Customer Charter Electricity and Gas Residential Customers South Australia and Victoria keeping it fair
This charter is a summary of your rights and obligations as an Alinta Energy customer under applicable laws and codes and your energy contract with us. It applies to all small customers in South Australia and Victoria. You should read this charter in conjunction with your energy contract to understand what our obligations are to you and what your obligations are to us. A list of the applicable laws and codes are contained within the Applicable Laws and Codes section of the Customer Charter. 2
The energy industry What retailers do Retailers like us sell electricity and / or gas. In South Australian and Victoria energy customers are able to choose which retailer they buy their electricity and gas from. What distributors do Local distributors are responsible for the physical delivery of electricity and gas to customers. Our role in this process principally is to arrange for the connecting of electricity and or gas 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 electricity and gas to your supply address; and the quality, reliability and other characteristics of electricity and gas. In South Australia we are obliged to use best endeavours to supply gas to our customers in accordance with the law, including minimising the frequency and duration of supply interruptions. Inevitably, energy supply is affected by fluctuations and interruptions from time to time. If your supply is disrupted or you are experiencing any type of fault or failure, please contact your distributor at the Faults and Emergencies number shown in the top right corner of your account. Otherwise, contact us and we can advise you of your distributor s contact number. Your rights and obiligations Your rights and obligations as an Alinta Energy customer are described in your energy contract. Your energy supply is also regulated by applicable laws and codes, our retail licences and the Australian Consumer Law. The terms and conditions of your energy contract must comply with and must not be inconsistent with the applicable codes in your State. Our obligations We must comply with applicable laws and codes. Your energy contract Parts of your energy contract Your energy contract with us is made up of the following parts: your offer (in South Australia) or your offer summary (in Victoria); our price fact sheet (if you are in South Australia) and our price and product information statement (if you are in Victoria); contract terms in our Energy Contract Booklet; and where applicable, a direct debit arrangement. Key obligations under your energy contact Under your energy contract we sell you the electricity or gas supplied to your supply address, or we sell both. We will arrange for your distributor to connect your supply address to its distribution system, if you ask us. We also arrange for your distributor to supply energy to your supply address or, in the case of gas, we do this ourselves by arranging supply with your distributor. In return, you are required to pay amounts we bill you. 3
Flexibility and portability If your energy contract covers just electricity or just gas and later, you want to extend it to both energy types, then we can arrange that under the same energy contract. If your energy contract covers both electricity and gas and you decide to transfer to another retailer for one of those energy types, then your energy contract will continue on but only in respect of the other energy type. You may be liable for early termination fees. If you notify us that you want to transfer your energy contract because you are moving, then, from when you move, your energy contract will apply in respect of the new supply address. Different network, metering or other charges may apply in respect the new supply address. When your energy contract begins Your 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 off You have a right to cancel your energy contract without any reason or penalty within a cooling off period. The cooling off period if you are a South Australian energy customer is 10 business days from and including the last to occur of the day after you signed or received your energy contract together with our disclosure statement. If you are a customer in Victoria the cooling off period is 10 business days from and including the last to occur of the day after we and you agree to enter into the contract or, the date on which your explicit informed consent was given to the contract (relevant date). To cancel this energy contract, you need to provide notice to us before the cooling off period ends, clearly indicating your intentions. You can do this in writing, by fax, at alintadirect. com.au or over the telephone. You can also leave the notice at the address listed for Victorian contracts: Alinta Energy, Level 7, 457 St Kilda Road Melbourne VIC 3000. Term Your offer will specify the term of the contract which starts when we start to sell energy to you. When our energy contract ends Your energy contract will end: if it is terminated by you. You must provide us with 20 business days notice if the supply address is in South Australia and 28 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. Depending on the plan you have chosen, you may be liable for early termination fees; if your energy contract is a fixed term energy contract, at the expiry date of the fixed term; if you have breached your 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 if we can no longer sell you energy to you due to a last resort event. 4
When we start selling you energy We will not start selling you 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; and we have become financially responsible for your supply address. 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 immediately terminate your energy contract. We will not have to provide any compensation to you. Fixed term contracts If you have chosen a fixed term energy contract and you terminate it before the expiry date, you may be liable for early termination fees as detailed in our energy price fact sheet. Before a fixed term energy contract expires, we will advise you of the expiry date, the terms that will apply after the expiry date if you make no other arrangements (including the tariff and terms and conditions that will apply), the options available to you and your ability to choose the retailer from whom you wish to purchase energy. Arrangements if you vacate the supply address If you are vacating the supply address you must notify us of the date on which you intend to vacate and give us your forwarding address. We will send you a final account at the forwarding address. Variations in tariffs, additional charges and changes in discounts Our tariffs and charges for electricity and gas are detailed in our energy price fact sheet. 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 would like to change from the tariff specified in your offer to another tariff you may ask us to do so and we must transfer you to the alternate tariff within 10 business days. If you are a Victorian customer we must also provide you information of available tariffs. Our tariffs may be varied We may impose an additional charge if there is, or we fairly and reasonably expect there will be, an increase in our environmental, market, metering, network and regulatory costs relative to those costs as at the date of our offer or on which we last imposed an additional charge on you, if the 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 what is required to recover such an increase in costs. There will be no additional charge to the extent that we recover a costs increase through variations in our tariffs. We may also vary our tariffs, charges and discounts as contemplated by our energy contract with you. We will give you notice of any variations to tariffs, charges and discounts which may be in a message on your account. Energy concessions If you are entitled to a concession or benefit we will apply that concession or benefit accordingly. We will provide you with information on concessions or benefits on request. 5
Billing Your accounts will include the amount you must pay for the energy consumed at your supply address, any amounts due to the distributor, a graph covering your energy consumption, the due date and payment methods. Energy accounts for a supply address in Victoria will also show bulk hot water charges separately in accordance with applicable laws and codes. Where the supply address in Victoria has a smart meter, information in accordance with applicable laws and codes will also be included. Your accounts will be sent according to the billing cycle set out in the offer and we must issue a bill at least quarterly and, in respect of a gas contract in Victoria, at least every two months. As a general rule, we will base your accounts on readings of your meters. However in some cases the law may allow us to provide you with an account based on an estimate of energy consumed. 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. If you ask us to review an account we will do so. 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. You may also request us to check the meter reading or meter data or test the meter and we must do so where you pay us the reasonable charge of doing so. If we have overcharged you we will inform you 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 amount owing except that, in some circumstances, we can only recover the amount undercharged in the 12 months prior to the meter reading date on the last account sent. If you are a customer with a supply address 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. Paying your account You must pay amounts billed by us for the energy we have sold you and any charges you have incurred which will be 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. You must also pay any related GST. 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 may 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. 6
You should contact us if you are experiencing difficulties paying your account or instalments by the due date. Our hardship policy can be found at alintadirect.com.au or can be obtained by contacting us on 133 702. Shortened collection cycles We may also apply a shortened collection cycle in accordance with applicable laws and codes. We will give you notice if this occurs. Shortened billing cycles If your supply address is in Victoria, and you make a request to us, we may agree to provide you with a shortened billing cycle. We may impose an additional retail charge for making the different billing cycle available. Credit checks, security deposits and refundable advances We may, at any time, conduct a check on your creditworthiness. If we determine your creditworthiness is unacceptable to us and the law allows us, we may require that you pay: a security deposit if you are a customer in South Australia; or a refundable advance if you are a customer in Victoria, to us. In certain circumstances set out in applicable laws and codes we must return the security deposit or refundable advance to you. We may only use a security deposit or refundable advance in accordance with applicable laws and codes. Disconnection In accordance with applicable laws and codes, and only if we comply with all of the requirements of the applicable laws and codes, we may arrange for the disconnection of your supply address. The circumstances in which we might disconnect you include when you request disconnection, when you do not pay your account by the due date and when you deny or fail to allow access to your meter. There may be other situations where your distributor may disconnect your supply address. We must also give you warning that we propose to disconnect your supply address for non-payment. 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 the 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; 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 on an extreme heat day. 7
Reconnection Where your supply address has been disconnected (other than at your request), if within 10 Business Days of disconnection you have remedied the reason for our arranging disconnection you have the right to ask that we arrange the distributor to reconnect the supply of energy to your supply address. We will arrange the reconnection of your supply address if you comply with all conditions under your energy contract and pay any applicable reconnection fee. If you make your request before 3 pm on a business day we will arrange for a same day reconnection. If you make your request after 3pm on a business day we will arrange for a next business day reconnection. If you make your request after 3pm but before 9pm and you pay any applicable additional after hour s reconnection fee we will reconnect you on the day requested. Where we are able to reconnect you by remote re-energisation and it is safe to do so we will use best endeavours to reconnect your supply address within two hours of your request. Force majeure Any obligation you or we might have (other than an obligation to pay money) will be suspended if you or we cannot meet it due to an event outside our control. If either of us is affected by such an event we must give prompt notice to the other in accordance with applicable laws and codes and use reasonable endeavours to remove, overcome or minimise the effects of the event although we do not need to settle any industrial dispute unfavourably to us. Energy use In using energy at your supply address, you must comply with the law. Upon request we must provide you with advice on the use of energy free of charge. If we have undercharged you as a result of your fraud or intentional consumption of energy otherwise than in accordance with applicable laws and codes or the terms of your energy contract we may estimate the consumption for which you have not paid or take debt recovery action for the unpaid amount. Gas Customers in South Australia If your energy contract is for the sale of gas in South Australia then: Upon request we must provide an explanation for any change in the quality of supply of gas within 10 business days of the request; and At your request we must provide advice on the facilities required to protect gas equipment; You must ensure your use of supply does not interfere with the distribution system or any other gas installation; We must give you at least 4 business days notice of a planned interruption to gas supply; We must provide an explanation for any unplanned maintenance or interruption to gas supply. Access You must provide us, your distributor and any person providing a meter or metering services at the supply address with safe and unhindered access to your supply address and the meter. 8
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 and code we: (a) give no condition, warranty or undertaking, and we make no representation to you about the condition or suitability of energy, its quality, fitness or safety other than those set out in your energy contract; (b) are not liable for any loss, liability, claim or damage you may suffer because of energy we may sell you under your energy contract. To the extent permitted by law our liability under your 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 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 1.3.7 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 You must provide us with all the information we reasonably need to sell and supply you energy under your energy contract. You must let us know if there is life support equipment in use at your supply address. 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; information about various government assistance and concessions schemes; historical billing information we have retained in accordance with the law; and copies of our customer 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. In collecting, using and disclosing your personal information, we will comply with the National Privacy Principles and the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). A copy of our privacy policy can be obtained at alintadirect.com.au. Legal matters Any amendments we make to your energy contract must be agreed by both you and us. You cannot transfer your energy contract to another person without our prior written consent. We need your prior written consent to any transfer too, except that we may transfer your energy contract to another person as part of a sale of the whole or part of our business. Any complaint you may have about any matter arising under your energy contract will be dealt with in accordance with our complaints handling procedure which can be obtained at alintadirect.com.au or by calling 133 702. 9
Applicable laws and codes In this charter, applicable laws and codes means all relevant legislation, regulations, codes, guidelines, orders in council, licences, proclamations, directions or standards applicable in South Australia or Victoria and which govern the sale of electricity, gas or the energy contract between us including: (a) where the supply address is in Victoria: the Energy Retail Code determined by the Essential Services Commission, the Electricity Industry Act 2000 (Vic), the Electricity Safety Act 1998 (Vic), the National Electricity (Victoria) Act 1997, the Gas Industry Act 2001 (Vic), the Gas Safety Act 1997 (Vic), the Code of Conduct for Marketing Retail Energy in Victoria made by the Essential Services Commission of Victoria and any other Guidelines or Codes issues by the Essential Services Commission of Victoria, the Electricity Customer Transfer Code, the Electricity Customer Metering Code and the Gas Distribution System Code; (b) where the supply address is located in South Australia: this includes the Energy Retail Code made by the Essential Services Commission of South Australia the National Electricity (South Australia) Act 1996, any gas, electricity or energy guidelines or codes issued by the Essential Services Commission of South Australia, and the Energy Retail Code; and (c) wherever the supply address is located: this includes the National Electricity Rules, the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth), the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and, from their commencement in the relevant state or territory in which the supply address is located, the National Energy Retail Law and the National Energy Retail Rules. 10
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12_0047_CustomerCharter_Mar05 Alinta Energy Retail Sales Pty Ltd ABN 22 149 658 300 Alinta Energy GPO Box 1302 Melbourne VIC 3001 alintaenergy.com.au