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Transcript of Contract Tariff - Ergon Energy
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Helping you with allyou need to know:Retail CustomerCharter
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The Customer Charter is a formaldocument that sets out ourcommitment to our residentialand small business customers.
It provides you with information about your
electricity retail contract with Ergon Energy
Queensland Pty Ltd (Ergon Energy). That is,
information on the rights and obligations
of providing a retail service and other
services to you.
The Customer Charter is only a summary
of these rights and obligations. They are
explained more fully under various pieces
of legislation, regulations and codes.
What do we do for you?
Ergon Energy is your electricity retailer.
This means we send you a bill for the
electricity and related services that
are delivered to your premises by
your distributor.
We sell electricity to you under a Standard
Retail Contract at prices established by the
Queensland Competition Authority and theQueensland Government.
The prices we charge are called ‘notified prices’.
The Standard Retail Contract sets out our
obligations to sell electricity to you, and your
rights and responsibilities when receiving it.
Our contract with you will only stop if you
choose another electricity retailer, finalise
your account, the premises is disconnected,
or the amount of electricity you use changes
you from a residential or small business
customer to a large business customer.
What is theCustomer Charter?
Do you have any questions?
For all enquiries relating to your purchase of
electricity and your account, just contact us.
We’re happy to help in any way we can.
All contact details can be found on the
back page of this Customer Charter booklet.
Note that Ergon Energy is responsible for
selling you the electricity that is delivered to
your premises by your electricity distributor.
For all enquiries relating to the physical
connection and/or supply of electricity to
your premises you will need to contact your
electricity distributor.
Who is the Customer Charter for?
This Customer Charter is for residential and
small business customers that Ergon Energy
provides with customer retail services under
the Standard Retail Contract.
A residential customer is a customer who
acquires electricity principally for personal,
household or domestic use at the premises
and a small business customer consumes
less than 100MWh of electricity in a year.
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As part of our commitment toyou we’ve introduced a seriesof service standards acrossour business.
We’ll put you, our customer, first
In doing so, we will:
• make it easy for you to contact us;
• be courteous, friendly, and professional;
• listen and respond to your needs
and concerns;
• respect your privacy; and
• use plain language in all our
communications with you.
Our servicepromises to you
Calling us
When you call us, we will:
• identify ourselves on answering yourcall; and
• aim to transfer you only once if your
enquiry requires specialist attention; or
• arrange for the correct person to return
your call within a certain time, or at
a time convenient to you.
Writing to us
When you write, fax or email us, we will:
• acknowledge your correspondence;
• let you know who is dealing with your
enquiry; and
• aim to resolve your query within five
business days.
Access for all
We will:
• ensure our public areas are accessible
to people with disabilities;
• ensure our services are accessible to
people with vision or hearing impairments;
• provide free access to a translation
and interpreting service; and
• provide a copy of the Customer Charter
in a large print format upon request.
Our service promises are:
1 we’ll put you, our customer, first;
2 deliver simple electricity accounts
and flexible payment options;
3 provide expert advice; and
4 listen to your feedback.
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Simple electricity billsand flexible payment options
Simple electricity bills
Your electricity bill shows you how much
electricity you used. We will:
• send you a bill at least quarterly;
• aim to provide you with an accurate bill
every time; and
• if you believe there has been a mistake,
we will check your electricity bill, discuss it
with you, correct any error if a mistake has
been made, then send you a replacement.
Flexible payment options
At Ergon Energy we believe in making it as
convenient as possible for you to pay your
electricity bill through a range of flexible
payment options.
Difculty paying your bill
If you are having difficulty paying your
electricity bill, we want to help. Just call us
as soon as possible so we can discuss your
options with you.
Expert advice
We are committed to helping you reduce
your electricity use by providing you withpractical energy saving advice to help you
use electricity more efficiently.
Save money and be energy efcient
Our team of energy experts can offer you
advice on choosing the right products for
your home or business, and ways to use
them more efficiently. For more information
visit ergon.com.au
Choosing the best tariff
We can help you understand your tariffoptions so you can choose the tariff
structure that best suits your needs.
Listening to your feedback
Your feedback is important to us as it helps
us improve the way we serve you. We will:
• strive to understand your views and priorities;
• review your feedback when making
business decisions;
• keep you informed with up-to-date and
accurate information about us and our
services; and
• monitor our performance and service levels
every year to ensure we are meeting your needs.
Resolving complaints effectively
If our service does not meet your expectations,
please contact us so we can improve the way we
serve you. Ergon Energy endeavours to ensure
that its complaints policy guidelines and practices
are consistent with AS ISO 10002:2006.
If we have not resolved your concerns to your
satisfaction, you can refer your complaint
to the Energy and Water Ombudsman of
Queensland at ewoq.com.au or by
calling 1800 662 837.
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The contract between us
Ergon Energy will sell electricity to you
at your premises under the terms and
conditions of the Standard Retail Contract
at prices established by the Queensland
Competition Authority and the
Queensland Government.
You should note that you have a separate
contract with your electricity distributor
that deals with the physical connection
and/or supply of electricity to your premises.
Ergon Energy is generally only able to sell
electricity to you if:
• we are the existing electricity retailer for
your premises; or
• your premises are being connected to
the electricity network for the first time.
If you have a contract with another retailer, or
the previous occupant of your premises had a
contract with another retailer, Ergon Energy is
not able to sell electricity to you. Your existing
retailer is required to sell electricity to you,
but you can always seek market contracts
from other retailers.
Before we can start selling electricity to you,
your premises must be connected to the
distribution network. We will arrange this with
your electricity distributor. The connection
of your premises to the distribution network
and associated connection services are
governed by the terms and conditions
of your connection contract with your
electricity distributor.
Rights andobligations
Before we are allowed to sell electricity
to you, you must provide us with some
relevant information. For instance:
• acceptable and valid identification;
• contact details for billing purposes;
• safe and convenient access to the meter
at the premises;
• satisfaction of any other pre-conditionrequired under legislation.
When does the contract start?
The Standard Retail Contract applies
without the need for you or us to actually
sign a contract.
Your contract with Ergon Energy starts when
you begin receiving retail services related to
the provision of electricity to your premises.
Pricing
We charge you for providingcustomer retail services to youaccording to the notied prices
established by the QueenslandCompetition Authority and theQueensland Government.
There are conditions that need to be
satisfied for each tariff and charge.
We will advise you through your bill of any
relevant changes to the notified prices.
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Prices include network charges and
your bill may also include distribution
non-network charges:
• which your electricity distributor is
entitled to charge you under your
connection contract; and
• which have been charged to us on
your account.
We will pay any amounts received from you
for customer connection services, being the
network charges and distribution non-network
charges, to your electricity distributor.
You must tell us if your eligibility for a tariff
changes. For example, if the electricity
consumed at the premises is no longer
primarily for residential purposes. In these
circumstances, you may need to transfer
to a more applicable tariff. If you fail to
tell us about the change in circumstances,
we may transfer you to the applicable tariff,and advise you of this in writing.
If the tariff rate or charge applying to
you changes during a billing cycle we will
calculate your bill using:
• the old tariff up to the date of change; and
• the new tariff from and including the date
of change.
If you think you are eligible for another
type of tariff and wish to transfer, you can
request us to review your circumstances.For more information about tariffs go to
ergon.com.au
Security deposits
In some cases we will ask for a security
deposit to be paid before providing
customer retail services. If we ask you for a
security deposit, you will need to pay this
within five business days.
We will not request a security deposit
greater than 37.5% of your estimated bills
over a 12 month period.
We will pay interest to you on any security
deposit we hold at a rate in accordance with
regulatory requirements.
We will not ask you to provide a security
deposit unless:
• you have left previous premises with a
debt outstanding and have not made
acceptable arrangements to pay this debt;
• you have fraudulently acquired or
intentionally consumed electricity other
than in accordance with electricity
legislation within the previous two years;
• you are a new customer and have
refused or failed to produce acceptable
and valid identification;
• you have not provided the credit historyinformation we require; or
• we have reasonably formed the view that you
have an unsatisfactory or no credit history.
Use of security deposit
We may use your security deposit and any
accrued interest to offset any amount owed
by you to us:
• if you fail to pay a bill resulting in
disconnection of the premises; or
• to pay a final bill if you vacate the
premises or stop purchasing customer
retail services from us at the premises
or ask us to disconnect the premises.
If there are any goods or services charges
outstanding, we will use your security
deposit to pay for electricity charges first,
unless you direct us otherwise. We will tell
you what we have used the security deposit
for and pay the balance, if any, to you within
10 business days.
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Repayment of security deposit
We will repay the security deposit to you,
together with any accrued interest,
within 10 business days of you:
• completing one year’s payment (if you are a
residential customer) or two years’ payment
(if you are a small business customer) by
the due date on your electricity bills; or
• ceasing to take supply fromErgon Energy at the premises.
Unless you request otherwise, we will credit
this amount on your next bill. If you are a
business customer that has provided a bank
guarantee, we will return this to you within
10 business days.
Billing
We will always aim to send you abill at least once a quarter. The billwill be sent to your premises orany other address you nominate.If you are a business customer wemay issue a bill more frequently.If you have a card-operated meteryou will not receive a bill from us.
Your bill will include the following information:
• the amount of electricity you have used;• the estimated date of your next meter reading;
• all relevant tariffs, fees and charges;
• the payment due date;
• a list of available payment methods; and
• details on how to contact us.
We will base your bill on a reading of the
meter at your premises unless we have agreed
otherwise with you. You must make sure there
is safe and convenient access to the meter.
If a meter reading is not available, we may
base your bill on an estimate of your electricity
consumption. However, we will always try
to make sure that an actual meter reading
is obtained at least once every 12 months.
Estimated readings are identified on your bill.
If you have denied us access to a meter,
and then requested us to replace an estimated
bill with a bill based on an actual meterreading, we will try our best to do so. However,
we may pass on to you any costs incurred.
If there is no meter at your premises, we will
base your bill on the notified price schedule
set by the Queensland Competition
Authority relating to unmetered supply.
Payment
You must pay your bill by thedue date. The due date forpayment will be at least 12business days after the datewe send your bill, unless we’veagreed alternative arrangements.
Ergon Energy offers a range of payment
methods, including:
• direct debit;
• BPAY;
• in person at a network of agencies or
payment outlets;
• Postbillpay;
• Visa or Mastercard;
• by mail;
• Centrepay; and
• Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT).
You can find out more about your payment
options on your bill.
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If we have sent you a reminder notice for two
consecutive electricity bills, or a disconnection
warning for two consecutive electricity bills,
we may place you on a “Shortened Collection
Period” plan. On this plan you will no longer
receive reminder notices before receiving
disconnection warnings. Once you have paid
three consecutive bills by the due date you will
return to our standard collection path.
If requested, we will accept payment from you
in advance. If you are a residential customer
and your account is in arrears, or as an
alternative to you paying a security deposit,
we may ask you to pay in advance by instalments.
Payment difficulties
If you are experiencing difficulty in paying
your bill, you should contact Ergon Energy
as soon as possible.
If you are a residential or business customer,
there are a range of services we can discuss
with you, depending on your circumstances.
These may include:
• an interest and fee free instalment plan
that gives you more time to pay your bill
and arrears;
• a variety of payment methods;
• having your bill redirected to a third person
who has agreed in writing to the redirection;
• information on independent financial andother relevant counselling services;
• information regarding government
concessions, rebates or grants that
may be available to assist with financial
hardship; and
• arrangements for advance payment
towards future bills.
Ergon Energy will provide advice on how
you can arrange for an over-the-phone
electricity audit of your premises.
If you have had two payment plans
cancelled due to non-payment in the last
12 months, we will only offer another
payment plan if we are reasonably satisfied
you will comply. Payment options do not
apply if you are convicted of an offence
involving fraud or theft of electricity.
Ergon Energy’s Customer Assist program
is available to help residential and rural
customers experiencing financial hardshipto stay connected. For more information on
this program go to ergon.com.au or call us
on 13 10 46.
Reviewing your bil l
If you disagree with your bill, you can requesta review. We will undertake this review andinform you of the outcome as soon as possible.
When we review your bill, we may require
you to pay the greater of:• that portion of your bill that is not being
reviewed; or
• an amount equal to the average amount
of your bills over the previous 12 months
(excluding the bill in dispute); and
• any other bills that are properly due.
During the review, you can also requestthe meter reading or metering data to bechecked, or the meter tested, and we willarrange for this to occur. You may have topay in advance any fee charged by yourelectricity distributor for reading or testingthe meter.
If the bill is found to be incorrect, we will:
• correct your bill and issue a new bill;
• refund any fee you paid in advance to
have the meter read or tested and;
• advise you of our complaint handling process.
If the bill is found to be correct, you will be
required to pay the outstanding amount in full.
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Undercharging and overcharging
In the event that we undercharge you,
we are entitled to recover the amount
undercharged. If the undercharge was
caused by something we or your electricity
distributor did, or failed to do, we will limit
recovery to the amount undercharged in
the previous 9 months (or 24 months forlarge customers). We will explain the reason
for the undercharge to you and identify the
amount in your next bill, or a special bill.
You will then be given the chance to pay the
undercharged amount by agreed instalments.
Sometimes, restrictions on recovery
do not apply. For instance, if we have
undercharged you because of something
you (or an occupier of your premises) have
done or failed to do, if a fraud has taken
place, or electricity has not been consumed
in accordance with electricity legislation.
If we become aware that you have been
overcharged, we will inform you within
10 business days. If you have already paid
that amount we will repay that amount as
you reasonably direct us to, otherwise we
will credit your next bill. If the amount is
less than the overcharge threshold we will
credit your next bill. If you are no longer a
customer, we will do our best to repay the
amount to you within 10 business days.
If the overcharging was not due tosomething we or your electricity
distributor did, or failed to do, we will
only credit or pay you the amount you
were overcharged in the 12 months (or 24
months for large customers) before the
error was discovered.
If you have a complaint relatingto our service, product, staff orcomplaint process, we encourageyou to contact us.
Ergon Energy endeavours to ensure that ourcomplaints policy, guidelines and practices
are consistent with the AS ISO 10002:2006
Customer Satisfaction – guidelines for
complaints handling in organisations.
More information about our complaints
process can be found at ergon.com.au under
Contact Us and Complaints & compliments.
We’ll make every effort to address your
complaint when you first contact us. If we
can’t resolve it to your satisfaction we will
refer it to the most appropriate person forinvestigation. If you are not happy with that
outcome your complaint can be escalated
within our internal review process.
Our Customer Response and Improvement
Team is responsible for reviewing escalated
complaints and will do all they can to achieve
a fair and reasonable outcome.
This team maintains a close relationship
with Ergon Energy’s Customer Advocate.
The Office of the Customer Advocate is
the last internal point for resolution of a
complaint within Ergon Energy. The CustomerAdvocate’s role is to understand and
represent your interests within Ergon Energy
and will help us to ensure they are considered.
If we cannot resolve your complaint
internally you can take it to the Energy
and Water Ombudsman of Queensland.
They can be contacted at ewoq.com.au or by
calling 1800 662 837, once you have provided
us with the opportunity to resolve it first.
Complaints
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Otherservices
Historical billing data
At your request, we will provide you with
your billing data for the previous two years if
the data is available. This data will be sent to
you promptly, free of charge.
If you request billing data that is more than
two years old, we will do our best to provide
this if the data is available. We may impose
a reasonable charge for providing the data.
Advice on concessions,rebates or grants
Ergon Energy will be happy to provide youwith information regarding the availability
of concessions, rebates or grants that may
be applicable to you or your circumstances.
This information is provided free of charge
on request.
Life Support Program
If a person living at the premises has a
medical condition and may be at risk without
continuous access to an electricity supply,
you can register the premises for Life Support.
We will register the premises with your
electricity distributor and will:
• register the premises as having life
support equipment;
• not arrange for the disconnection of that
premises while the person continues to
reside at the premises and requires the
use of life support equipment; and
• provide you with an emergency
telephone contact number for your
electricity distributor.
You must inform us if the person on the
Life Support Program vacates the premises
or no longer requires this service.
Interpreter services
If you require the services of an interpreter,
Ergon Energy will refer you to multi-lingual
services to meet your reasonable needs.
Large Print Version
Upon request, Ergon Energy can also
provide you with a large print version of
this Customer Charter. This information is
provided free of charge.
Advice on the use of electricity
If you are a residential customer,
Ergon Energy will provide you with:
• general advice on how you may reduce
your electricity costs;
• advice on how to arrange for an
electricity audit of your premises and the
estimated cost to you; and
• advice on the typical running costs of
major domestic appliances.
This information is provided free of charge.
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When we can disconnect
As a last resort, it may be necessary for
Ergon Energy to disconnect your premises.
Before we do that, we will follow all necessaryprocesses required by legislation and the
Standard Retail Contract, including giving
you notice. Disconnection may occur if:
• you have not paid a bill and you:
- fail to agree to the terms of an agreed
payment plan; or
- do not agree to an offer to pay the bill
by instalments or having agreed, fail to
adhere to the arrangements;
• you have failed to allow access to your
premises to read a meter for three
consecutive meter readings;
• you do not pay a security deposit that we
are entitled to request;
• you have fraudulently acquired or
intentionally illegally consumed
electricity other than in accordance
with electricity legislation; or
• we are otherwise permitted to do so
under legislation.
When we will not disconnect
Ergon Energy will not arrange for your
premises to be disconnected:
• for non-payment of a bill, if the
amount outstanding is less than an
amount approved by the Queensland
Competition Authority and you have
agreed with us to repay that amount;
• where you or a person living at the
premises have advised us you (or a
person living at the premises) are
dependent on life support equipment;
• where you have made a complaint
about the reason for the proposed
disconnection to the Energy and Water
Ombudsman or to us, and the complaint
remains unresolved;
• where you have formally applied for financial
assistance from an agency and a decision on
the application has not been made;
• where you are a hardship customer
or residential customer adhering to a
payment plan;
• where you have failed to pay an amount
on a bill for goods and services other
than your electricity consumption; or
• during a protected period:
- before 8am or after 3pm on
a business day;
- on a Friday, on a weekend,
on a public holiday or on the day
before a public holiday; or
- between 20 December and 31
December (inclusive) in any year,
except where requested by you.
Reconnection after disconnection
When the grounds for disconnection
have been resolved and all conditions for
reconnection have been met, we will make a
request on your behalf to be reconnected.
Disconnection
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Your contract with us will end onthe earliest date that one of thefollowing occurs:
• the end of the notice period after you
notify us to stop providing customer
retail services (even if you have vacated
the premises earlier);
• a date agreed between us and you;
• if your consumption increases to
100MWh per annum or more (which may
occur if there is a change of usage of
electricity at your premises);
• where a different customer starts to receive
customer retail services at the premises;
• where a different retailer becomes
responsible for the provision of customer
retail services to the premises; and
• where the premises are disconnected
and you no longer have a right to
be reconnected.
Depending on where your premises is located,
up to 20 business days may be needed to
stop providing customer retail services to
the premises when requested by you.We encourage you to contact us as soon
as possible with your request.
Where you provide us with notice and a
date you intend to vacate the premises,
we will do our best to have your meter
read and to send you a final bill to your
forwarding address. Your contract will not
end until safe access to the premises has been
provided and a final meter reading obtained.
Information collection
We collect personal information fromyou so that we can identify you, manage
your account, provide services you have
requested, and inform you of other related
products and services that meet your needs.
In some circumstances we may need to
collect health related information from
you to protect your health and safety.
For example, for customers that require
an uninterruptible electricity supply for
kidney dialysis or continuous positive air
pressure machines.
Where possible, we will collect your
information directly from you. Where relevant
and with your consent, we will confirm your
details with external agencies such as the
Queensland Department of Communities,
Child Safety and Disability Services,
Centrelink or other government agencies.
On occasion, we will collect your personal
information with your consent from other
parties such as real estate agents. We only
collect personal information by lawful and
fair means.
Ending yourcontract
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Privacy
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acceptable and valid identication in
relation to:
(a) a residential customer, includes one or
more of the following:
(i) a driver’s licence, a currentpassport or other form of
photographic identification;
(ii) a Pensioner Concession Card
or other entitlement card issued
by the State or Commonwealth
Government; and
(iii) a birth certificate;
(b) a business customer which is a sole
trader or partnership includes for one or
more of the individuals that conduct the
business to provide one or more of the
forms of identification for a residential
customer; and
(c) a business customer which is a body
corporate, includes the body corporate
Australian Company Number or
Australian Business Number;
business customer means a customer who
is not a residential customer;
business day means a day other than a
Saturday, a Sunday or a Queensland widepublic holiday;
card operated meter means a meter that
contains control equipment that switches
on and off in accordance with the amount
of credit stored in the meter;
connection contract means any contract
under which a distributor agrees to
provide customer connection services to a
customer’s premises;
credit history information means:(a) providing us with permission to obtain a
credit check of your credit history; and
(b) any other information that relates to
your credit history that is reasonably
required for us to assess your ability to
meet your financial obligations under a
Standard Retail Contract;
distribution non-network charges means
a distributor’s charges set out in the
distributor’s price list that:
(a) are referable to a specific request by a
small customer or its retailer; or
(b) are referable to a requirement under
electricity legislation and do not include
network charges;
distributor means Ergon Energy
Corporation Limited ABN 50 087 646 062;
Ergon Energy / we / us means Ergon Energy
Queensland Pty Ltd ABN 11 121 177 802;
nal meter reading means the last
recording of actual electricity data for a
customer when they vacate an address or
change retailer;
Definitions
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network charges means charges made by a
distributor for:
(a) the distribution use of system charges
for the use of a shared supply network
of the distributor; and
(b) any charges payable by the distributor
for the use of a transmission grid to
which the supply network is connected;
instalment plan means a plan for residential
or small business customers who are
experiencing payment difficulties.
It allows them to pay a retailer by periodic
instalments, in accordance with regulatory
requirements, any amounts payable by
the customer for the sale and supply
of electricity.
premises means premises owned or
occupied by the customer;
residential customer means a customer
who acquires electricity principally for
personal, household or domestic use at
the premises;
security deposit means an amount of
money or other arrangement acceptable
to us that is used as a security against a
customer defaulting on a bill;
small business customer means a business
customer who consumes less than 100MWh
of electricity per annum;
you means the customer to whom we areproviding customer retail services.
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Customer service
13 10 46
7.00am – 6.30pm, Mon to FriPO Box 308 Rockhampton QLD 4700
FAX (07) 4922 7562
Faults only
13 22 96
24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Life-threatening emergencies only
Triple Zero (000) or 13 16 70
24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Office of theCustomer Advocate
PO Box 264 Fortitude Valley QLD 4006
ergon.com.au
How to contact us
E E Q l d Pt Ltd
E R G 1 3 6 0_ 0
3 1 4