characteristic referred to in your offer, we will notify you as soon as practicable of the correct tariffs and they will apply to you under this energy contract as if they instead had been included in our energy price fact sheet. If we have billed you before this correction is made, we will adjust the account. You may also be entitled to a discount off our tariffs depending on the plan you have chosen and your other circumstances, as detailed in our energy price fact sheet. If you enter into an energy contract with us for another supply address, we may include your charges for the vacated supply address in an account for the new supply address. 15

16 Variations in tariffs, additional charges and changes in discountsa variation in the tariff may occur to reflect our reasonable estimate of the increase in the costs we have or will incur in: purchasing the energy we to provide to you; and/or meeting any financial liability or obligation imposed on us, as a consequence of the Clean Energy Act 2011 (Cth), or any other Act that formed part of the clean energy legislative package that was enacted together with the Clean Energy Act 2011 (Cth), or any other law that replaces any of these Acts. Subject to any applicable laws and codes, we may impose an additional charge if there is, or we reasonably expect there will be, an increase in costs relative to costs as at the date of our offer or on which we last imposed an additional charge on you, if that costs increase is specifically or otherwise attributable to you or to the energy we sell you. The amount of the additional charge will be no more than our reasonable estimate of what is required to recover such an increase in costs. There will be no additional charge to the extent that we recover the costs increase as a part of the tariff or by another mechanism. The amount of any additional charge in respect of: any costs increase which is specifically attributable to you or to the energy we sell you will reasonably reflect that increase; and any other costs increase will reasonably reflect that increase by way of allocating to you a share of that increase corresponding to your share of the energy we purchase for you and other customers to whom the costs increase is also attributable. In the preceding sections: costs means our environmental costs market costs, metering costs, network costs and regulatory costs; environmental costs means costs we incur in meeting our environmental obligations in connection with energy consumed by you at your supply address and by our other customers. It also means any other charge imposed on us if we do not, or are not able to, meet those environmental obligations and also includes any increase in the costs we incur or will incur in purchasing the energy we provide to you where that increase is directly attributable to the costs incurred by another party in meeting its environmental obligations; environmental obligations means obligations imposed under any law for the direct or indirect purpose of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, increasing the generation of electricity from renewable sources or encouraging the efficient use of energy including (without limitation) any costs incurred as a consequence of the Clean Energy Act 2011 (Cth) or any other Act that formed part of the clean energy legislative package that was enacted together with the Clean Energy Act 2011 (Cth) or any other law that replaces any of these Acts; market costs means all participant charges, ancillary service charges, system security charges and other market charges payable by us in connection with energy consumed at your supply address and by our other customers; metering costs means charges we incur in connection with metering the consumption of energy at your supply address including the provision, installation and maintenance of metering equipment and the collection and processing of metering data in accordance with the law and our own requirements; 16

17 network costs means any charges levied by any network operator which includes the distributor or any transmission provider in connection with the supply of energy; transmission provider means in relation to electricity, a company who transports electricity at high voltage and in relation to gas, a company who transports gas in high pressure gas pipelines; regulatory costs means charges we incur in connection with selling energy to you resulting from a change in law including a change in the loss factors applicable to electricity we sell you and a change in the amount of unaccounted for gas allocated to us. We will give you notice of any variations to tariffs, charges and discounts which may be in a message on your account or given in accordance with applicable laws and codes. If a tariff, charge or discount applicable to you or your supply address changes midway through a billing cycle we will calculate your account on a pro rata basis so you are charged the new tariff of charge, or the new discount is applied, from the date of the change until the end of the billing cycle. You will be liable for, and we may charge you for, any costs charged to us by the distributor where due to any act or omission on your part which caused the distributor to be unable to provide its services or meet its obligations. Energy concessionsif you are entitled to a concession we will apply that concession accordingly. Billing Separate accounts for electricity and gas If we sell you both electricity and gas under this energy contract, we will bill you separately for each energy type. The contents of your accounts Your accounts will comply with applicable laws and codes. They will include: the amount you must pay for the energy consumed at your supply address; any amounts due to the distributor in respect of your supply address; a graph to help you understand your energy consumption; the total amount of electricity (in kwh) and gas (in MJ) consumed; the due date; payment methods; and contact numbers to make enquiries and to report faults. When and how you will receive your accounts Your accounts will be sent to the billing or address set out in your offer. We must issue an account at least quarterly and, in respect of a gas contract in Victoria, at least every two months. If this energy contract is for both electricity and gas, accounts will be issued according to the billing cycle set out in the offer for each energy type. If we send your account by and we become aware that the has not reached you, we will send a copy of the account to you by ordinary mail as soon as practicable, usually within 1 business day. However, the original due date will stand. 17

18 How your accounts are calculated As a general rule we will base your accounts on actual readings of your meters. However, in some cases applicable laws and codes may allow us to provide you with an account based on an estimate of the energy consumed at your supply address. If we do this and we subsequently obtain a meter reading or more reliable data, we will adjust your next account. If your supply address in Victoria has a smart meter and we cannot reasonably or reliably base an account on actual data collected from your smart meter, then we must prepare an estimated account in accordance with the applicable laws and codes. In certain circumstances, charges may be applied by the distributor based on estimated meter readings in which case future accounts may be adjusted to reflect actual usage. In any event, we will use our best endeavours to ensure your meter is read at least once in any 12 month period. If you ask us to replace an estimated account with one based on a meter reading, we will do so and may charge you for doing so. Review of your account If you ask us to review an account we will do so and report back to you within 20 business days. While this review is being conducted, you must pay the undisputed amount. You must also pay future accounts while the disputed account is under review. If you tell us you want the meter reading or meter data checked or the meter tested, we will arrange that. You must pay the reasonable charge for this in advance. If after a review we find the account was correct you must pay us any unpaid amount. If the account was incorrect, we will adjust the account and refund any charge you have paid in advance or credit the amount of that charge in the adjusted account. Overcharging and undercharging If we have overcharged you we will inform you within 10 business days of when we become aware of the overcharging and repay the overcharged amount according to your instructions or otherwise as required by the law. If we undercharged you or have not charged you at all we may recover any such amount. However, if the undercharging occurred because we failed to issue an account or because we issued an estimated account, or if the undercharging was the result of an error by us or the distributor, we can only recover the amount undercharged in the 12 months prior to the meter reading date on the last account sent. If your supply address is located in Victoria and the undercharging was attributable to a failure of our billing system we cannot recover the amount undercharged more than 9 months prior to the date we notify you that the undercharging has occurred. If we fail to issue an account and we seek to recover any undercharged amounts we must offer you an opportunity to pay the amount under an instalment plan in accordance with applicable laws and codes. We must provide you with reasonable information on distribution charges, retail charges and any other charges. You can elect to pay this amount in instalments over the same period of time that you were undercharged. Paying your account What you must pay You must pay amounts billed by us for the energy we have sold you and any additional charges detailed in our energy price fact sheet or these contract terms and separately itemised on your account. You must pay us any charges forwarded on from your distributor or any person providing a meter or metering services at your supply address including charges for connection, 18

19 disconnecting and reconnecting your supply address and charges for meter testing and special meter reads. You must also pay any related GST. How and when you must pay your account You can choose from the payment methods applicable to the plan you have chosen as set out on your account or those allowed under applicable laws and codes. Your account must be paid by the due date specified on your account. This will be not less than 12 business days from the date we send the account. If you do not pay by the due date we will send you a reminder that the account is past due and giving you a further due date which will be not less than 5 business days after the date the notice is issued. You can choose to pay your account in advance. If we incur a fee as a result of a payment you have made being dishonoured or reversed, we may recover that fee from you as permitted by law. Applying your payments If we sell you electricity and gas under this energy contract we will apply payments as you direct or, if you do not give us a direction, in proportion to the respective amounts billed for each energy type. If we include a charge in an account for any other good or service we have sold to you then, unless you direct us otherwise, we will apply your payments first to the amount applicable to energy. Late payments If you fail to pay your account by the due date then, we may do one or more of the following: charge you any late payment fee detailed in our energy price fact sheet and any other costs associated with recovering the unpaid amount; subject to applicable laws and codes, charge you interest on the late payment; or commence a disconnection process. Payment difficulties If you are unable to arrange payment due to illness or long absence, we will on request redirect your accounts to your nominated representative. You should contact us if you are experiencing difficulties paying your account or instalments by the due date. We may offer you payment assistance in accordance with the law which may include: an instalment plan under which you may have the ability to pay your accounts by regular instalments in advance or to pay any overdue amounts and future accounts by regular instalments and under which you will be obliged to pay each instalment amount by the agreed due date; information about your right to have your accounts redirected to someone else; advice about independent financial counselling; energy efficiency advice; and information about various government assistance and concession schemes. Subject to applicable laws and codes, we may choose not to offer you this assistance if you have been convicted of an offence involving fraud or theft of energy. 19

20 Shortened collection cycles If you are consistently late paying your accounts and we have complied with the requirements of the law, we may place you on a shortened collection cycle and will give you notice we have done so in accordance with the law. If you are on shortened collection cycle and pay three consecutive accounts by the due date, we will return you to the collection cycle you were on previously. Shortened billing cycles If your supply address is in Victoria, we may agree to provide you with a shortened billing cycle with a regular recurrent period: (a) in the case of an electricity contract, of less than three months; and (b) in the case of a gas contract, of less than two months. Under the agreement, we may impose an additional retail charge for making the different billing cycle available. Credit checks, security deposits and refundable advances We may conduct credit checks We may, at any time, conduct a check on your creditworthiness if we wish. All the information we collect in checking your creditworthiness will be gathered and dealt with in accordance with the privacy principles as set out of page 8. Security deposits and refundable advances If we determine your creditworthiness is unacceptable to us and the law allows us, we may require a security deposit if the supply address is located in South Australia or a refundable advance if the supply address is located in Victoria. The law may also allow us to require you to increase an existing security deposit or refundable advance. How the amount of the security deposit or refundable advance is calculatedif a security deposit or refundable advance is required it will be an amount not exceeding: 25% of the annual actual or estimated energy consumption where it has been determined that you have an unacceptable credit rating, in all other circumstances, 37.5% of the annual actual or estimated energy consumption. Repayment of a security deposit or refundable advanceif having provided us with a security deposit or refundable advance you then pay all your accounts by their due date for the period required under the law, or you stop taking a supply of energy at your supply address and cease being a customer, we will return the security deposit or refundable advance, together with accrued interest, in accordance with your instructions or otherwise as required by the law. Use of a security deposit or refundable advancewe will separately account for your security deposit or refundable advance. We will pay interest on your security deposit or refundable advance at a 90 day bank bill rate or otherwise as required by law. Your security deposit or refundable advance and accrued interest will be used to pay any outstanding energy accounts if: you are disconnected for failing to pay an account; you have left your supply address and have requested disconnection; or you have ceased to buy energy from us. We will notify you of any use of your security deposit or refundable advance and will pay any balance owing to you within 10 business days. 20

21 Disconnection When we are allowed to disconnect you In accordance with applicable laws and codes, and only if we comply with all of the requirements of applicable laws and codes, we may arrange for the disconnection of your supply address if: you request disconnection; you do not pay your account by the due date; you do not agree to an instalment plan or other option we offer you to pay your account; you do not adhere to an agreed instalment plan or other payment option; you deny or fail to allow access to your meter or your meter is inaccessible; you fail to provide a security deposit or refundable advance or acceptable identification when required; you use or obtain your energy illegally; or applicable laws and codes otherwise allow us to. There may be other situations where the distributor may disconnect your supply address. These may include circumstances where we notify you of potential breaches by you under applicable laws and codes relating to electric line clearance, accessibility to meters for reading and maintenance and other matters that may threaten health and safety; may cause damage to property or impact the safety or integrity of the distribution system and you fail to address the issues or circumstances. We will give you notice of our intention to disconnect your supply address in accordance with applicable laws and codes, unless disconnection is due to an emergency, for health and safety reasons or for illegal use of energy. You must co-operate with and assist the distributor and our personnel in respect of any disconnection. When we will not disconnect you We will not disconnect your supply address: for non-payment of an account if the amount due is less than any minimum set under the law and you have agreed to pay that amount; for non-payment if you have notified us that you are experiencing difficulties and we have not offered you alternative payment options; if you have notified us that a person ordinarily residing at your supply address is dependent on life support equipment; if you have an unresolved complaint about your account; if you have applied for government assistance or a concession and you are still awaiting a decision; if the unpaid amount is not for the supply or sale of energy; after 3.00pm on a business day; on a Friday, on a weekend, on a public holiday or on the day before a public holiday, except in the case of a planned interruption; or if you are a residential customer, for nonpayment of an account if the proposed disconnection date is an extreme heat day. Disconnection on request You may request disconnection and the issue of a final account. Once you ask us, we will use reasonable efforts to arrange disconnection of your supply address in accordance with your request. If you request disconnection but the distributor fails to disconnect you for any reason you will remain liable for any charges of the distributor to your supply address and we will pass those charges through to you. 21

22 Reconnection after disconnection If your supply address has been disconnected for non-payment by you of an account or non provision of a security deposit or refundable advance or because your meter is not accessible or you have denied or failed to allow access to your meter or you obtained supply illegally, and you rectify this within 10 business days of the disconnection, you comply with all other laws and you pay any relevant reconnection charges, then, on request and in accordance with the timeframes and other requirements of applicable laws and codes, we will request the distributor to arrange for your supply address to be reconnected. Reconnection is the responsibility of the distributor and we are not liable to you if such reconnection does not occur. Energy use Compliance with law In using energy at your supply address, you must comply with the law. You must: not use energy in a way which interferes with the distribution system or supply from that system; not allow energy supplied to you to be used other than at your supply address nor use energy at your supply address supplied from another address; not use energy supplied to you for a purpose inconsistent with any category of supply stated in your offer; and if you are a business customer, take reasonable steps to prevent loss on your side of the supply point which may be caused by difficulties with the quality or reliability of energy supply. Illegal use of energy If you have used or obtained energy from us unlawfully we may: arrange for immediate disconnection of your supply address; estimate the energy supply illegally obtained and bill you accordingly; and recover any related costs incurred by us such as repair costs and legal costs. Access Access to your supply address and meters You must provide us, the distributor and any person providing a meter or metering services with safe and unhindered access to your supply address and the meter provided: the person seeking access provides official identification to verify their identity; and the person s purpose solely concerns your energy supply including reading the meter, inspecting, repairing, testing or maintaining the meter or connecting, disconnecting or reconnecting your energy supply. Other obligations related to your meter You must notify us as soon as possible if something changes which affects safe and unhindered meter access. You must not damage, remove or in any way tamper with, or allow anyone else to tamper with, your meter. 22

23 Energy supply Supply of energy We will use best endeavours: to supply energy to you in accordance with applicable laws and codes. This is a limited obligation and there are exclusions as to when it may apply, e.g circumstances restricting the distributor from effecting any connections such as safety; to ensure our actions do not interfere with the safe operation of your distributor s distribution system; and to provide you with a reliable supply of energy in accordance with applicable laws and codes. We will do these things by, among other things, arranging for your distributor to supply energy to your supply address. Your distributor is responsible for: the connection of your supply address to its distribution system; the maintenance of that connection; the supply of energy to your supply address; and the quality, reliability and other characteristics of energy. Consequently we are not responsible for the supply of energy to you and therefore (subject to any applicable consumer guarantees under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth)) we are not liable for any loss, liability, claim or damage you suffer because of any failure, fluctuation or defect in the supply of energy to you by your distributor or because of any failure by the distributor to disconnect or reconnect your energy supply. The following section applies to the extent this energy contract concerns electricity. We cannot control the quality or reliability of electricity supplied to your supply address. You should be aware that electricity supply is affected by fluctuations and interruptions from time to time for a number of reasons, including: the location of your supply address; whether your supply address is served by underground or overhead mains; weather conditions; electricity demand at any given time; emergencies or dangerous conditions; animals and vegetation; damage to the electricity network; the limitations of the electricity network; and intervention by third parties such as the distributor. You accept that unexpected fluctuations or interruptions you experience in your electricity supply may cause damage or loss to equipment. You may be able to receive compensation from the distributor. However, we recommend you (but note that you are not required to) take steps to protect your equipment when these fluctuations or interruptions occur. The following section only applies to the extent this energy contract concerns gas. Without limiting any other terms of this energy contract concerned with supply interruptions: your gas supply may be interrupted for maintenance or repair, to install a new supply to another gas consumer, in an emergency or for health and safety reasons; we will provide a 24 hour telephone service to enable you to ascertain details of unplanned interruptions; we will provide you with 4 business days notice of interruptions required for planned maintenance or distribution system augmentation provided we are provided such notice by the distributor; and 23

24 we will provide you with at least 24 hours notice of any intention by us, the distributor or any contractor on our or their behalf to enter your supply address to connect or disconnect supply or to inspect, repair or test the gas installation. Liability for energy supply Under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) you may enjoy certain consumer guarantees. Other than under those consumer guarantees, or any other applicable law or code we: (a) give no condition, warranty or undertaking, and we make no representation to you about the condition or suitability of electricity, its quality, fitness or safety other than those set out in this energy contract; (b) are not liable for any loss, liability, claim or damage you may suffer because of energy we may sell you under this energy contract. To the extent permitted by law our liability under this energy contract for breach of implied conditions, warranties or undertakings is limited to: (i) providing equivalent goods or services (including energy) to your supply address; or (ii) paying you the cost of replacing the goods (including energy) or acquiring other equivalent goods. The paragraphs above are not intended to exclude, restrict or modify the operation of section 274 of the Australian Consumer Law or Part 5 of the Energy Retail Code determined by the Essential Services Commission of Victoria or clause of the Energy Retail Code made by the Essential Services Commission of South Australia. Nothing in this paragraph varies or excludes the operation of section 117 of the Electricity Act 2000 (Vic), section 78 of the National Electricity Law, section 232 or 233 of the Gas Act 2001 (Vic), section 50 and 109A of the Gas Safety Act 1997 (Vic) or section 53 and 88 of the Gas Act 1997 (SA). Provision of information and privacy Provision of information You must provide us with all the information we reasonably need to sell and supply you energy under this energy contract which may include information required by the distributor. This information must be correct and you must notify us as soon as possible of any changes to your details. You must let us know if there is life support equipment in use at your supply address and also if the person using that equipment vacates your supply address. We will pass this information on to your distributor as soon as practicable and give you your distributor s emergency telephone contact number. On request and in accordance with the law, we will provide you with: reasonable information on our energy charges including those we have billed; general advice about energy efficiency, advice about how, from whom and at what estimated cost you may arrange for an energy audit and advice on the typical running costs of major domestic appliances; information about various government assistance and concession schemes; historical billing information we have retained in accordance with the law; and copies of our charter, our privacy policy and this energy contract and copies of other documents as required by applicable laws and codes, in large print if required. Where applicable laws and codes allow, we may charge you for providing this information. 24