Australian Capital Territory Repealed Acts Australian Capital Territory Repealed ActsThis legislation has been repealed.
10. (1) An electricity distributor shall prepare a standard form customer connection contract to establish the conditions on which it will provide customer connection services.
(2) An electricity distributor shall notify any prescribed body, and shall have due regard to its comments, before completing its preparation of a standard form customer connection contract.
(3) Different forms of customer connection contract may be prepared for different classes of customer.
11. (1) A standard form customer connection contract shall make provision for—
(a) the basis on which charges for its customer connection services are to be calculated;
(b) any security to be provided by customers for payment of any such charges;
(c) the standard of service to be provided to customers by the electricity distributor;
(d) the requirements to be complied with by customers under Division 4;
(e) the circumstances under which premises may be disconnected from the electricity distributor's distribution system;
(f) the procedures established by the electricity distributor for handling enquiries and complaints made by customers, and resolving disputes with customers, in relation to matters arising under the contract; and
(g) such other matters as are prescribed.
(2) A standard form customer connection contract shall—
(a) state that this Act confers powers, duties, rights and obligations on the electricity distributor and customers; and
(b) briefly describe the nature of those powers, duties, rights and obligations;
but is not unenforceable by reason only of a failure to do so.
(3) A standard form customer connection contract shall comply with any conditions imposed on the electricity distributor by its electricity distributor's licence but is not unenforceable by reason only of a failure to do so.
(4) A standard form customer connection contract shall not be inconsistent with this Act or the regulations and is unenforceable to the extent of any such inconsistency.
12. (1) A standard form customer connection contract takes effect—
(a) on the day on which notice of its terms is first published in a daily newspaper circulating throughout the Territory; or
(b) on such later day as is specified in the notice.
(2) A notice under this section shall—
(a) specify the day on which the customer connection contract is to take effect; and
(b) include such other particulars as are prescribed.
(3) A notice under this section may be of general application or be limited in its application by reference to specified exceptions or factors.
(4) A standard form customer connection contract does not have effect in respect of any period before the day specified in the relevant notice as the day on or after which the contract is to take effect.
(5) On the day on which a customer applies to an electricity distributor for the provision of customer connection services, the customer and the electricity distributor are taken to have entered into an agreement for the provision of customer connection services on the conditions set out in the relevant standard form customer connection contract, and the contract is enforceable accordingly.
13. (1) An electricity distributor may amend a standard form customer connection contract to vary the terms on which it will provide customer connection services.
(2) This Division applies to an amendment of a standard form customer connection contract in the same way as it applies to a standard form customer connection contract.
14. (1) This section applies to contracts for the provision of customer connection services by an electricity distributor to a customer where the services are not to be provided in accordance with any of the distributor's standard form customer connection contracts.
(2) A customer connection contract to which this section applies may contain such terms as the electricity distributor and the customer may agree and is enforceable accordingly.
(3) A customer connection contract to which this section applies shall comply with any conditions imposed on the electricity distributor by its electricity distributor's licence but is not unenforceable by reason only of a failure to do so.
(4) A customer connection contract to which this section applies shall not be inconsistent with this Act or the regulations and is unenforceable to the extent of any such inconsistency.
15. (1) This Division applies to a person who applies to an electricity distributor for the provision of customer connection services or to whom customer connection services are provided.
(2) An electricity distributor may refuse to provide customer connection services to a person who fails to comply with a requirement imposed under this Division.
16. (1) An electricity distributor may require a new customer to contribute towards the costs incurred, or to be incurred, by the distributor in—
(a) extending its distribution system; or
(b) increasing the capacity of the system;
to enable the distributor to provide customer connection services to the customer.
(2) For the purpose of ensuring that previously incurred costs of the kind referred to in subsection (1) are equally borne by customers in the same vicinity, the electricity distributor may—
(a) require further new customers to contribute towards the costs; and
(b) apply the whole or any part of the contributions received from those customers to the repayment of existing customers who have previously contributed towards those costs.
(3) An electricity distributor may not require a contribution referred to in paragraph (2) (a) if—
(a) the total costs incurred or to be incurred by the distributor (excluding any amounts repaid, or to be repaid, in accordance with paragraph (2) (b)) have already been recovered; or
(b) the costs were incurred more than 6 years before the day on which the new customer applied for the provision of customer connection services.
17. (1) An electricity distributor may require the installation of such service lines, and provision for their attachment, as it considers necessary to provide a supply of electricity to a customer.
(2) The type, construction and route of a service line and its point of connection shall be as determined by the electricity distributor.
(3) An electricity distributor may require premises to be provided with more than 1 point of connection if the distributor considers it necessary to avoid interference with the supply of electricity to any other premises.
18. (1) An electricity distributor may require the installation of such service equipment, and provision for its mounting, as it considers necessary for the provision of a safe and efficient supply of electricity to a customer.
(2) The position and standards of installation of service equipment shall be as determined by the electricity distributor.
19. (1) This section applies if, in the opinion of the electricity distributor, the supply of electricity required by a customer—
(a) exceeds that which can be provided by a service line from its street mains; and
(b) can best be given by installing transformers, switchgear or other equipment on the premises to be supplied.
(2) Where this section applies, the electricity distributor may require the customer to provide for use by the distributor, free of cost, a place within those premises to accommodate the transformers, switchgear or other equipment that the distributor considers should be installed.
(3) The place provided shall be a place approved by the electricity distributor and shall be enclosed in a manner approved by the distributor.
20. (1) An electricity distributor may require the installation of such electricity meters as it considers necessary in order to ascertain the quantity of electricity supplied to a customer.
(2) The position and standard of installation of electricity meters shall be as determined by the electricity distributor.
21. (1) An electricity distributor may—
(a) impose such requirements relating to the installation and use of electrical appliances and equipment by a customer as the distributor considers necessary to prevent or minimise adverse effects on the supply of electricity to other customers;
(b) impose requirements relating to loading of, and the balancing of load over, the phases of a customer's electricity supply;
(c) impose requirements relating to the minimum rupture rating or minimum breaking capacity of a customer's main protective devices; and
(d) require a customer to install relays, current transformers and other protective equipment having characteristics to suit the distributor's protective system.
(2) A customer shall comply with any requirements imposed on him or her under this section.
22. (1) For the purpose of complying with any requirements imposed under this Division or under a customer connection contract, a customer may—
(a) elect to have any required electrical or other goods provided by the electricity distributor (in the case of goods that are available from the distributor) or by any other person; or
(b) elect to have any required electrical or other services provided by the electricity distributor (in the case of services that are available from the distributor) or by any other person.
(2) A person shall not provide prescribed electrical or other services unless he or she is accredited, in accordance with the regulations, to provide those services.
Penalty:
(a) if the offender is a natural person—50 penalty units or imprisonment for 6 months, or both;
(b) if the offender is a body corporate—250 penalty units.