Australian Capital Territory

Utilities (Variation of Terms – ActewAGL Retail Standard Customer Contract) Approval Notice 2009 

Notifiable Instrument NI2009-278

made under the

Utilities Act 2000, s 91 (Notification and application of terms etc) and 
s 93 (Variation of terms)

1	Name of instrument
This instrument is the Utilities (Variation of Terms – ActewAGL Retail Standard Customer Contract) Approval Notice 2009.
2	Commencement 
This instrument commences on the day after it is notified. 
3	Approval of variation of standard customer contract for electricity supply services
The Independent Competition and Regulatory Commission approves the variation at Schedule 1 to ActewAGL Retail’s schedule of charges in the standard customer contract for electricity supply services. 

Paul Baxter
Senior Commissioner
Independent Competition and Regulatory Commission

16 June 2009

ActewAGL Retail
Schedule of charges for standard retail electricity supply
2009-2010
The following charges have been approved by the Independent Competition and Regulatory Commission as consistent with its pricing decision for customers who are on the Transitional Franchise Tariff. Unless otherwise stated, these charges apply to electricity usage on and from 1 July 2009. 
For premises with standard meters, it is assumed that consumption each day is equal to the daily average. For meter reading periods that bridge 1 July 2009, consumption prior to 1 July is charged at 2008-09 rates.

		2008-09 GST exclusive rate	2009-10 GST exclusive rate	2009-10 GST inclusive rate	
1.	Always Home@ActewAGL plan				
	The Always Home@ActewAGL plan charge shall be:				
	•	a supply charge per day	47.00c	48.30c	53.13c	
	•	or if the customer pays their electricity account through the ActewAGL direct debit arrangements*, a supply charge per day of	42.00c	43.30c	47.63c	
	•	all consumption 	12.90c per kWh	13.86c per kWh	15.246c per kWh	
2.	Always Home@ActewAGL Saver plan				
	The Always Home@ActewAGL Saver plan charge shall be:				
	•	a supply charge per day	67.60c	69.70c	76.67c	
	•	or if the customer pays their electricity account through the ActewAGL direct debit arrangements*, a supply charge per day of	62.60c	64.70c	71.17c	
	•	consumption for the first 60 kWh per day	11.35c per kWh	12.31c per kWh	13.541c per kWh	
	•	consumption thereafter	12.90c per kWh	13.86c per kWh	15.246c per kWh	
3.	Always Home@ActewAGL Saver Plus plan				
	The Always Home@ActewAGL Saver Plus plan charge shall be:				
	•	a supply charge per day	$1.106	$1.126	$1.2386	
	•	or if the customer pays their electricity account through the ActewAGL direct debit arrangements*, a supply charge per day of	$1.056	$1.076	$1.1836	
	•	consumption for the first 165 kWh per day	9.90c per kWh	10.86c per kWh	11.946c per kWh	
	•	consumption thereafter	12.90c per kWh	13.86c per kWh	15.246c per kWh	
4.	Always Home@ActewAGL SmartSaver plan				
	The Always Home@ActewAGL SmartSaver plan charge shall be:				
	•	a supply charge per day	47.00c	48.30c	53.13c	
	•	or if the customer pays their electricity account through the ActewAGL direct debit arrangements*, a supply charge per day of	42.00c	43.30c	47.63c	
	•	for energy at peak times (as defined)	16.20c per kWh	17.50c per kWh	19.25c per kWh	
	•	for energy at shoulder times (as defined)	12.60c per kWh	13.00c per kWh	14.30c per kWh	
	•	for energy at residential off-peak times (as defined)	9.80c per kWh	9.63c per kWh	10.593c per kWh	
	•	for residential controlled off-peak energy (as defined)	8.85c per kWh	8.80c per kWh	9.68c per kWh	
	* Note: the direct debit discount does not apply to direct debits against a credit card.				
5.	Business plan				
	The Business plan charge shall be:				
	•	a supply charge per day	67.00c	71.60c	78.76c	
	•	consumption for first 330 kWh per day	16.60c per kWh	17.70c per kWh	19.47c per kWh	
	•	consumption thereafter	18.80c per kWh	20.70c per kWh	22.77c per kWh	
6.	Community services discount (obsolete)				
	The community service discount shall be:				
	•	a supply charge per day	67.00c	71.60c	78.76c	
	The community services discount on the Business plan energy rates shall be at the rate of three per cent.				
7.	Off-peak 1 / 2 (obsolete)				
	The off-peak 1 / 2 charge shall be:				
	•	all consumption	7.60c per kWh	7.20c per kWh	7.92c per kWh	
8.	Off-Peak Saver Electricity plan				
	The Off-Peak Saver Electricity plan charge shall be:				
	•	all consumption	8.85c per kWh	8.80c per kWh	9.68c per kWh	
9.	Streetlighting				
	The streetlighting charge shall be:				
	•	a supply charge per day (per account)	67.00c	71.60c	78.76c	
	•	all consumption	12.40c per kWh	13.37c per kWh	14.707c per kWh	
10.	Business Incentive plan				
	The Business Incentive plan charge shall be:				
	•	a supply charge per day	75.00c	77.00c	84.70c	
	•	for energy at business times (as defined)	22.10c per kWh	24.00c per kWh	26.40c per kWh	
	•	for energy at evening times (as defined)	16.25c per kWh	17.38c per kWh	19.118c per kWh	
	•	for energy at business off-peak times (as defined)	8.85c per kWh	9.03c per kWh	9.933c per kWh	
11.	Low voltage time of use demand				
	The LV time of use demand charge shall be:				
	•	a supply charge per connection point per day	$2.35	$2.40	$2.64	
	•	for maximum demand in a billing period, a charge per day of	32.00c per kVA	33.00c per kVA	36.30c per kVA	
	•	for energy at business times (as defined)	14.10c per kWh	15.40c per kWh	16.94c per kWh	
	•	for energy at evening times (as defined)	12.70c per kWh	13.37c per kWh	14.707c per kWh	
	•	for energy at business off-peak times (as defined)	7.50c per kWh	7.67c per kWh	8.437c per kWh	
12.	High voltage time of use demand 				
	The HV time of use demand charge shall be:				
	•	a supply charge per connection point per day	$15.00	$16.00	$17.60	
	•	for maximum demand in a billing period, a charge per day of	13.00c per kVA	13.00c per kVA	14.30c per kVA	
	•	for the maximum demand over the previous 12-month period, a capacity charge per day of	
13.00c per kVA	13.00c per kVA	14.30c per kVA	
	•	for energy at business times (as defined)	13.10c per kWh	14.10c per kWh	15.51c per kWh	
	•	for energy at evening times (as defined)	12.10c per kWh	12.40c per kWh	13.64c per kWh	
	•	for energy at business off-peak times (as defined)	7.20c per kWh	7.40c per kWh	8.14c per kWh	
13.	Miscellaneous energy charges				
	Small unmetered loads: 				
	•	a supply charge per NMI per day	51.00c	44.00c	48.40c	
	•	all consumption	17.35c per kWh	18.10c per kWh	19.91c per kWh	
14.       Application of rates
14.1   The charge applicable for supply to each installation shall be in accordance with the following classification of premises, places and purposes.
14.2   The Always Home@ActewAGL plan charge shall be applicable to installations at private dwellings, excluding serviced apartments, but including:
•	living quarters for members and staff of religious orders
•	living quarters on farms
•	charitable homes
•	retirement villages
•	residential sections of nursing homes and hospitals
•	residential sections of boarding schools and educational institutions
•	churches, buildings or premises which are used principally for public worship
•	approved caravan sites.
Serviced apartments are premises which from time to time are available for hire for accommodation for periods which may be less than one month and where service available to the apartments includes provision and laundering of bed linen.
In respect of multiple dwellings of three or more dwelling units, the Always Home@ActewAGL plan charge will only be applicable where each dwelling unit is given a separately metered supply and the account is in the name of the occupant.
When a portion of a premises is used principally for domestic purposes, loads not exceeding five kilowatts, which are used for other than domestic purposes may be supplied at the Always Home@ActewAGL plan charge. For this purpose, the loading of equipment shall be taken to be:
•	for permanently connected equipment, the actual rating of the equipment
•	for light fittings, 60 watts per light fitting
•	for plug sockets:
-	sockets rated 10 amperes or 10 amperes per phase: 500 watts or 500 watts per phase
-	sockets rated other than 10 amperes: the wattage rating shall be taken as 50 times the current rating of the socket.
14.3   The Always Home@ActewAGL Saver plan charge is available only to customers eligible for the Always Home@ActewAGL plan charge. Customers are ineligible to apply for this charge if they have been on this charge in the previous 12 months and have since been supplied energy at the Always Home@ActewAGL plan or the Always Home@ActewAGL Saver Plus plan to that premises.
14.4   The Always Home@ActewAGL Saver Plus plan charge is available only to customers eligible for the Always Home@ActewAGL plan charge and who have installed a fixed operational electric appliance which incorporates a mechanical refrigeration unit and a fan or fans, arranged so that the evaporator and the condenser can be switched to heat or cool air blown through the appliance (heat pump). Customers are ineligible to apply for this charge if they have been on this charge in the previous 12 months and have since been supplied energy at the Always Home@ActewAGL plan charge or Always Home@ActewAGL Saver plan charge to that premises.
14.5   The Always Home@ActewAGL SmartSaver plan charge is available only to customers eligible for the Always Home@ActewAGL plan charge who have an interval meter or time-of-use meter.
14.6   The Business plan charge is available to installations not taking supply at any other defined charge except for off-peak charges, and shall include:
•	installations on farms which are not living quarters and have loads exceeding five kilowatts (as defined above)
•	nursing homes and hospitals, excluding residential sections
•	boarding schools and educational institutions, excluding residential sections
•	motels, hotels, serviced apartments and any form of accommodation used to house temporary residents for periods of less than one month at caravan parks or other temporary accommodation sites
•	shops, offices, warehouses, factories, professional rooms
•	social or sporting club facilities not used for domestic accommodation.
14.7   Temporary supply (for example, for building purposes) may be rendered at the discretion of ActewAGL Distribution. ActewAGL Distribution shall estimate the cost for single or three phase installation, of installing, dismantling, connecting and disconnecting mains, lines and apparatus. The rate chargeable for power used shall be at the Business plan charge.
14.8   The community services discount is obsolete. It shall be available only to existing installations receiving this discount.
14.9   Off-peak charges are available only to customers taking all other energy at Always Home@ActewAGL plan or Business plan rates. They are applicable to permanent heat (or cold) storage installations of a design and rating acceptable to ActewAGL, which absorb their major energy during restricted times, but which may be boosted at the principal charge at other times.
          The off-peak charge 1 / 2 (standard off-peak) is obsolete. It shall be available only to existing installations receiving this service. It shall provide operation for a minimum of six hours and a maximum of eight hours within any one day, between 2200 hours (10.00pm) and 0700 hours (7.00am). From 1 July 2004, any existing installation already connected to off-peak 1 / 2 will no longer be eligible for an additional connection to any other off-peak charge.
          The Off-Peak Saver Electricity plan charge shall provide operation for a total of 13 hours in any one day. The said 13 hours shall be comprised of eight hours between 2200 hours (10.00pm) and 0700 hours (7.00am) and five hours between 0900 hours (9.00am) and 1700 hours (5.00pm).
The actual settings on the time switch will be nominated by ActewAGL. Times referred to in this clause are in Australian Eastern Standard Time.
The Off-Peak Saver Electricity plan charge is applicable to the following.
•	Water heating storage units for which a test certificate has been issued indicating compliance with Australian Standard 1056 and having lower or upper and lower elements, but with any upper element connected to the principal charge. Rated delivery shall be not less than 160 litres.
•	Water heating storage units where electricity is used to supplement other forms of energy (for example, solar hot water).
•	Storage space heating or cooling including under-floor, concrete-slab heating systems.
•	Swimming or spa pool heating, and associated auxiliaries, but not to spa baths.
14.10 The streetlighting charge shall be applicable to the night-time lighting of streets and public ways and places.
14.11  Time of use demand charges.
Subject to an applicant providing at their own cost all necessary equipment together with adequate accommodation for the installation and proper maintenance of that installation all to the satisfaction of ActewAGL, time of use demand supply may be made available to that installation.
The high voltage time of use demand charge may be available to consumers taking supply at a nominal voltage not less than 11,000 volts.
14.12 Time periods
For residential tariffs:
Peak times are defined as from 0700 hours (7.00am) to 0900 hours (9.00am) and from 1700 hours (5.00pm) to 2000 hours (8.00pm) daily.
Shoulder times are defined as from 0900 hours (9.00am) to 1700 hours (5.00pm) and from 2000 hours (8.00pm) to 2200 hours (10.00pm) daily.
Residential off-peak times are defined as all other times.
Residential controlled off-peak energy rate is available only to consumers who do not have their meter read as an interval meter. The times and rules relating to the Off-Peak Saver Electricity plan apply to the residential controlled off-peak energy service.
For non-residential tariffs:
Business times are defined as from 0700 hours (7.00am) to 1700 hours (5.00pm) on weekdays.
Evening times are defined as from 1700 hours (5.00pm) to 2200 hours (10.00pm) on weekdays.
Business off-peak times are defined as all other times.
Times referred to in this clause for time of use charges are Australian Eastern Standard Time. Weekdays are Monday to Friday excluding declared public holidays in the ACT.
14.13 Meter readings
Meter readings (other than readings taken at the termination of supply) shall be taken to the nearest 10 kilowatt hours (kWh). The billing period for the purpose of determining the maximum demand charge shall be one month or part thereof where a customer changes their retail supplier. 
Supply and miscellaneous energy charges shall be applied per connection point and applied daily.

		2008-09 GST-exclusive rate	2009-10 GST-exclusive rate	2009-10 GST inclusive rate	
15.	Service charges				
15.1	For establishment of a new customer account	$27.73	$28.91	$31.80	
15.2	For visit to re-energise or de-energise a premises:				
	•	business hours re-energise	$44.55	$47.27	$52.00	
	•	after hours re-energise	$97.27	$102.73	$113.00	
	•	business hours de-energise (not for late payment)	$40.91	$42.73	$47.00	
15.3	Special meter read; for example check read (second within a billing period)	$29.09	$30.91	$34.00	
15.4	Disconnection notification fee (for late payment)	$12.82	$13.64	$15.00	
15.5	Attendance (debt collection) first visit in a 12-month period (in business hours)	$46.36	$48.18	$53.00	
	Attendance (debt collection) within a year of a previous visit (in business hours)	$63.64	$66.36	$73.00	
15.6	De-energise a premises for late payment.	$75.45	$79.09	$87.00	
15.7	Field visit read only (visit to de-energise for late payment)	$54.55	$57.27	$63.00	
16.	Miscellaneous charges				
16.1	Dishonoured cheque and credit card reversal (administration charge):				
	•	the greater of	$12.73 per account or
$39.09 per cheque or reversal	$13.64 per account or
$30.00 per cheque or reversal	$15.00 per account or
$33.00 per cheque or reversal	
16.2	Direct debit reject (administration charge)	$8.18 per reject	$8.18 per reject	$9.00 per reject	
16.3	Refund (administration charge other than first in a 12-month period)	$27.27 per refund	$27.27 per refund	$30.00 per refund	

17.	Renewable Energy Generation 
If a customer has a grid-connected renewable (solar or wind) energy generator and the customer is not receiving the ACT feed-in tariff, the following arrangements apply:
•	The customer will pay the published charge for the net amount of energy imported from ActewAGL’s network.   
•	In the event that the customer is a net exporter of energy over a billing period, then ActewAGL will purchase the net energy exported at the customer’s energy tariff rate.   
•	The customer will continue to pay the supply charge and any other applicable charges. 
•	This arrangement is available only to customers with less than 30 kilowatts installed capacity of renewable generation.

Where the customer is entitled to the ACT feed-in tariff, the following arrangements apply:
•	The customer will pay the published charge for all energy consumed.  
•	The customer will be paid in accordance with their ACT feed-in contract with ActewAGL for the energy generated.  
•	The customer will continue to pay the supply charge and any other applicable charges.
18.     Payment assistance
ActewAGL offers a range of flexible payment options. If you would like information on these or if you need payment assistance, call us on 13 14 93. If you genuinely cannot afford to pay your account and ActewAGL is unable to assist, you may also apply to the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal (ACAT), telephone 6207 7740, for assistance.