Electricity Supply Industry (Customer) Regulations 2012

Electricity Supply Industry (Customer) Regulations 2012

I, the Governor in and over the State of Tasmania and its Dependencies in the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Executive Council, make the following regulations under the Electricity Supply Industry Act 1995 .

18 June 2012

PETER G. UNDERWOOD

Governor

By His Excellency's Command,

LARA GIDDINGS

Treasurer

1.   Short title

These regulations may be cited as the Electricity Supply Industry (Customer) Regulations 2012 .

2.   Commencement

These regulations take effect on the day on which section 23 of the National Energy Retail Law (Tasmania) (Consequential Amendments) Act 2012 commences.

3.   Interpretation

In these regulations –

large customer means a customer who is a large customer within the meaning of the National Energy Retail Law (Tasmania);

rescinded regulations means the Electricity Supply Industry (Contestable Customer) Regulations 2005 , as in force immediately before the day on which these regulations commence;

small contestable customer means a small customer who is a business customer –

(a) whose consumption of electricity, as determined in accordance with the National Energy Retail Rules, is at or above 0.05 gigawatt hours per annum; or

(b) who is taken to be a small contestable customer under regulation 4(4) ;

standard retail contract has the same meaning as it has in the National Energy Retail Law (Tasmania).

4.   Contestable customers

(1)  For the purposes of the definition of contestable customer in section 3 of the Act, a customer is, in relation to premises situated on mainland Tasmania, a contestable customer, if the customer –

(a) is, in relation to the premises, a large customer; or

(b) is, or has been, in relation to the premises, a small contestable customer.

(2)  For the purposes of the definition of contestable customer in section 3 of the Act, a customer who was, immediately before the commencement of these regulations, a large offer contestable customer, within the meaning of the rescinded regulations, in relation to premises situated on mainland Tasmania is to be taken to be a contestable customer in relation to the premises.

(3)  Despite subregulation (2) , a customer is not, in relation to premises, to be taken to be a contestable customer under that subregulation if –

(a) the customer ceases to be a large customer in relation to the premises; and

(b) the customer is not, and has never been, a small contestable customer in relation to the premises.

(4)  A customer who was, immediately before the commencement of these regulations, a standing offer contestable customer, within the meaning of the rescinded regulations, in relation to premises situated on mainland Tasmania is to be taken to be a small contestable customer in relation to the premises.

5.   Notification of contestability

(1)  A distributor who, under the National Energy Retail Rules, notifies a customer of the classification of the customer as a large customer or a small contestable customer must notify the customer that –

(a) the customer may seek from the Regulator information in respect of matters relating to contestable customers; and

(b) if the customer is a small contestable customer in respect of premises, the customer may choose to –

(i) enter into a market retail contract with a retailer; or

(ii) continue to be a customer of Aurora Retail under Aurora Retail's standard retail contract.

(2)  A notification required by subregulation (1) to be given to a customer may be included in the same notice as the notice issued under the National Energy Retail Rules notifying the customer of the classification of the customer as a large customer or a small contestable customer.

6.   Regulator to provide to customers information about contestability

It is a function of the Regulator to provide to a customer, on the Regulator's own initiative or at the request of the customer, the information that the Regulator thinks fit in respect of matters relating to contestable customers.

7.   Legislation rescinded

The legislation specified in Schedule 1 is rescinded.

SCHEDULE 1 - Legislation rescinded

Regulation 7

Displayed and numbered in accordance with the Rules Publication Act 1953.

Notified in the Gazette on 27 June 2012

These regulations are administered in the Department of Treasury and Finance.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the regulation)

These regulations prescribe provisions relating to contestable customers and rescind certain regulations made under the Electricity Supply Industry Act 1995 .