Presented by Robert Clark MP		www.robertclark.net

Revised code governing electricity supply

The State’s utility watchdog, the Office of the Regulator-General, has announced new measures to encourage electricity distributors to continue to improve the reliability and quality of electricity supply to consumers.

A number of significant amendments have been made to the Electricity Distribution Code, which forms a key part of the regulatory framework for the supply of electricity in Victoria.

The changes, which come into force on April 1, will for the first time require electricity distributors to establish and publish targets for reliability above the mandated minimum.

These performance targets will be published on an annual basis and the electricity businesses will be required to set objectives for the maximum time which customers may experience loss of power supply, how frequently interruptions may happen, and the duration of each interruption.

The success of electricity distributors in meeting the new targets will be monitored by the Office and the results published in its annual performance reports.

The purpose of the Electricity Distribution Code is to ensure that the supply of electricity in Victoria is undertaken in a safe, efficient and reliable manner. It does this by imposing technical and performance standards to be met by the distributor as a condition of their licences.

The revised Code will significantly enhance customer access to information and send a clear message to customers, distributors and retailers about what they can reasonably expect of each other.

Customers and distributors will also have the flexibility to negotiate variations from the service standards in the Code by mutual agreement. The Code will encourage these negotiations to take place in good faith.

When disputes between customers and distributors or retailers do arise, the Code provides for the use of best practice procedures for complaints and dispute resolution, as well as referral to the Energy Industry Ombudsman in cases where resolution is not achieved by other means.

In the case of unplanned interruptions to power supplies, distributors will be required to provide information to customers about the reason for the disruption and its likely duration by means of a 24-hour telephone service. This information is to be provided within 30 minutes of distributors being notified that there is a problem.

Where customers telephone for information, distributors will now have to provide them with the option of speaking to a customer service operator, rather than simply listening to a recorded message.

Each business will regularly report details of its call histories so that the Office can assure itself that customers’ calls are being handled in accordance with the requirements of the Code.

Changes have also been made to the Code to clarify the process that distributors must follow before a customer can be disconnected for non-compliance with the Code.

For example, residential tenants cannot be disconnected for non-compliance with the Code where they have made every endeavour to get the owner of a property to fix a problem.

Electricity distributors will be required to provide a summary of the Code’s contents to their customers when they are connected to the network, on request from customers, and to all customers at least every two years.

The revised Code strengthens the rights of customers and also provides a framework to encourage innovation and good asset-management practices on the part of electricity distributors.

The Code in addition provides for language and large-print needs of customers, confidentiality and information provision to the customer regarding reliability of supply.

The distributor must undertake specific tests to determine the quality of a customer’s supply upon request by the customer, and may charge a fee for this service.

Copies of the Code can be obtained from the Office’s web site, by telephoning the Office on 03 9651 0222, or downloaded directly from here.

(News Release and Electricity Distribution Code, Office of the Regulator-General, April 1, 1999)