Source: http://www.genesisenergy.co.nz/standard-terms
Timestamp: 2020-07-09 05:47:36
Document Index: 712624734

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 1', 'art 2', 'art 1', 'art 2', 'art 1', 'art 2', 'art 1', 'art 2', 'art 1', 'art 2']

Genesis Standard Terms & Conditions - Basic and Plus Plans
These terms form part of your agreement with Genesis for the supply of energy to your premises (electricity, reticulated natural gas, reticulated LPG or bottled LPG). By becoming or remaining a Genesis customer, you agree to these standard terms & conditions.
Words in bold have a special meaning and are defined at the end of these terms.
Our contact details are available on our website www.genesisenergy.co.nz. We will try to respond to any written enquiries as soon as reasonably possible. Depending on levels of customer enquiries at the time we receive your enquiry, we expect to respond to your enquiry within two business days
Part A – Key events
2 Becoming a Genesis customer
2.1 Becoming a customer
You can apply to become a customer in a number of ways, including by signing up on our website, or via our EnergyIQ app, by emailing us, or in person or over the phone. To apply to become a customer, you must provide all of the information requested during the application process.
If we choose to accept your application, our relationship will be governed by the terms of our agreement with you and you will become a customer starting from the date on which you first used energy supplied by us, or in the case of bottled LPG when your account is opened with us. We may require you to provide evidence of when you first used energy supplied by us, like a certificate of title or tenancy agreement. If you apply to join us before using energy supplied by us, we will try to commence the supply of energy to you as soon as possible after we accept your application.
If you or another person at your premises have any unpaid invoices with us, we may require those invoices to be paid before supplying energy to your premises or accepting you as a customer.
If you have moved to new premises and started using energy, you still need to apply to become a customer. If you do not, we may disconnect the premises and charge you a disconnection fee, the cost of any energy consumed, and any other costs we incur as a result of you consuming energy at the premises, as specified in our price list.
In the case of bottled LPG, if you have an alternative supplier of LPG bottles on your premises when you open an account with us, we will remove the alternative supplier’s bottles regardless of any unused LPG at the time we first deliver to you. We will not be liable, or compensate you, for any unused LPG from the alternative supplier.
Your personal information will be collected, held and used by us in accordance with the Privacy Act 1993 and our Privacy Policy. If any of your personal information changes (including your contact details), please tell us.
2.3 Can more than one person be a customer?
More than one person may be the customer at any premises, in such case our agreement will be with each of you jointly and severally. This means that each of you may individually be responsible for 100% of our charges.
2.4 Alternate contacts
You may nominate a person as an alternate contact to make decisions for you about your account with us. However, you are still responsible as a customer for payment of your account, and for any decisions made by the alternate contact. You consent to us providing information about your account to any alternate contact you have nominated.
2.5 Is a bond required?
We may require a cash bond and/or a satisfactory credit check before we supply you energy or other services. If we require a bond, we will tell you why, and will invoice you for it as soon as possible after we accept you as a customer. You must pay the bond by the payment date on the invoice. We may also require a bond at any time if you are unable to establish a satisfactory credit record or maintain a satisfactory payment record with us.
Any bond for electricity-only residential customers or for gas-only residential customers will not exceed $150. If we supply you with both electricity and gas for your residential premises, your bond will not exceed $200. If you are a commercial customer your bond will be as agreed with you. We will not pay interest on the bond. The bond will be held in trust on your behalf in a separate account with other customer bonds.
If you have been paying on time for at least 12 months, or we stop supplying energy to you, we will repay your bond (less any amounts you owe us) within one month. We will do this by crediting your account with us, sending you a cheque, or paying you by direct credit to your nominated bank account. If we keep your bond for longer than 12 months, we will explain why.
2.6 Your first meter reading
If you are a new customer and your energy is metered, we will use the previous final meter reading at the premises as your initial meter reading, unless you read the meter before using any energy and advise us of that meter reading within one business day of you moving in. If your meter reading differs from the previous final meter reading at the premises, we may arrange for the meter to be read and we will use that reading as your initial meter reading.
Alternatively, if an advanced meter has been installed at your premises, we may take an initial meter reading remotely, and this shall constitute the initial meter reading from the date you become our customer.
2.7 What if you have a new connection, an altered connection or a reconnection?
For safety reasons, if you have a new or altered energy connection, or if your supply has been disconnected, we may require you to provide a certificate of compliance or certificate of verification from a certified energy service provider before we can supply you with energy. We may also request a copy of this certificate at any time.
Part B – Equipment, Access and Delivery
We, or the meter company, will own any metering equipment at your premises.
If you do not have a suitable meter for your energy use or pricing plan, we will choose and arrange to install the appropriate meter. You may not provide or install your own meter. You must pay all reasonable costs relating to the installation of any metering equipment. However, you will not be charged if:
a first advanced meter is installed in accordance with section 3.2; or
we decide to replace meters or related equipment if the existing meters or related equipment are unsuitable for your energy use or pricing plan. In some cases, it may be necessary to upgrade your meter if your energy use or pricing plan changes. We may charge you the costs of installing a new meter. We will inform you if any upgrade is required and the costs of that upgrade.
If you ask for a new meter to be installed, you will be charged for the cost of that new meter and the work required to install it.
If you do not own the premises you must obtain the owner's consent before a meter or any other equipment is installed or upgraded, including any related alterations.
3.2 Upgrading your meter to an advanced meter
We may, at any time, replace the meter at your premises with an advanced meter. You agree that you will not object to us, or prevent us from, replacing your meter with an advanced meter. You will not be charged for the installation of the first advanced meter at your premises, unless additional work is required to install the metering equipment (this includes additional wiring required to install the metering equipment or work required to relocate the metering equipment) in which case we may charge you for this additional work.
If you do not own the premises you must obtain the owner's consent before an advanced meter is installed.
If an advanced meter cannot be installed at your premises for any reason, we will notify you of such reason(s) and may require you to remedy, repair or otherwise address any issues preventing such installation, at your cost, so an advanced meter can be installed at your premises.
We may require you to provide a certificate of compliance from a certified service provider at your cost before the advanced meter is installed. We may request a copy of this certificate at any time.
3.3 What if the meter is faulty?
We may arrange to have any metering equipment or other equipment at your premises tested if we think, or if you tell us that you think it is faulty, damaged, unsafe, does not reflect your actual consumption or it has been interfered with. In such case we will remove the meter for testing in the timeframe advised or within five business days if you ask us to. You agree to co-operate in good faith with any testing or investigations by us, the meter company or other third party that owns the relevant equipment.
If it is clear that there is an inherent fault with the meter itself and you have been incorrectly charged, we will replace or repair the meter at no cost to you and:
provided you have complied with the terms and conditions of this agreement, you will not be liable in relation to the variable component of your pricing plan for the quantity measured by the meter, unless you contributed to the fault, or could have reasonably expected to know about the fault. You will still be liable for the fixed daily rate component of your pricing plan;
if it is apparent that you have been overcharged as a result of the inherent fault with the meter, we will refund you an amount we reasonably believe is a realistic estimate of the over-payment.
We will inform you of any extra charge you might incur if we do test your meter prior to undertaking this work.
If it is determined that the relevant equipment was (or was allowed to be) damaged or interfered with by you, you agree to pay all reasonable costs and expenses of the investigation and you will be responsible for the resulting loss, damage or costs suffered.
3.4 Rental of LPG equipment
In the case of bottled LPG, we will rent to you the LPG equipment, including the LPG bottles for the supply of LPG to your premises. We will own any LPG equipment at your premises. Title to any LPG equipment will not pass to you at any time, unless we agree in writing. LPG equipment may only be used with LPG supplied by us.
Risk in all LPG equipment will remain with you while the LPG equipment is at your premises. We may charge you for any LPG equipment that is lost or damaged while in your possession.
3.5 Delivery of LPG
In the case of botted LPG, we will use reasonable endeavours to deliver the LPG bottles to you within a reasonable time of receiving your request for delivery or in accordance with the agreed delivery schedule. You acknowledge that delivery is subject to, among other things, availability or any interruption of delivery services or our ability to deliver to you.
Deliveries will be made during normal business hours unless we agree otherwise.
Your first delivery will be subject to a site assessment for safety and compliance with Standards New Zealand regulations for LPG installations. If the relevant site is not compliant or is considered unsafe for delivery, you will be notified and given the opportunity to rectify your site. If the issues identified cannot be rectified within a reasonable amount of time, we will terminate our agreement and close your LPG account.
We may, at our sole discretion and for whatever reason, change our delivery schedule, if we change our delivery schedule, we will notify you.
You must provide us and our contractors with safe and easy access to your premises to enable delivery of the LPG bottles. If you do not, you may be charged a non-delivery fee or an additional delivery fee.
3.6 Housing of the equipment
You must provide us, the meter company, the network company and any other third party that owns equipment on your premises, and must maintain, at your cost, a reasonable and accessible space for the safe, secure, weathertight, insect- and vermin-free housing of the equipment.
In the case of bottled LPG, you agree that the LPG equipment will not be housed:
in a location where there would be insufficient air movement across the LPG equipment, under a building (unless permitted by the LPG Association Code of Practice No 2), under a stairway or buried in the ground;
in a position that is difficult to access or that would obstruct exits from a building; or
where damage is likely to occur (unless adequate protection is provided).
any equipment is damaged, defective, or looks unsafe; or
you discover any fault with, or interference with, any equipment.
3.7 Safety of LPG equipment
In the case of bottled LPG you must ensure that at all times the premises at which the LPG equipment is to be used complies with any relevant laws and regulations. We may delay or suspend delivery at any time if access to your premises, if your LPG installation is considered by us to be unsafe, unsuitable, non-compliant, or if the delivery conditions are considered by us to represent a hazard to our delivery drivers.
You must ensure that your LPG installation is certified by a registered gas fitter in accordance with regulations under the Gas Act 1992. If you store more than 100 kg of LPG on the premises, you must obtain a current site location certificate in accordance with the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996 and associated regulations. The LPG Association may be able to assist you in ensuring compliance with this requirement.
All LPG equipment must be used in a safe and prudent manner. You must not tamper or interfere with any LPG equipment (and you must ensure that any LPG equipment is not tampered or interfered with) except to the extent that action has to be taken to protect the health and safety of persons or to prevent damage to property. Please report any escape or smell of LPG from the LPG equipment or any interference with the LPG equipment to us immediately.
3.8 How should you deal with equipment at your premises?
You must ensure that any equipment at your premises is not:
sold, rented, removed, moved or otherwise transferred without our consent;
encumbered or used as security in any way;
(and does not become) a fixture or fitting of the premises; or
switched off other than in accordance with section 6.3 below.
You must also at all times:
look after the meter and prevent interference with, or damage to, or loss of, the metering equipment, other equipment, and the metering communications network;
keep all LPG equipment in your possession at your premises and be responsible for its security and condition;
immediately notify us of any damage to any equipment and not undertake any work on any equipment.
4 What about other equipment at your premises?
4.1 What equipment are we or the meter company responsible for?
4.2 What equipment are you responsible for?
You are responsible for repairing and maintaining:
your electricity and gas lines, pipes or cables (including any poles and fittings) from the point of supply;
any electrical or gas appliances and equipment not included above.
If any of this equipment looks unsafe, you should contact your own electrician or gas fitter (as appropriate) immediately.
You own and are responsible for energy after it has passed your point of supply. You must not supply energy to another property or person from your premises. Where your point of supply supplies more than one customer you will be jointly responsible for the metering equipment and other equipment you are responsible for, and we may estimate the apportionment of energy consumption between customers or require you to install additional metering equipment so that the energy consumption can be accurately apportioned.
5 What access do you need to provide?
From time to time, we may need to access your premises. Except in routine situations (such as delivering you bottled LPG, reading or inspecting a meter that is located on the outside of a building) or emergency situations, we (or the meter company, network company or other relevant third parties that own any equipment) will give you reasonable written notice, including when and why access to your premises will be required. If the reason for requiring access relates to construction, upgrade, repair or maintenance, we will give you at least 10 working days’ notice of the need to access your premises.
If we require access to your premises, we will:
take reasonable steps to minimise any direct impacts on your property and any inconvenience to you, and will try to comply with any reasonable requirements that you have given us. If we can, we will also instruct the meter company or network company to do the same. However, if you have a direct agreement with the network company (see section 12.3), that agreement may override these terms in relation to the network company’s access to your premises.
ensure that our representatives or any representatives of a meter company or the network company or other third parties who own equipment on your premises carry identification, present their identification to you on access to your premises or on request, and behave in a courteous, considerate and professional manner at all times. In all other circumstances, you can ask the representative(s) to identify themselves at any time while they are on your property. If they are unable or unwilling to show you their identification, you should not give them access.
You must allow us (during the term of our agreement and up to six months after termination), the meter company, the network company and/or other third parties who own equipment on your premises:
safe, unobstructed and slip free access to metering equipment, LPG equipment or other relevant equipment not owned by you, and any lines or equipment of the network company or any other person on your premises, between 7.00am and 7.00pm, Monday to Sunday, excluding public holidays;
immediate access to your premises at any time for safety or emergency reasons or to prevent serious damage to property or the environment; and
access for installation, connection, testing, inspection, maintenance, repair, replacement or removal of any equipment at your premises.
ensure that any dog or other animal at the premises is secured to enable safe and easy access;
keep us informed about any health and safety and/or Resource Management Act 1991 requirements or issues at your premises that could be relevant to our representatives or the representatives of a meter company or a network company or other third parties who own equipment on your premises when they visit your premises;
keep trees and other vegetation or obstacles regularly trimmed to a safe distance from the network, metering equipment, LPG equipment or other equipment, and comply with the Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010 and the Electricity (Hazards from Trees) Regulations 2003 or any replacement regulations. You can view a summary of these regulations here. If you do not comply with the regulations, we or the network company may enter your premises to trim or remove the tree or other vegetation. You will be liable for the costs of carrying out any work arising as a result of your non-compliance; and
if requested by us, turn off the energy at your premises to enable access for the purposes referred to above.
5.2 What if we have problems gaining access to your premises?
If you do not provide adequate access, or refuse to provide access, to your premises, we may charge you for any callout fees where we could not gain access and if you are a bottled LPG customer we will not be able to deliver LPG to your premises, in such a case you may be charged a non-delivery fee or an additional delivery fee.
Failure to provide access as required by these terms will be a material breach of these terms.
5.3 What if you miss an appointment?
5.4 What if we hold keys to your premises?
If we have a key or security information to enable us to gain access to your premises, we will be responsible for keeping it safe. We will use it only for the purposes described in this section 5, and if you ask us to, we will return or destroy it. However, we may then need to make alternative access arrangements.
Part C – Measuring energy used, and what you will pay
6.1 Reading the meter at your premises
Where your energy is metered, we will charge you for the energy supplied to you on the basis of meter readings from the meter(s) at your premises. We will read the meter(s) at your premises on a regular basis, as long as we have access, either in person or (for advanced meters) remotely. Where we to read an advanced meter manually, for example, because of a communications fault, we may need to read your meter manually. If a manual reading is required because you have caused a communications fault, we may pass on the costs of the manual reading to you. We may also read the meter(s) at your premises for any additional or final meter reading.
If we have not obtained a meter reading for any reason, we may estimate the amount of energy you have used and charge you for the estimated amount of energy. You can, however, provide us with a meter reading, via our website or by calling us. We can decide whether or not to accept your readings. If we do not accept your readings, we may carry out an additional meter reading within five days. If it turns out your reading was accurate, we will not charge you for the cost of our special meter reading. If your reading was inaccurate, we may charge you for the cost of our special meter reading.
6.2 What do we do with meter reading information?
You agree that we own all meter reading information. To extent that any meter reading information constitutes "personal information" for the purposes of the Privacy Act 1993, we will hold and use that meter reading information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1993 and our Privacy Policy
6.3 What if you wish to turn off your energy at the mains?
7 What fees and charges will you pay?
You must pay the fees and charges set out in our agreement. These fees and charges may change from time to time in accordance with your pricing plan or our price list.
We may also require you to pay additional fees for services provided to you which are not set out in your pricing plan or our price list. If circumstances arise, or are likely to arise, which mean that you may incur an additional charge, we will provide reasonable notice to you specifying the amount of the charge, the reason why you may incur the charge, and any steps you can take to avoid incurring the charge. If you request a product or service that involves an additional cost, we will advise you of the amount of such additional cost where that cost is known, or provide an estimate of the cost (unless the cost is from a third party and that third party does not provide an estimate).
8 Invoices for energy and other charges
8.1 How we will invoice you
We will send you an invoice for payment each month unless we have agreed otherwise. Your invoice will be delivered to the address or email address provided by you.
a breakdown of the energy charges into natural gas, LPG and/or electricity (as applicable), including the quantity of each kind of energy supplied (or estimated to have been supplied);
the fixed charge component (if any) of your invoice;
any applicable fees or charges for things other than energy and lines services – these will be individually itemised;
the due date for payment; and
If your invoice is based on an estimated meter reading, this will be stated on the invoice. You can still provide us with your own meter reading – if we accept it we will send you an updated invoice.
8.2 How you will pay invoices
You may pay your invoice by any of the methods described on our website here or via Energy IQ. If any of those payment methods changes, we will give you reasonable notice (at least 30 days) by noting the change on our website, including adequate information to explain the change.
You must pay the total amount by the due date shown on each invoice (including GST). Without limiting any of our other rights under the agreement or at law, if you do not pay the total amount by the due date we may charge you a late payment fee as set out in our price list here This will be charged on our next applicable invoice to you
If you are having difficulties in paying your invoice to us, please call our Customer Excellence Team to discuss alternative payment methods. We may also contact you if we think you are having difficulty paying. If any of those payment methods is to change, we will give you reasonable notice and adequate information to explain the changes, at least 30 days beforehand.
8.3 What if you disagree with the amount shown on an invoice?
If you dispute any amount payable under an invoice, you must give us notice at least three business days prior to the due date of the invoice, identifying the amount in dispute, and giving full reasons for the dispute. You must still pay the undisputed amount by the due date.
8.4 What if you don't receive an invoice or your invoice was late?
the invoice is sent more than two months after the end of the period to which it relates, you will have at least the length of time covered by the invoice to pay it; and
the invoice is more than three months late, we will negotiate an appropriate discount with you.
No late payment fee is applicable to any amounts that were only under-paid by you because we invoiced you late.
8.5 What if your invoice is wrong?
If your invoice is incorrect, you are only liable to pay the correct amount. If we have under-charged you, you must pay any amount that we have under-charged, taking into account whether you have contributed to the error in any way or could reasonably have been expected to know of the error. If we have over-charged you, we will promptly credit any amount that we have over-charged. We may offset against any refund any amounts you owe us (or any debt collection agency that we have transferred your debt to).
No interest is due on any amounts over-paid or under-paid by you or us in relation to incorrect invoices.
8.6 Vulnerable customers
If you are a vulnerable customer, we will not disconnect your energy supply because you have not paid, unless we have first taken the steps in this section 8.6.
for any reason we think that you might be a vulnerable customer;
you do not make regular bill payments and your supply is at risk of disconnection;
you agree that we can consult with (and give information about you and your energy account to) Work and Income, District Health Boards, private health providers or any other social agency or service provider as necessary, unless you specifically tell us not to. If we are going to take those steps, we will tell you. (You can also agree for us to do those things even if you are not a vulnerable customer, by calling our Customer Excellence Team.) You also consent to those organisations giving us information about their dealings with you, including whether you will receive assistance from them. We may also maintain your information on a register of vulnerable customers.
If, after we have reminded you that you can tell us if you are a vulnerable customer, you have not told us (or it does not appear to us that you are a vulnerable customer), we will assume that you are not a vulnerable customer.
If you have nominated a person as an alternate contact with whom we can discuss the details of your account under section 2.4, we may also discuss financial assistance with that person.
8.7 Medically dependent customers
If you are or believe you are, or if anyone at your premises is, a medically dependent customer, you must give us a completed “Notice of Potential Medically Dependent Consumer Status” form signed by your health practitioner.
If you are, or if anyone at your premises is, a medically dependent customer, you must have an emergency response plan to respond to any outage.
You must tell us if you or the relevant person at your premises stop being a medically dependent customer.
We may ask you to re-confirm your status as a medically dependent customer by providing us with suitable evidence from a doctor or other health practitioner with an appropriate scope of practice, no more than once every 12 months or if we would otherwise give you notice of disconnection.
Part D – Key features of energy supply
9 Our performance commitment to you
We will supply energy to your premises at quality and reliability levels in accordance with good industry practice in New Zealand, any relevant industry protocols and codes of practice, and any applicable laws including the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 (if you are a residential customer), the Gas Act 1992, the Electricity Industry Act 2010 and the Electricity Code. If those commitments are not met, we will tell you of any service level payment you are entitled to. In all our dealings with you, we will also follow any other applicable electricity and gas industry protocols, standards and codes of practice.
If you think that we have failed to meet our performance commitment, you can make a complaint – see section 21 below.
Other parties involved in your supply of energy (eg the network company) may also have given us performance commitments for your benefit. If we receive compensation from a third party for losses resulting from interruption of energy supply, we will pass on to you the appropriate share of that compensation. If you ask us to, we will explain how your share of the compensation was calculated.
10 Interruptions and changes in supply
10.1 Planned and unplanned interruptions, surges and spikes
Circumstances or events beyond our control may interrupt or affect your supply of energy from time to time. For example, the network company may shut down all or part of its network, or the meter company may interrupt supply to carry out maintenance. The network may also be affected by other events beyond our control.
We cannot give warning or notice of sudden, unplanned shutdowns or outages. If possible, we or the applicable network company or meter company will give you at least four working days' notice of any planned shutdowns. In the event of any urgent shutdown where we cannot give you four working days’ notice, we will give you as much advance notice as possible.
After any shutdown, the network company will reconnect your supply of energy. The time taken to reconnect your supply will depend on the network company. You can access a list of telephone numbers to contact us if you need to report a supply interruption, or access information about a supply interruption (which will be updated regularly in accordance with good industry practice), by clicking here. Alternatively, you can call our Customer Excellence Team and we will direct you to someone who can help. Your energy supply will be restored as soon as reasonably practicable following an interruption.
In the event of a local or national energy shortage, or in circumstances of extreme wholesale prices, your energy supply may be rationed or restricted. Energy may also be rationed as part of an industry-wide rationing plan.
10.2 Controlled load price plans
A “controlled load” pricing plan is a pricing plan that allows the network company to remotely control the supply of energy to some or all equipment in your premises. If you are on a controlled load pricing plan, some of your electrical appliances (eg hot water cylinders and night store heaters) may be switched off or adjusted in accordance with your pricing plan. Controlled load periods will be limited to those set out in our price list. The possibility of such controlled load periods is reflected in your controlled load pricing plan, if one applies. If you think there is a controlled load system fault, please tell us. We will address any such faults in accordance with our normal practices, after you have advised us of the problem.
11 What should you do about sensitive equipment?
Surges or spikes (ie voltage and frequency fluctuations) can occur at any time because of events beyond our control. They are not treated as interruptions, but they could damage sensitive electrical appliances like computers, televisions, videos, telephones, computerised appliances and fridges and freezers. If you have sensitive equipment or property which may be affected by an interrupted supply, surge or spike, we strongly recommend that you take steps to protect that equipment or property. You should consider arranging insurance that covers damage from power fluctuations, install your own back-up devices such as an uninterruptible power supply (UPS), and/or make other arrangements to protect your equipment or meet your special needs. Power conditioners and surge protectors may help reduce fluctuations, and can be plugged into appliances or wired into your house mains. Further information regarding protection that you may take against outages or voltage fluctuations, and information on high-risk areas, is available by visiting our website.
Part E – Getting energy to you
12 Arrangements with the network company
12.1 Your network company
If you would like to know who your network company is, please contact us.
12.2 What the network company does
The network company owns and operates the network that we use to transport energy to your premises. We have arrangements with the network company to let us do that. Those arrangements include some things that you are required to agree to as part of these terms. You must comply with:
all applicable statutory and regulatory requirements (including line function services, safety and technical requirements) and codes of practice, and any instructions from the network company to respond to an emergency situation; and
the network company's distribution code or other similar connection standards, and reasonable technical requirements and specifications for connection to the network as published from time to time (a copy of the code or standards may be obtained from the network company);
You must compensate us in full for any liability caused by your failure to do any of those things (including remedying any interference caused by your equipment or energy usage).
You will not have any property right or other interest in the network, even though some of it may be located on your premises. You must give us, the network company and the meter company access to your premises in some situations – see section 5 above for details.
You must not, without the prior written consent of the network company:
install electricity generating equipment that will export energy back into the network, or inject (or attempt to inject) energy into the network;
connect your equipment directly to the network;
interfere in any other way with the network or the network company’s equipment; or
cause or permit anyone else to do any of these things.
12.3 Do you need an agreement with the network company?
In some cases, the network company may require you to have an agreement directly with it to use the network. If this is the case, we will provide you with the contact details of the network company, and you must ensure that you have such an agreement and comply with it.
Part F – Liability
13 What is Genesis' or the customer's liability for loss or damage?
13.1 Application of the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993
Nothing in our agreement shall affect any rights you have under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993. However, if you acquire goods or services for the purposes of a business, the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 does not apply to the services provided by us or the network company, and any other warranties or guarantees are excluded, in each case to the maximum extent permitted by the law.
13.2 What will we be liable for?
We will not be liable to you (in contract, tort (including negligence) or otherwise) for any loss or damage you may suffer unless, and only to the extent that:
the loss or damage is direct loss of or damage to your physical property; and
it occurs due to our breach of this agreement or our negligence; and
it is reasonably foreseeable and is directly caused by our breach or our negligence (and not caused by an event beyond our control).
We will not be liable for any other loss or damage including indirect or consequential losses, loss of profits or revenue, or similar categories of loss.
If an event beyond our control prevents us from complying with this agreement, we will have no liability for that non-compliance. In that case, we will resume performing our obligations as soon as it is reasonably practicable for us to do so. Subject to the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993, we have no liability for loss or damage (including loss of data) caused by surges or spikes.
Our employees and agents will have no personal liability to you, and they may enforce this exclusion under subpart 1 of Part 2 of the Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017.
13.3 What is our maximum liability to you?
14 What is your liability to us or the network company?
You agree to indemnify us and our representatives, agents and employees, in respect of all claims, demands, actions, suits, proceedings, damages, losses and expenses of any nature, arising out of or in connection with any breach of these terms and conditions by you. If you are liable to us and the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 applies to our supply of energy to you, the maximum amount you will pay us as compensation for our loss is $10,000 in respect of any event or series of closely related events. That liability cap does not apply to any charges payable by you under these terms and conditions, where the loss is caused by your deliberate or wilful conduct or negligence, or where the loss caused is a result of your damage to the network or relevant equipment.
You will be liable to the network company for any direct loss or damage caused by your (or your invitees, officers, employees and agents’) fraud, dishonesty or wilful breach of these terms, arising out of or in connection with the services provided by the network company. Without limiting any rights you may have under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993, any claim by you against the network company will be subject to any limitations of liability agreed between us and the network company. The network company may enforce this section 14 under subpart 1 of Part 2 of the Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017.
15 What is the network company's liability for loss or damage?
If the network company is not a provider under the Utilities Disputes complaints resolution scheme, then you agree that the network company has no liability to you (including liability in contract or in negligence) relating to the supply of energy to your premises, unless that loss or damage is physical damage to property where it can be shown that the network company has been negligent and the amount and nature of the loss was reasonably foreseeable. The network company's aggregate liability to all customers connected to its network (including you) for an event or series of closely related events relating to the network shall not exceed $10,000.
In certain circumstances we may require that the network company, or other third parties engaged in relation with supplying you with energy, provide certain service guarantees. If the network company or relevant third party, breaches any of these service guarantees in relation to the supply of energy to you and we receive a payment from the network company or relevant third party we will pass on to you the value of the payment as a credit in your next invoice
Other than crediting your account for those amounts, we will have no liability to you in respect of any defaults by the network company or other third party.
This section 15, and the other terms in this agreement which refer to the network company, are for the benefit of and enforceable by the network company under subpart 1 of Part 2 of the Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017.
16 What is the meter company's liability for loss or damage?
If you do not have a direct agreement with your meter company, then the meter company has no liability (in contract or in tort) to you, to the extent permitted by law, in respect of the supply of energy to you under this agreement. This section 16, and the other terms in this agreement which refer to the meter company, are for the benefit of and enforceable by the meter company under subpart 1 of Part 2 of the Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017.
Part G – Disconnection and Termination
17 Disconnecting your supply
17.1 When will your energy supply be disconnected?
In addition to our, the network company's and the meter company's other rights of disconnection under this agreement, your energy supply may be disconnected:
if you do not pay any undisputed portion of any invoice by the due date, in which case you may incur fees for disconnection and debt collection. You must also pay our costs of collecting money that you owe to us, including bank and credit agency fees, and legal and court costs;
for a planned or unplanned supply interruption (including for safety or emergency reasons); or
if we or you terminate the agreement.
Except in the case of an emergency situation or for safety reasons, or where we suspect the metering equipment or other equipment at your premises has been tampered or interfered with, we will send you a notice of disconnection to the address you have given us at least seven days (and allow a further three days for delivery of the notice) before we disconnect your supply of energy. We will also contact you, at the contact details provided by you, to provide you with a final warning at least 24 hours prior to disconnecting your supply.
Any notice of disconnection from us will include how you can avoid disconnection if that is possible, and the timeframe within which disconnection will take place. If we disconnect your premises, we may require you to pay a disconnection fee.
We will not disconnect your supply for non-payment of a disputed amount where you have initiated a complaint with Utilities Disputes Limited in relation to that disputed amount, unless the Utilities Disputes Limited complaint resolution process or our own complaint resolution process has been exhausted.
Where we disconnect your supply of energy under this section 17.1 (other than in the case of an emergency situation or for safety reasons), the disconnection will not take place on a Friday, Saturday, Sunday, public holiday or the day before any public holiday in your area, or during severe weather events or a civil emergency.
17.2 Disconnection by the network company
The network company may disconnect your supply if:
your equipment does not meet the network company's requirements, or it considers your equipment to be unsafe;
we ask it to do so in accordance with these terms;
you materially breach any other term of the agreement including the network requirements,
and you agree that section 105 of the Electricity Industry Act 2010 shall not apply to such disconnection of your electricity supply.
17.3 Charges during disconnection
If a form of energy supply at your premises is disconnected (but not permanently decommissioned by removing your ICP so that you cannot receive the supply of energy), we may still charge you a daily fixed charge for that form of energy (if applicable). However, we will not charge you a daily fixed charge for a form of energy supply that has been permanently decommissioned at your premises.
18 How do you resume supply?
When you want to start your energy supply again, please contact us. You must not attempt to reconnect the energy supply yourself. Before we agree to reconnect your energy supply, we may require you to meet certain requirements which we will notify you of at the time.
Where you have met these requirements, we will arrange to reconnect your energy supply as soon as possible. If you have an advanced meter, we may do that remotely. You will be responsible for any liability resulting from us disconnecting or reconnecting the energy supply at your premises.
19 Discontinuation by us
19.1 When will we terminate the agreement?
We may terminate the agreement and disconnect or discontinue your supply of energy in accordance with section 17:
if in case of electricity, reticulated natural gas or reticulated LPG, we cease to have an agreement with the relevant network company;
in the case of bottled LPG, by providing you with at least 14 days’ prior notice if, we (at our sole discretion) are, or, will become (in our opinion), unable to supply for whatever reason (including, without limitation, if we are unable to maintain supply, or facilitate delivery, of LPG to your premises). In such cases we will not charge you a termination or discontinuation fee and we will arrange with you the return of our equipment;
if you materially or persistently breach any term of this agreement and that breach has been clearly established and is not the subject of a dispute resolution process. If you materially or persistently breach a term of this agreement but you can remedy the breach, we will tell you what you need to do to avoid the disconnection of your supply of energy and termination of this agreement. You will then have five business days to take those steps. We may require you to pay a disconnection fee;
if you materially or persistently breach a term of this agreement but you can remedy the breach, we will tell you what you need to do and the date you will need to do this by to avoid the disconnection of your supply of energy and termination of this agreement;
if you have (or we suspect you have) interfered or tampered with the equipment at your premises; or
in the case of bottled LPG, immediately if, your equipment (including its location) does not allow for the safe supply of LPG or does not comply any applicable laws and regulations.
We will only terminate the agreement for non-payment of an invoice based on an estimate if it is fair and reasonable in the circumstances to do so.
20 What if you want to stop your supply?
20.1 What to do if you’re moving house
If you move house you must give us at least three business days' notice of your move and your new address so we can send you a final invoice. We will also take a final meter reading (a charge may apply) or if we agree, you may provide a meter reading over the phone or on our website, in which case section 6.1 will apply. Following receipt of such notice, the agreement will be terminated in accordance with these standard terms and conditions and your pricing plan. Our charges to you will stop on the date that is three business days after you have given us notice in accordance with this section or section 20.3 (or a later date as agreed by us), or if you have not given us notice, when we disconnect the premises or a new customer notifies us that it has taken over the premises.
In the case of the supply of bottled LPG to the premises, if the new occupier of the premises does not take over the supply of bottled LPG from us within a reasonable time period, we will collect the LPG equipment in accordance with the distribution / delivery schedules for your region. The passing of risk in any LPG equipment from you to us will occur at the earlier of the new occupier entering into an agreement for the supply of bottled LPG to the premises from us, or when we have collected the LPG equipment.
If you want us to supply energy to your new premises, you must apply to be a customer for those premises.
20.2 What if you’re moving out but others are staying?
If you leave your premises and your name is on the energy account, it's important to tell us that you are terminating your account with us. If you wish to transfer your account to someone else at the premises to continue the supply of energy, we will need to speak to them and accept them as our customer before the account can be transferred.
If you remain on the account, you will still be responsible for energy used at the premises after you leave (and any other charges for those premises).
20.3 Choosing to stop your supply of energy
If you no longer want us to supply you with energy or you otherwise want your supply disconnected, you must let us know at least three business days beforehand and our agreement will be terminated in accordance with these standard terms and conditions and terms set out in your pricing plan and in the case of bottled LPG when the LPG equipment is returned to us and your account has been closed.
We will disconnect your premises as soon as reasonably practicable on or from the date on which your notice takes effect, or if you have told us that you are switching to another retailer, we will work with you to facilitate the switch and stop supplying you in accordance with applicable regulations and industry standards.
20.4 What happens when the agreement is terminated
Upon termination of the agreement you must:
let us take a final meter reading (a charge may apply); or
if we agree, provide us with a final meter reading over the phone or via our website. If the final meter reading provided by you does not match your rate of consumption, we may carry out our own final meter reading, and we may adjust your final invoice accordingly. If this is the case we will endeavour to contact you at the phone number you have provided us; and
pay us any fees or charges that you owe us;
allow us and/or our contractors or agents to enter the premises any collect any equipment.
In the case of bottled LPG (in addition to the above):
if we pick up a full LPG bottle, we will apply a credit for this bottle to your final account. If, however, a partially used LPG bottle is returned, we will not refund the unused portion of LPG; and/or
where you have instructed us that you are switching to another retailer, we will terminate your supply in accordance with industry standards, and your new retailer or its agents will remove the LPG equipment and return it to us. We will not refund any unused LPG in this case. You must allow your new retailer or its agents access to your premises in order to remove the LPG equipment.
Part H – Complaints
21 What happens if you have a complaint?
If you have a complaint, please contact our Customer Excellence Team in the first instance. Our contact details are set out on our website. Our free internal complaints resolution service is explained on our website. We are also a participant in the free “Energy Complaints Scheme” provided by Utilities Disputes Limited.
We will acknowledge receipt of your complaint promptly and will try to resolve your complaint straight away. If we can’t resolve your complaint within 20 working days, we will write to you explaining why we need more time to reach a resolution. If your complaint is complex, or involves other parties such as your network company or meter company, our Customer Resolutions Team will investigate it for you.
We may also refer it to your network company or meter company. If we do this, we will tell you and provide you with the appropriate name and contact details.
We will do our best to resolve any complaints directly with you, but you can refer your complaint to the free Energy Complaints Scheme provided by Utilities Disputes Limited if:
You can contact Utilities Disputes Limited on 0800 22 33 40 or by visiting www.utilitiesdispute.co.nz. You may also refer your complaint to the Disputes Tribunal, the Court or another third party.
22 Changing this agreement or our prices
We may make changes to these standard terms and conditions, the network requirements, your payment methods, or our price list. If we do that, or (subject to this section 22 and the terms of your relevant pricing plan) if we increase the energy prices set out in our price list, we will give you notice of the changes as soon as possible and not later than 30 days before the change is to take effect, together with our reasons for making the changes. We may do this by any reasonable method of communication, including:
advertising in a local daily newspaper;
posting a notice on our website (www.genesisenergy.co.nz);
writing to you or emailing you; or
notifying you by other electronic means, or by a combination of these methods.
If we increase the special fees or charges set out in our price list, we will notify you of these changes by advertising on our website or placing a statement on your invoice.
If we increase a fee or service charge, or the total invoiced price of energy supplied to you, by more than 5% (and, in the case of a fee or service charge, the increase is reasonably likely to have a material effect on you), or change the frequency of billing or meter reading, we will give you an individual written notice as soon as possible. We will not change the frequency of billing to less than approximately once a month (depending on when your meter is read) unless you have agreed otherwise, except for any one-off circumstances where it is necessary to send you a bill other than on a monthly basis. If there has been an increase in your energy prices, the notice will explain the reasons for the increase.
However, we do not need to give you notice if we decrease your energy prices or the special fees and charges set out in our price list, or (for an increase in energy prices) if you have signed up to a flexible pricing plan under which prices may vary depending on the time and volume of your energy consumption.
Your continued use of energy will be deemed acceptance of a change to these terms under this section 22. If you do not accept any changes to these terms in accordance with this section 22, you must notify us no later than 30 days after we give notice of the change, and we can terminate the agreement or give you notice that the terms will remain unchanged.
If you wish to change your pricing plan, products or services, you may ask us and we will make the change in accordance with the timeframes (and on the terms) applying to your pricing plan.
23 How can we contact you?
otherwise sent to you by electronic means (including via our EnergyIQ app).
We will treat a notice as having been received by you:
three days after being posted by us to the postal address you provided to us; or
the day after it was transmitted to the email address you provided to us or posted to our internet billing system or sent to you by electronic means; or
the day after it was published on our website, or the notice appeared in your local newspaper.
24 Transferring rights and obligations
24.1 Transfers by you and us
You may not transfer or assign any of your rights or obligations under this agreement.
We may transfer or assign some or all of our rights and obligations under this agreement. You consent to any such transfer or assignment and authorise us to provide any personal information that we hold about you to the transferee. We may also sub-contract our obligations under this agreement. If we transfer any of our rights or obligations under this agreement, we will tell you about the transfer, including where you can access the contact information for the new provider, and when the transfer will take place or has taken place.
If we have, or are likely to have, a receiver, liquidator or other similar officer appointed, to us or a material part of our assets, we will take all reasonable steps to ensure that the supply of energy to you is not affected.
24.2 Transfers by the Electricity Authority
The Electricity Authority may also transfer our rights and obligations in respect of the supply of electricity to you under these terms to another electricity retailer if we commit an "event of default" as defined in the Electricity Code. If that happens, the terms on which you will be supplied with electricity will be the standard terms that the other electricity retailer would normally have offered to you immediately before the event of default occurred (or, if the other electricity retailer and the Electricity Authority agree other terms that are more favourable to you, those terms will apply instead). Those terms may include a minimum time period in which you must pay an early termination fee if you wish to cancel the terms. We may provide information about you to the Electricity Authority (and the Electricity Authority may pass this information on to the other electricity retailer) as permitted under the Electricity Code. The terms set out in this section 24.2 are enforceable by the Electricity Authority for the purposes of subpart 1 of Part 2 of the Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017, and may not be amended without the consent of the Electricity Authority.
25 Other general provisions
No waiver of any breach, or failure to enforce any provision of our agreement, shall affect, limit, or waive a party’s right to enforce and compel strict compliance with the provisions of our agreement
If any provision of our agreement is held to be invalid, unlawful, or unenforceable, then that provision shall be deemed to be modified only to the extent necessary to remedy that result and the remainder of our agreement shall remain in force.
Any provisions which are intended to have effect beyond the term of our agreement will continue in effect after termination.
26 Words we use in this agreement
agreement means these standard terms and conditions together with our Privacy Policy, the price list, your applicable pricing plan and any applicable special terms.
disconnect, disconnection and disconnected means the isolation of your premises from the network, so that your premises remain physically connected to the network but you cannot receive the supply of energy, or, in the case of bottled LPG, means the discontinuation of supply of LPG to you.
decommission and decommissioned means the permanent disconnection of your premises and removal of your ICP so that you cannot receive the supply of energy, and may include the permanent removal of metering equipment and your service lines.
energy means electricity, reticulated natural gas, reticulated LPG or bottled LPG.
equipment means metering equipment, LPG equipment, the network and any other energy supply equipment of the network company or other third party at your premises.
event beyond our control includes, but is not limited to: acts of God, war, riot, civil commotion, malicious damage, compliance with any law or governmental order, rule, regulation or direction, accident, earthquake, fire, lightning, storm, flood or other similar event, interference with the network from birds, animals or vegetation, traffic accidents, faults in the network, acts or omissions by the network company or meter company, problems with generation, transmission or distribution of energy, problems with your wiring, piping or other parts of your energy installation, problems arising because of health and safety hazards at your premises, and other things that we do not have control over.
gas means reticulated natural gas, reticulated LPG and bottled LPG.
Genesis, we, us and our mean Genesis Energy Limited (trading as "Genesis") and includes its agents, contractors, successors and assignees.
lines services means the provision and maintenance of works for the conveyance of electricity and the operation of those works, including the control of voltage.
LPG means Liquefied Petroleum Gas which complies with NZS5435.
LPG equipment means LPG bottles and any other LPG equipment supplied by us
medically dependent customer means a customer who is dependent on mains electricity for critical medical support, such that loss of electricity may result in the loss of life or serious harm.
metering equipment and meter mean the metering and other equipment which is used to measure and provide information about your consumption of (and demand for) energy, including any covering or housing for such equipment, and meters, loggers, communication devices, relays, current transformers, voltage transformers and any other equipment required to measure energy usage, and includes an advanced meter and the metering communications network.
network means the energy distribution network to which your point of supply is connected, including the network of overhead lines, underground cables and pipelines, fittings, valves, piping, substations and other equipment used to distribute energy.
network company means the company or organisation that owns the network, and where relevant includes its employees, agents and representatives.
network requirements means the rights and responsibilities relating to the network company summarised in these terms.
point of supply means the point at which we or the network company determine that the network ends and your lines, cables or pipes and fittings and equipment begin. The point of supply for electricity is usually the point on the boundary of a property where the electricity supply enters. The point of supply for natural gas is usually the outlet of the meter that supplies natural gas to you. The point of supply for reticulated LPG is usually the outlet of the meter where LPG is supplied to you. If you are not sure where your point of supply is, please contact your network company. If you are not sure who your network company is, please contact us, and we will refer you to the appropriate network company.
price list means our prices relating to energy consumption and special fees and charges for other services or circumstances. Your current relevant price list is available by calling our Customer Excellence Team.
vulnerable customer means a domestic customer where:
disconnection of energy at the customer’s premises presents a clear threat to the health or well-being of the customer or someone living at their premises because of age, health or disability; or
it is genuinely difficult for the customer to pay energy bills because of low income or severe financial insecurity – either temporary or permanent.
you and your mean the customer or customers under this agreement, as named on the energy account.