Comtricity Terms and Conditions

 

Effective from 12th December 2018.

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Contents

1. Welcome to Comtricity

2. Definitions of terms in this Agreement

3. Joining Comtricity

4. Medically dependent and vulnerable customers

5. Protecting the privacy of information

6. Metering and meter management

7. Faulty meters

8. Meter data

9. Managing controlled load

10. Access to your property

11. Comtricity pricing, billing and payment

12. Switching or moving

13. Disconnection

14. Electricity industry compliance

15. Electricity network requirements

16. Contact and complaints

17. Liability

18. Miscellaneous

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Welcome to Comtricity

These terms and conditions form the agreement between you and Comtricity Limited (“Comtricity”). The agreement describes how we will provide electricity to you and sets out the responsibilities you have in return.

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Please read it carefully. You can access this agreement at any time from our website.

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Electricity supply involves a number of organisations (e.g. your local network owner) so we’ve explained their role too.

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We have a modern, automated approach to delivering our services, with information about how this works on our website.

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This agreement commences from the date that we accept you as our customer, you first use energy supplied by us, or the date determined by the relevant electricity switching process regulations and rules, whichever comes first. You will only be liable to pay for charges from the date this agreement commences.

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We may change these terms and conditions at any time and will provide at least 30 days' notice of any changes including price changes.

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Definitions of terms in this Agreement

We just want to be clear about what each term means when we use them.

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'Agreement' means collectively these terms and conditions, your pricing plan, our privacy policy and any other relevant communications and documents which will form part of the Agreement.

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'Code' means the Electricity Industry Participation Code 2010.

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'Controlled Load' refers to the electricity supply to your property, and some electricity is supplied separately to wired appliances (most commonly, your hot water cylinder) which Comtricity or your lines company can switch off for short periods at times of high demand for electricity (usually referred to as "ripple control").

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'Equipment' means any meter and other equipment used to measure or record electricity usage, to transmit or convey electricity usage data, or to supply electricity or any associated equipment (including, but not limited to, switches, fuses, transformers, wiring, meter boards and pre-payment meters or devices).

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'Event beyond our control' means any circumstance not within a party's reasonable control including, but not limited to, acts of God, war, riot, civil commotion, malicious damage, compliance with any law or government order, rule, regulation or direction, accident, earthquake lightning, storm, flood or other similar event, interference with the network from animals, vegetation, traffic accidents, faults in the network, and other things Comtricity does not have control over.

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'Comtricity', 'we', or 'our' means Comtricity, its agents, successors and assignees.

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‘Community’ means community organisations, charities, or other identified groups which we support through the provision of donations. You choose which initial Community/s you support when you join.

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'Industry Codes and Standards' includes all relevant electricity industry codes and standards, rules and protocols.

‘ICP number’ means the Installation Control Point and is a unique number that is assigned to a specific meter on your property in order to identify it.

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'Network' means the electricity and/or reticulated gas (as the case may be) distribution network to which your point of supply is connected, and includes the network of overhead lines, underground cables and pipelines and other installations and equipment used to distribute electricity or gas. 'Network company' means the company or organisation that owns the network, and its agents.

‘Our website’ refers to https://app.comtricity.nz.

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'Point of supply' means the point at which the network company determines that the network ends and your lines, cables or pipes and fittings and equipment begin. The point of supply for electricity is generally the point where the electricity supply enters the property (i.e., at the boundary), and for the supply of gas is usually at the outlet of the gas meter.

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'Pricing plan' means the pricing plan you sign up to when electing to become a customer, which will include your invoice date, and as may be updated or changed from time to time in the manner described in this Agreement.

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'Product and Services' means products and/or services provided by Comtricity including electricity.

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'Property' means the address (including land and buildings) we supply electricity to.

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“You” and “your” refer to you — our customer.

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Joining Comtricity

You can apply by completing the online application form on our website.

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If, in our sole discretion, we accept your application, an agreement is formed on these terms and conditions.

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For the switching process to start, you must have provided payment details and verified your email address.

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If you are switching to us from another electricity supplier (where you are the existing customer at the property), on accepting your application we will do all things necessary to arrange electricity supply to your property as soon as possible, including authorising the existing supplier to release any information held about the supply of energy to your property. This means that if you've completed your application with us, you don't need to contact your previous electricity supplier to tell them you're changing providers (we’ve got that covered).

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However, if your current energy supplier has disconnected your supply and not reconnected it, you will need to contact them to have the energy supply reconnected before we can accept the switch.

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Where you move into new property, you may find that the electricity has been left on. If you wish to ensure that the supply continues you must apply to be a customer with us, which you can do so at on our website, or switch to another electricity provider altogether.

If you have moved into a property we already supply and do not make an application to become a Comtricity customer, or your application is declined, the electricity supply to your property will be disconnected and we may charge you for any electricity used.

We will comply with any relevant industry switching requirements (including your and our right to cancel a switch). You can find information about our products, services, and pricing plans on our website.

 

Medically dependent and vulnerable customers

If you or someone at your property is dependent on mains electricity for critical medical support (a “medically dependent consumer”) such that the loss of electricity may result in loss of life or serious harm to you or that dependent person, you must let us know by ticking the relevant box on your profile page as soon as your situation has changed.

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We will comply with the Electricity Authority’s Guideline on Arrangements to Assist Medically Dependent Consumers once you have notified us of your medically dependent consumer status. You must notify us if you, or another person at your property, cease to be a medically dependent consumer.

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When you’re prescribed or supplied critical electrical medical equipment, you should be provided with a Notice of Potential Medically Dependent Consumer Status by your District Health Board, private hospital or General Practitioner. We may require you to confirm this notice – please keep it somewhere safe. We also acknowledge that non-medical specific equipment can also be depended on by medically dependent consumers — such as microwaves, so not all medically dependent consumers may have such notices.

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We cannot guarantee the electricity supply to your house. Therefore, you must maintain a back-up power supply to ensure the medically dependent consumer's health and safety during an outage. It is important that you contact emergency services or get the medically dependent consumer to a medical facility if you feel that the health of the medically dependent consumer is at risk during an outage.

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You may be a vulnerable customer if you have told us or it appears to us that disconnection of electricity from your property would present a clear threat to your or a member of your household's health or well–being and/or you have genuine difficulty in paying your bill because of severe financial difficulty, whether temporary or permanent.

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If, for any reason, we form the honest belief that you are a vulnerable or medically dependent customer, you authorise us to consult with appropriate government authorities or agencies, private health providers or any other social agency or service provider as necessary.

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Protecting the privacy of information

The information you provide us enables us to supply you with electricity and enables you to pay your bill. That information must be current, complete and correct. You must advise us as soon as possible if any information previously provided changes — you will be able to make these changes yourself via the customer dashboard at on our website.

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We may collect, use and disclose your personal information for a number of purposes, as set out in the Comtricity Privacy Policy. Our Privacy Policy is available on our website and forms part of this Agreement. It describes how we will collect, store, use, and disclose information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1993.

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We do not store your banking details – we use GoCardless as our payment provider (they’re the people who keep your banking details and process your payment to us). You can find GoCardless’s terms and conditions (including details on how the security they use) when we redirect you to choosing a payment method, or at https://gocardless.com/en-nz.

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Metering and meter management

To supply electricity services to you, your address must be fitted with a communicating smart electricity meter. We will comply with all relevant laws and industry standards relating to metering and taking meter reads at your property. We will measure the amount of electricity you use by remotely reading the smart meter at your property.

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We’ll endeavour to read the meter at your property regularly. As a smart meter-based energy retailer, we expect to get ongoing automated remote meter reads from the meter or meters at your properties. Should, for any reason, your meter stop communicating at any time, we may — as an interim measure — charge you based on an estimate of the amount of electricity supplied or arrange for a meter reader to visit your property to read the meters.

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If the meter is faulty, we will instruct the meter services provider to attend to the faulty meter. However, should the meter services provider fail to fix the fault within a reasonable time or communication with your meter remains impeded, we may transfer your account to a retailer that provides manual meter reads as a service.

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Faulty meters

You must notify us immediately if you become aware that the meter or related equipment is damaged or appears unsafe. If there is reason to believe your meter is faulty, we may arrange to test the meter at your property, or to remove it for testing elsewhere. We will advise you of the results. If there is an inherent fault with the meter we will repair or replace the meter at our or the meter equipment provider’s cost. In all other instances, we may charge you for the costs related to testing, repairing and/or replacing the meter. We will inform you of the costs prior to undertaking any work on the meter.

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You must take all reasonable steps to ensure that no one tampers with the meter or related equipment — the theft of electricity is a criminal offence. You will be responsible for paying for the electricity we estimate you would have used if we determine the meter or related equipment was tampered with. You will have to pay for all costs and loss or damage incurred if our investigations determine that you caused or allowed someone to cause loss or damage to us, the network company or the meter services provider. We may disconnect the supply of electricity to your properties and pursue legal action against you.

 

Meter data

You agree that we own all information and data collected by the meter, including meter reading data. We may receive, collect and store meter data relating to you and your properties. To the extent any such meter information and data is personal information we will ensure that such information is held by us in accordance with the Privacy Act 1993 and used in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

 

Managing controlled load

We or the network company may temporarily suspend electricity supply to some of your equipment (e.g. hot water cylinder) if your metering configuration allow us to do so (known as having a “controlled” meter).

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Where we have a contract with the network company you must transfer your rights to your controllable load to us, which we will automatically assign to the network company to be consistent with the network company’s regulatory and controlled (load) requirements.

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If your contract is with the network company, you must transfer the rights to your controllable load to the network company for system security and network management purposes. In both instances, we retain the right to manage your load for energy market participation purposes. If you have engaged a party other than the network company or us to manage your controllable load, you must ensure that the party has agreed the relevant protocols with the network company.

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We will endeavour to exercise our rights in relation to controlled load without compromising our service levels agreed with you.

 

Access to your property

You must provide our representatives, representatives of the network company, the meter services provider and/or other authorised third parties safe and unobstructed access to your properties. We will normally access your property between 7:00am and 8:00pm, Monday to Saturday excluding public holidays.

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You will give us, our service providers and our respective representatives’ rights of access to your properties for the purpose of:

• Installing, connecting or disconnecting, commissioning or de-commissioning, testing, inspecting, maintaining, repairing, replacing, operating, moving or removing any of our or a service provider’s equipment (including upon termination of this agreement) and for any other purpose related to our agreement with you or a service provider;

• Inspecting or taking readings from meters and verify metering information;

• Ascertaining and remedying the cause of any interference to the quality of the line function services being provided by a service provider to any person;

• Clearing trees and other vegetation where the service provider is required or entitled to do so, or so as to maintain public safety or the operational integrity of the network;

• Protecting or preventing danger or damage to persons or property;

• Or any other purpose related to the above activities or the service provider’s rights or benefits conferred under or pursuant to our agreement with the service provider.

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You must keep us informed of any health and safety issues at your properties that may endanger the welfare or lives of our representatives, representatives of the network company, the meter services provider and/or other authorised third parties. You must secure any animal that may make entry unsafe. We may take legal action against you if you, any animal, or anyone on your properties or associated with you threatens or causes harm to our representatives, representatives of the network company, the meter services provider and/or other authorised third parties.

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If you do not ensure such rights of access we may disconnect your energy supply in accordance with this agreement.

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Except in routine situations (such as, for example, reading or inspecting a meter) or emergencies, before accessing your property, we, each service provider and our respective representatives will provide email notice to you when we or they will be accessing your property, and provide the reason why we or they are accessing your property. The notice will be given at least 10 working days prior.

 

When accessing your property, we, each service provider and our respective representatives will:

• Take reasonable steps to minimise any direct impacts on your property and any inconvenience to you; and

• Comply with any of your reasonable requirements (such as, for example, the time of entry, driving in a safe manner and taking reasonable steps not to disturb stock and avoiding access through specific areas). We and each service provider will require our respective representatives, when accessing your properties, to:

• Carry identification that shows they are authorised representatives of us or a service provider and present this identification on request; and

• Identify themselves to you before entering your property; and

• Act courteously, considerately, and professionally at all times. The rights of access are in addition to any right of access under statute or regulation.

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Comtricity pricing, billing and payment

Our pricing for electricity supply and other services are set out on our website

Our prices may change from time to time. We will provide at least 30 days' notice of any price increase via email, or other agreed messaging service.

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The notice may include information about the reasons for any increase in electricity prices or other charges. For the avoidance of doubt, if you join Comtricity less than 30 days before a notified price increase takes effect, you will not receive 30 days' notice of the impending price increase.

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If circumstances arise where you may incur a fee, we will give reasonable notice of the fee and whether there are ways you can avoid that charge.

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You agree to pay us from your nominated account (the bank account details you entered during your online application to become a customer) at the prices applicable and any other charges in accordance with this Agreement. The associated fee for the payment method is displayed in the application process (when adding a payment method) as well as in the customer dashboard when deciding to change the payment method.

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We will issue invoices for the cost of energy supplied and any other services in the case of recurring services on a weekly basis and as incurred for other services. Invoices will be sent to your email address, and also accessible via the customer dashboard on our website. Our invoices will itemise the quantity and cost of energy supplied over the billing period (or estimated to have been supplied, which will be clearly recorded), any further fees and the cost of any other products or services supplied, your identifier number(s) of all ICPs at the property. The invoices will state the due date for payment, which will be no less than two business days from the date of the invoice. Payment due will be debited from your nominated account on the due date.

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You agree to:

• Authorise Comtricity to debit your nominated account for amounts owed;

• Ensure your nominated account has sufficient clear and accessible funds to cover all payments at the time for payment;

• Always make full payment of the invoice amount. If you have a dispute, you must still pay the undisputed portion of your invoice.

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You further agree that if payment from your nominated account is dishonoured, cancelled or refused, or you do not otherwise pay for any amount which is due under this Agreement, we can:

• Charge you its costs in collecting the amount owed, including bank fees, debt collection fees, legal and court fees; and

• Disconnect the energy supply to any property supplied under this Agreement and charge you fees for disconnection, reconnection and debt collection.

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In the case of Medically Dependant or Vulnerable customers, see the earlier section regarding them.

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In the case of an error that results in an incorrect amount being charged to you, as soon as reasonably practicable after becoming aware of such error, we will notify you and, if the error was made by us, promptly credit your nominated account for any amount that you have been overcharged, or (after taking into account whether you or us contributed to the error or could reasonably be expected to know of the error), invoice you for any amount that you have been undercharged.

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Switching or moving

If you decide to switch to another energy supplier, that supplier will advise us so that we can jointly undertake the switching process. You will remain a Comtricity customer until the switching process is completed and will need to pay us for all energy supplied to your property and any other charges incurred before the switch is completed.

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If you intend to move out of your property, you need to access the customer dashboard on our website and complete a move out request and disconnection. You must give at least 48 hours' notice. The cost for electricity supplied to your property up to the date we disconnect you will be included in your next invoice.

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If you move out of your property or close your account, you will remain liable for all electricity and other associated services supplied to the property until either:

• You advise of your wish to disconnect energy supply to your property using the mobile application; or

• The new occupier becomes a Comtricity customer or a customer of another retailer for energy supply to the property.

 

Disconnection

We may disconnect the energy supplied to your property, and end this Agreement, if any of the following occur:

• You do not pay any undisputed amounts owed by the payment due date.

• You do not meet your obligations under the terms of this Agreement or have persistently failed to meet your obligations under terms of this Agreement. Where such breach is possible of being remedied by you, we will provide the opportunity for you to meet your obligations or remedy the breach.

• You move into a property supplied energy by us and you are not accepted as a Comtricity customer.

• It appears you have removed or tampered with the smart meter, or you cause or allow someone else to cause any other loss or damage to Comtricity, the network operator or meter owner.

• You knowingly take advantage of metering equipment that is inaccurate or not operating correctly.

• You ask to have your supply disconnected, either permanently or temporarily for safety reasons. In such case we will disconnect the electricity supply as soon as reasonably practicable and when it is safe to do so.

• The network company requires us to disconnect the supply under any agreement with them or our agreement with the network company comes to an end.

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In order to continue providing the service we do, including providing funding for Communities, nonpayment is something we take seriously. We also acknowledge that energy supply is a core service which everyone needs to meet a decent standard of living. We view disconnections as our worstcase-scenario. We will not disconnect customers in cases where you are a vulnerable customer and not all assistance has been provided to you, or you are a medically dependent customer.

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If we intend to disconnect the electricity supply to your property for non-payment we will tell you at least 7 business days before we disconnect the electricity supply. We will do this by sending an email to your email address and give you a final warning at least 24 hours before we intend to disconnect you. Each notice will include information about the timeframe within which disconnection will take place and what you need to do to avoid disconnection. We will only disconnect you on a business day that is not a Friday or the day before a public holiday.

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We can refuse to reconnect the electricity supply to your property if it has been disconnected for any of the reasons referred to in this Agreement. An event of default is where we have an ongoing failure to pay for electricity or distribution services which we have arrangements with. If we commit an event of default as defined under the Code, the Electricity Authority can require us to provide it with information about you and can also:

• Transfer that information and all or any part of our rights and responsibilities under this Agreement to another electricity retailer; and

• Amend this Agreement to be consistent with, or more favourable than, the standard contract that the new retailer would normally have offered you immediately before we committed the event of default; and

• Amend this Agreement to include a minimum term, so that you must stay supplied by the new retailer for that term unless you pay a cancellation fee.

Where we already have an agreement in place with another electricity retailer, we may transfer your information and all or any part of our rights and responsibilities under this Agreement to that electricity retailer to expedite the transfer process and ensure the continued supply of electricity to your property.

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If it appears that a receiver, liquidator, administrator, or other similar official is likely to be appointed in respect of Comtricity's business, we will take all reasonable steps to ensure that you continue to receive electricity supply to your property.

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You must provide us at least seven business days’ notice if you no longer want us to supply you with electricity or if you want your supply temporarily or permanently disconnected.

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You are required to pay for all rates, fees and charges until the disconnection process has been completed.

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Electricity industry compliance

Comtricity will comply with all relevant laws and industry regulations related to the supply of electricity to your properties. These laws and regulations include:

• Electricity Act 1992

• Consumer Guarantees Act 1993

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If you receive goods or services from Comtricity for the purposes of a business, you agree that the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 will not apply. This Agreement is not otherwise intended to limit your statutory rights as a consumer.

• Electricity Industry Act 2010

• Electricity Industry Participation Code 2010.

• Supply a safe and reliable service (but with no guarantee of an uninterrupted supply).

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You can report faults or interruptions in the supply of electricity by contacting us at contact@comtricity.nz to respond to supply issues  e.g. electricity faults and any relevant updates on supply interruptions.

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Comtricity is not required to perform its responsibilities under this Agreement if an event has occurred which is beyond our reasonable control and to the extent such event prevents or delays us from carrying out those responsibilities.

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Your electricity supply (or the supply to controlled appliances such as hot water cylinders) may be interrupted or reduced, or any meter temporarily disconnected for reasons such as:

• Emergency or load management reasons (in which case interruption may occur without prior notice);

• Maintenance or testing of, or for repairs or alterations to, equipment or the electricity network. We, or the relevant network company or meter service provider, will provide you at least four working days' notice of planned shutdowns. In the event of an urgent shutdown for reasons that were not foreseeable, we will provide you as much notice as possible;

• Surges or spikes in the supply of electricity which are momentary fluctuations in the voltage or frequency that can happen at any time. You acknowledge that they are not treated as interruptions. We take no responsibility for any damage to equipment or property or loss of data which results from surges or spikes. It is your responsibility to protect your equipment and property and to insure yourself against damage from electricity fluctuations and interruptions;

• Health and safety reasons, or to avoid danger to persons or damage to property;

• On the instructions of the Electricity Authority or other regulatory authority; or

• For any event beyond our control or the reasonable control of the network company.

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Electricity network requirements

We will deliver electricity to your property through the power lines that connect your property to the electricity network. We do not own do not own the lines that supply you with electricity. We have agreements with network owners to use their lines. Your property will have a connection point to the power lines. You can find out the exact location by asking the network company. Those agreements require us to include particular provisions in this agreement with you.

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Unless we have agreed otherwise, we or a service provider is responsible for the meter, however, you are responsible for any repairs or maintenance that may be required to your meter board or box and any associated fuses and wiring. You must ensure that all equipment and appliances past your point of connection comply with all regulations, the distribution code and any safety or technical standards required for connection to the network. If you fail to comply with these responsibilities and requirements, we may disconnect your energy supply.

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If you are uncertain of these requirements please contact a registered electrician, electrical inspector or Energy Safety (which is part of the Ministry of Economic Development: https://worksafe.govt.nz/topic-and-industry/energy-safety/).

If you have more than one point of supply at your property you must ensure that there is no interconnection made between those points of supply without the prior written consent of the network owner.

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You must not connect or disconnect any equipment directly to the network without the network owner’s prior consent.

You undertake to provide and maintain, at no cost to the service provider or us, suitable space for the safe and secure housing of the service provider’s and our equipment as deemed necessary by the service provider or us to be housed at your property and you agree to protect this equipment against interference and damage.

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You further agree to comply with any reasonable requests about such protection made by the service provider or us.

You also agree to inform us of any damage or destruction to the equipment. The network, including any part located on your properties, is and shall remain the sole property of the network owner.

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No provision of this agreement in relation to the network confers any right or interest in such property on you.

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You will not, and you will ensure that your representatives and material and vegetation does not, interfere with or damage any of a service provider’s or our equipment or the immediate connections to that equipment (including after termination of this agreement) except to the extent emergency action has to be taken to protect the health and safety of persons or prevent damage to property.

You will notify us as soon as possible if this should occur.

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You will not and you will ensure that your representatives do not, use any of a service provider’s or our equipment in breach of any legal requirement or so as to endanger the safety of any person.

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You will indemnify us and we will indemnify you for any liability you or we may have to a service provider for any damage to the service provider’s network equipment caused by your or our (or your or our representative’s) negligence or wilful act or omission respectively, including the failure to provide the protection required by this agreement.

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It is your responsibility to ensure that the way you use electricity at your properties does not interfere with the quality of electricity supplied to others or interfere with the operation of any network equipment. You will, upon notice from the network company or us, remedy the interference at your own cost as soon as practicable. If we become liable to a third party due to such interference, you must compensate us to the full extent of the liability and for all associated costs incurred by us.

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You must:

• Ensure that only suitably qualified persons are permitted to maintain, repair or replace electricity supply equipment past your point of supply on your properties;

• Inform us if you believe that any equipment on your properties is faulty, damaged or operating inaccurately;

• Contact us or the network company if you become aware of a hazardous situation that is related to your electricity supply equipment;

• Comply with the Electricity (Hazards from Trees) Regulations 2003 by keeping trees, vegetation and other obstacles clear of the electricity supply equipment on your properties;

• Provide a safe and accessible location (at no cost to us or the network company) for the secure housing of any electricity supply equipment owned, leased or controlled by the network company on your properties;

• Provide, maintain and ensure the security of your own meter box, meter board and all other electricity supply equipment on your properties;

• Agree that the power factor will not be less than 0.95 lagging each month or such other amount as specified by your network company;

• Agree that you will use all reasonable measures to make sure that the levels of harmonic voltages and currents injected back into the network from your property conform with the New Zealand Electrical Code of Practice for Harmonic Levels (NZECP 36:1993) insofar as the harmonic disturbance results from a cause within your control;

• Comply with all line function services, safety and technical requirements provided for under statute, regulations and codes of practice; and

• Ensure that the electricity supply equipment that you do not own is not moved or removed without our consent, does not become a fixture or fitting at your properties, and is not encumbered or used as security in any way.

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If you enter into any agreement or arrangement with any third party in relation to control of your electricity load, you must ensure that the load is not already subject to the network owner’s right of control, and the third party does not interfere with or damage the network owner’s or our load control systems. If any damage occurs due to the actions of the third party, you will promptly and at your own cost remove the source of the interference and make good the damage. The third party must make the load available to the network owner to enable it to fulfil its performance obligations as an asset owner in respect of managing system security in accordance with the code and to meet the service standards for distribution services. You must also ensure that prior to controlling the load, the third party has entered into an agreement with the network owners which sets out the protocols for the use of the load, including the coordination with the network owners of the disconnection and reconnection of load.

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Contact and complaints

We will send notices, invoices and contact you using the email you have provided to us or other mutually agreed messaging service e.g. text message. You are responsible for ensuring that any emails from us are retrieved from the spam or junk folder, should they end up there. If you are a current customer, and you mark our emails as spam or junk (intentionally or accidentally), we are not liable for any notices you did not see or information you did not receive due to the emails going into the spam or junk folders.

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We do not have a call centre. In joining us, you acknowledge this and take responsibility for ensuring you’re able to contact us via email as the primary means of contact. Emails are deemed received the day after they are sent, and we commit to answering emails from you within two business days, and to resolve any complaints within 10 business days. Emails are deemed received the day after they are sent (if we’ve got check out inbox daily, so do you).

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If you have a complaint, you can access contact us by emailing contact@comtricity.nz. If your complaint relates to another provider, we will pass it onto the correct provider within 1 business day. If it takes longer than 20 business days to resolve your complaint, then we will contact you to let you know why, how much longer it will take, and to discuss your options.

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We are a member of the Utilities Disputes Ltd, who provides the Energy Complaints Scheme, a free and independent complaints resolution service. If for some reason we cannot resolve a complaint or problem to your satisfaction within 20 working days, you can take your complaint to the Utilities Disputes Ltd – visit www.utilitiesdisputes.co.nz, email info@utilitiesdisputes.co.nz or freephone: 0800 22 33 40.

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Liability

If we damage your property and such damage is reasonably foreseeable, we will pay the costs of repairing the damage or replacing damaged property to a maximum of $10,000 for any single event or series of closely related events. However, Comtricity will not be liable to you for any indirect or consequential loss, or loss of profits or business or any similar claims.

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Should we be found to be liable to you for any reason, our total maximum liability under this Agreement is limited to $10,000 for any single event or series of related events.

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If you are liable to us, the maximum amount you will pay as compensation for our loss is $10,000 for any single event or series of closely related events, except where the loss is caused by a deliberate or wilful conduct, and in any case does not apply to any energy or service charges.

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Surges and spikes are momentary fluctuations in voltage or frequency that can happen at any time, which may damage any sensitive equipment are not treated as interruptions to your supply. You must take your own steps to protect any sensitive equipment from surges and spikes, and you can find information on how to protect any sensitive equipment at https://www.consumer.org.nz/articles/surge-protectors

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Miscellaneous

You cannot transfer any of your rights and obligations under this Agreement to any other person.

We may transfer all or any part of its rights and obligations under this Agreement. We will give at least 30 days' notice of this along with details of how you can contact the new electricity retailer and when the transfer will take place.

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We may use agents, contractors or suppliers to carry out activities on its behalf in providing products and services to you, whom we may change from time to time. We may also subcontract or delegate its obligations under this Agreement to other people or companies including delegating the collection of payments third party debt recovery agencies.

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Any clauses that are intended to have effect after termination continue to have effect.

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