Australian Capital Territory

Utilities (Variation of Terms) Approval 2007   (No 2)

Notifiable Instrument NI2007- 199

made under the

Utilities Act 2000, s 91 (Notification and application of terms etc)

1	Name of instrument
This instrument is the Utilities (Variation of Terms) Approval 2007 (No 2).
2	Commencement 
This instrument commences on the day after notification.
3	Approval of variation of Standard Customer Contract for gas connection and supply
The ICRC approves the attached variation of the terms of ActewAGL’s standard customer contract for gas connection and supply.  

4	Public access to documents
A record of the Commission’s decision is available for inspection by members of the public between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm, Monday to Friday, at the Commission’s office at Level 2, 12 Moore Street, Canberra City, ACT. Copies can be made at the Commission’s office. Electronic copies are available on request. No charge will apply.

Paul Baxter
Senior Commissioner
for Independent Competition and Regulatory Commission
           11 July 2007 

ATTACHMENT
		Current Version		Proposed Changes	
What obligations do you have?
Application for supply	3.1	(c)   demonstrate that you have a legal right of occupancy of the premises;
(d)	provide any of the other things referred to in clause 4 of the Consumer Protection Code or clause 4.1 of the Gas General Metering Code, on request;	3.1	(c) 	demonstrate that you have a legal right of occupancy of the premises;
(d) 	provide any of the other things referred to in the Consumer Protection Code or the Gas General Metering Code, on request;	
				Specific clause references removed to avoid requiring amendment to the contract if the Codes are amended	
Other charges	7.5	We may add to your account any overdue charges incurred by you from other premises you no longer own or occupy.  We will only add charges to your domestic account from other residential premises that you have owned or occupied		       Delete as this is prohibited under the Consumer Protection Code	
				Clause 7 has been renumbered to reflect the above change	
Disconnection by us
All customers	12.1	We may arrange for your premises to be disconnected:
(a)	if you do not have a legal right of occupancy of the premises; or
(b)	if you fail to pay an account by the due date and, for residential premises, we have complied with all the requirements of clause 12.4 of the consumer protection code; or
(c)	if you fail to comply with any of your other obligations under this contract; or
as permitted or required by applicable gas law.	12.1	We may arrange for your premises to be disconnected:
(a)	if you do not have a legal right of occupancy of the premises; or
(b)	if you fail to pay an account by the due date and, for residential premises, we have complied with all the requirements of the Consumer Protection Code; or
(c)	if you fail to comply with any of your other obligations under this contract; or
(d)	as permitted or required by applicable gas law or
(e)	the internal gas network at your property does not comply with ActewAGL Distribution’s Minimum Standards for Network Operation .
	
				Specific clause references removed to avoid requiring amendment to the contract if the Codes are amended	
Removal of footnotes				The footnotes were an aid used internally and were mistakenly published- some references are to the original consumer protection code and are outdated	

Amendments to Schedule – Words and phrases used in this contract

	CURRENT VERSION		PROPOSED CHANGES	
accredited	Accredited under the Gas Safety Act 2000, or licensed under the Plumbers, Drainers and Gasfitters Board Act 1982.	accredited	Accredited under the Gas Safety Act 2000, or licensed under any applicable gas law.	
ActewAGL Distribution	The distribution arm of the ActewAGL joint venture, which is a partnership between ACTEW Distribution Limited and AGL Gas Company (ACT) Limited, trading as ActewAGL Distribution.  ActewAGL Distribution owns the gas network.		The distribution arm of the ActewAGL joint venture, which is a partnership between ACTEW Distribution Limited and Alinta GCA Pty Ltd, trading as ActewAGL Distribution.  ActewAGL Distribution owns the gas network.	
Schedule of Charges	the schedule of fees and charges for gas supply and connection and associated services published from time to time by us.	Schedule of Charges	the schedule of fees and charges for gas supply and connection and associated services published by us and in force from time to time.	
			Updated to clarify definitions and to reflect ownership details	

Schedule of charges for ACT only – natural gas tariffs
The following rates apply from 1 July 2007. Accounts issued on or after that date will be charged on a pro-rata basis.
		2007-08
GST exclusive rate	2007-08
GST inclusive rate	
1	Residential			
1.1	Always Home@ActewAGL plan*
Supply fee  ($/qtr)
Usage rate  (c/MJ)	

36.70
1.500	

40.37
1.6500	
1.2	Always Home@ActewAGL Saver plan*
Supply fee  ($/qtr)
Usage rate  (c/MJ)	

36.70
1.500	

40.37
1.6500	
1.3	Always Home@ActewAGL Saver Plus plan
Supply fee  ($/qtr)
Usage rate  (c/MJ)
First 4,500 MJ/qtr
Thereafter	

48.40

1.275
1.464	

53.24

1.4025
1.6104	
Eligible pensioners may be entitled to a rebate.
The Always Home@ActewAGL plan and the Always Home@ActewAGL Saver plan merged on 1 July 2005.

		2007-08
GST exclusive rate	2007-08
GST inclusive rate	
2	Industrial and commercial			
2.1	Monthly
Supply fee ($/month)
Usage rates (c/MJ)
First 50,000 MJ/month 
Thereafter	
16.40

1.410
1.281	
18.04

1.5510
1.4091	
2.2	Quarterly
Supply fee ($/qtr)
Usage rates (c/MJ)
First 150,000 MJ/quarter 
Thereafter	
49.20

1.410
1.281	
54.12

1.5510
1.4091	

		2007-08
GST exclusive rate	2007-08
GST inclusive rate	
3.	Miscellaneous fees and charges – ACT	
3.1	Establishment fee (new customer account)	
$26.95	
$29.65	
3.2	Establishment fee (pensioners)	$10.90	$11.99	
3.3	Attendance (debt collection) first visit in a 12-month period (in business hours)
Attendance (debt collection) within a year of a previous visit (in business hours)	

$45.45

$61.82	

$50.00

$68.00	
3.4	Disconnection fee (for non payment)	$48.18	$53.00	
3.5	Reconnection fee (business hours)
Reconnection fee (after hours)	$43.64
$65.50	$48.00
$72.05	
3.6	Check read (second in a billing period)	
$38.18	
$42.00	
3.7	Disconnection notification fee (for late payment)	
$12.45	
$13.70	
3.8	Dishonoured cheque and credit card reversal (administration charge). The greater of	$12.00 per account or 
$28.00 per cheque or reversal	$13.20 per account or 
$30.80 per cheque or reversal	
3.9	Direct debit reject (administration charge)	
$8.00	
$8.80	
3.10	Service application fee	$268.18	$295.00	
3.11	Special meter read	$44.40	$48.84	
3.12	Network disconnection fee	$113.70	$125.07	
3.13	Network reconnection fee	$84.00	92.40	
3.14	Meter testing charges:
12 cubic metres
33 cubic metres
85 cubic metres
300 cubic metres
880 cubic metres	
$46.80
$66.70
$89.10
$334.70
$893.00	
$51.48
$73.37
$98.01
$368.17
$982.30