• About this agreement
• Changing this agreement
• Ending this agreement
• Becoming an Empower customer
  • Moving house
  • Bonds
  • Protecting your personal information
• Your electricity supply
• The network operator
• Safety
• Interruption to your electricity supply
• Termination or disconnection of your electricity supply
• Getting you reconnected
• Metering and electricity supply equipment
  • Your responsibilities
  • Trees, vegetation and maintaining clearances
• Reading your meter

• Accessing your property
  • Keys and security codes
  • Identifying our staff and contractors
  • Meter tests
  • Tampering with your meter
  • Charges and payment
    • Our charges
    • Invoicing you
  • Estimated accounts
    • Invoice payment
    • Debt collection costs
  • Compensation for loss or damage
  • Making a complaint
  • What some of the words used in this agreement mean
  • Any questions?

• To enable us to recover costs incurred for completely new connections and meter installations, you agree to purchase all electricity supplied to your premises for a minimum period of 12 months from the commissioning of the meter(s), unless we agree otherwise.
• Should you sell, tenant or vacate the property during the above period, you are obliged to let subsequent owners or tenants know of the commitment to us applying for the remainder of this period.

On this page weve tried to explain everything you need to know about being an Empower customer, including our terms and conditions of supply, our responsibilities to you and your responsibilities to us. It forms an agreement between us so that we both know what to expect of each other.

In remaining, or becoming, an Empower customer you agree to the terms and conditions on this page, unless we have otherwise agreed in writing. Its important that you read and understand these terms and conditions.

Empower's contract with you includes the terms and conditions on this page as well as our pricing plans. Our contract with you is also subject to all statutes and regulations relating to electricity and any requirements your local network operator may impose on the use of its network.

These terms and conditions replace any previous agreement(s) weve had with you.

We may act at any time to exercise the rights we have under this agreement.

We can transfer any or all of the rights and obligations that we have under this agreement to someone else. We may also sub-contract or delegate any or all of our responsibilities under this agreement to another party. This agreement may not be transferred or assigned by you to any other person.

If any terms of this agreement are ruled invalid in court it will not affect the rest of the agreement, all other terms and conditions will still remain in effect.

Where the network operator requires you to contract directly with it for network services then this agreement is applicable for the supply of electricity only.

Please note that we are not required to carry out our obligations under this agreement when we are prevented from doing so by an event beyond our control. In such circumstances we will try to restore normal services as soon as practicable.

If theres anything thats not clear to you please call our Customer Service Team on
0800 34 00 00, visit our website at www.empower.co.nz or email us at support@empower.co.nz

We may make changes to these terms and conditions and our pricing plans. We will notify you of any changes by writing to you or by placing a notice in your local newspaper at least 14 days before the changes come into effect.

Under extreme circumstances where electricity supply is limited e.g. low hydroelectric storage lake levels, or where an event causes a large reduction in electricity production potential, or where any threat to our ability to supply electricity exists or is about to occur, Empower retains the right to change these terms and conditions and/or pricing plans under a shortened notice period. The reduced notice period will be no less than 48 hours. We reserve the right to determine, at our sole discretion, the circumstances that will result in a shortened notice period.

If you want to terminate your electricity supply with us, you must give us at least two business days notice and a for­warding address. Our charges to you will stop on the date agreed between us if there has been a final meter reading and youve stopped receiving electricity and/or other services from us. This agreement will come to an end when youve met all your obligations under this agreement.

If Empower ceases to supply you with electricity or other services, some terms will continue to apply until their purpose is served. For example, if you end your contract with Empower, terms relating to payment of any outstanding account balance will continue to apply until the balance is cleared.

Becoming an Empower customer

You can become an Empower customer in any area where we offer electricity supply by:

• joining Empower by completing a Supply Order Form, calling us 0800 34 00 00, visiting www.empower.co.nz and applying to switch online; or
• moving in to a property previously supplied by Empower and continuing to take our electricity. You need to register with us by calling 0800 34 00 00 to ensure your electricity supply continues.

More than one person can be the customer at any premises, and these terms and conditions apply to each of you as individuals, as well as to you jointly. We expect you to pay the entire invoice even if someone living with you hasnt paid their share.

If another person living at your premises has any unpaid invoice with us, we may refuse to supply electricity to your premises until that invoice has been paid.

Empower may choose not to commence or continue supply to anyone if they fail to meet our payment, credit or other criteria.

For safety reasons, if you have a new connection or your electricity supply has been disconnected, we may require you to produce a certificate of compliance issued by a qualified service provider.

If youre moving house and would like us to supply electricity to your new property, you will need to:

• give us at least two business days notice of your move and your new address so we can send a final invoice to your forwarding address; and
• arrange access for us to complete a final meter reading at your old property, or, at our discretion, you can provide us with a final reading over the phone.

When we accept a phone-in final reading, we reserve the right to undertake and charge for an actual final read if the reading is not consistent with our records. We also reserve the right to adjust your final account if the phoned-in reading is later found to be incorrect.

If you leave a premises (e.g. if you move from a flat where your flatmates are staying on) and your name is on the account its important to tell us that you are terminating your account with us, and if necessary transfer it to another person(s). If you remain the account holder and electricity is consumed at the premises you will remain liable to us.

If we agree to supply electricity to your new property, these terms and conditions will apply to your new property.

Unless you already have an established credit record with us, or can provide a credit reference from a previous energy supplier, we may require you to pay us a bond. We may also require a bond if you dont maintain a satisfactory payment record with us. Any bond we receive will be held as security against non-payment of future invoices or amounts owed to us by you. The bond will be held by us in a separate account and will not accrue interest.

The bond amount will not exceed our estimate of two months charges normally payable to us in respect of your electricity supply.

We will repay the balance of any bond to you after 12 months, provided that you have paid all invoices, in full, on time. We will also repay the balance of your bond when you no longer need us to supply electricity to you, providing all outstanding balances with us have been paid. We will repay your bond either by crediting your account with us or by issuing a refund cheque. If you havent paid all invoices by the due date we may extend the period that we retain your bond.

You will need to give us some personal information so we can supply electricity to you. Your personal information is confidential and will be held by us in accordance with the Privacy Act 1993. Its important that any information you give us is correct and that you tell us if there are any changes to it.

We may make inquiries about you with external parties, such as credit reference agencies or other retailers, to assess your creditworthiness. By becoming an Empower customer you agree that we can make such reasonable inquiries.

We wont release your personal information to anyone unless:

• you authorise us to do so; or
• it is being provided for the purpose of conducting business with you (e.g. meter readers and contractors); or
• it is being used for credit assessment or debt recovery purposes; or
• we are legally required to do so; or
• we are required to do so in accordance with the industry switching and/or reconciliation rules; or
• the network operator requires information for the purpose of running the network or communicating with you; or
• the network operator or its shareholder wants to pass on rebates or discounts to you, or if you are a beneficiary of that person and they wish to communicate with you; or
• a trust-owned lines company requires information about you for the purpose of preparing an electoral roll of trust beneficiaries; or
• a reputable market research organisation requires information about you for the purpose of contacting you to conduct market research on our behalf.

We prefer to talk to you in person about any complaints you might have about us. However, should you wish to make any public comments about our relationship with you and the services we provide, we reserve the right to make such public comments as are necessary to correct any error of fact or misconception. If you choose to make any public statements about your account then you agree to us replying as we think appropriate, in that same forum.

We may record telephone conversations we have with you to maintain accurate records of our dealings with you.

We may also use taped recordings to train our customer service representatives, or to monitor the level of service that they are providing.

Your credit and payment history may be shared with other energy supply companies through credit agencies for the purpose of carrying out credit reference checks in relation to the supply of electricity or related services to you.

If your household has an electricity account in only one person's name, we will not share any information about that account with anyone other than the named account holder unless we are expressly authorised to do so by them.

If your account is in more than one person's name, each person named on the account will be able to access the account information.

If youd like to know what information we hold about you, or you want to update your details please call our Customer Service Team on 0800 34 00 00.

We will supply you with electricity and provide other associated services as necessary or as requested by you. At all times we will ensure that the quality of these services meet:

• the requirements set out in this agreement; and
• all legal requirements and applicable statutes, regulations, industry rules and codes of practice (including MARIA, the Electricity Act 1992); and
• good industry practice.

The supply of electricity to you may not be continuous and uninterrupted. We cannot guarantee the continuous supply of electricity to your home.

The network operator is responsible for the transportation of electricity to your property and maintains and operates the electricity networks in your region and upstream transmission systems as applicable.

We are not able to supply electricity to you unless either you or we have entered into a network services agreement with your local network operator. If you have your own arrangement with a network operator, and that arrangement specifies, we may charge you on their behalf.

You must not attempt to send or receive signals or other forms of communication through the electricity network, without the permission of the local network operator.

You may not, without our prior written consent, connect or modify any fittings or other equipment on your premises to enable any electricity generated on the premises to be conveyed through the network to which you are connected.

Characteristics of your equipment, or your electricity demand, must not interfere with the quality of supply of electricity to any other person, or interfere with the operation of any of the network operators services or equipment. You must, on receipt of a notice from us, remedy any interference at your cost as soon as possible. If we become liable to any third party as a result of such interference you must compensate us to the full extent of such liability and for all associated costs incurred by us.

Your safety and the safety of all other parties is of great concern to us at Empower. We wish to ensure that electricity supplied by us is transported and used in a safe way. For your safety and the safety of those around you:

• in an emergency dial 111;
• if you think there is a possibility that our electricity supply could endanger people or property please call us immediately on 0800 34 00 00;
• please dont interfere with any pipes or wires that supply electricity to your premises. Make sure only qualified personnel perform any maintenance or repairs on any equipment or appliances at your premises;
• if your electricity supply has been disconnected for any reason do not attempt to reconnect it;
• if your electricity supply has been disconnected, please take extra care when using candles for lighting. Dont leave candles unattended and dont let children use candles, preferably use a torch;
• its very dangerous to use extension leads from a neighbouring property for power supply as this could result in electrocution.

Please note: Empower will terminate supply to your premises without notice where we consider any lines, fittings, equipment, installations or appliances at your premises are unsafe or do not comply with legal requirements or the requirements of the local network operator.

Events beyond our control may prevent us from supplying electricity or any other services to you. The supply of electricity to you may also be interrupted (e.g. a network operator may suspend your supply for safety reasons, or to protect property). The network operator may also suspend your supply for legal reasons, to carry out maintenance or repairs, or to meet the requirements of other network operators or suppliers.

Where practicable we will notify you at least four days in advance of any planned interruption to your electricity supply.

Following an interruption we will resume the supply of your electricity and services as soon as reasonably practicable.

We may ration or restrict your electricity supply if an abnormal supply situation exists. This could include local or national electricity shortages (due to low hydroelectric storage, thermal generation or transmission constraints) and/or in circumstances of extreme wholesale prices. We may also ration electricity as part of an industry rationing plan.

You may have chosen a pricing plan that means either we or the network operator can remotely control the supply of electricity to some of your equipment (e.g. your hot water cylinder). We and/or the network operator may temporarily suspend the supply of electricity to that equipment without notice.

We strongly encourage you to install surge protection devices to protect sensitive equipment. It may also pay to check your insurance policy to see if you are insured against power fluctuations. We have no responsibility for damage caused to equipment or appliances, including the loss of electronic data, arising from momentary fluctuations in the voltage or frequency of the electricity supply.

If you want your electricity supply disconnected either temporarily or permanently, you need to give us two business days notice. For temporary disconnections we will charge you for disconnecting and then reconnecting your electricity supply.

It is essential that you tell us if you want your electricity supply disconnected otherwise you will continue to be liable for electricity invoices at the premises for as long as the premises remains connected to the network and you remain the customer.

Your electricity supply may be disconnected without notice for safety reasons where we need to protect persons or property, or where meters or equipment have been tampered with.

We may also disconnect your electricity supply if you fail to meet your obligations set out in this agreement, including non-payment of invoices.

Before we disconnect you for non-payment we will notify you of any overdue amounts. If your account remains unpaid we will send you a final disconnection notice. If we still do not receive payment, we will disconnect your electricity supply and any reconnection will be entirely at our discretion.

If you are disconnected you are still required to pay us all outstanding amounts.

Of course, we wont stop or suspend your electricity supply if you have not paid amounts that are genuinely in dispute and we have been made aware of this dispute.

If for some reason we have suspended your electricity supply (or any other services), we may ask that you:

• pay us any outstanding amounts, this may include a disconnection fee (except for the amounts you have a genuine dispute about);
• pay a reconnection fee for turning your electricity back on;
• pay a bond (or an increased bond);
• agree to any extra terms and conditions that may be necessary.

Unless youve agreed otherwise with us, we will arrange for a meter(s) to be placed on your property to measure the electricity we supply to you. If you don't own your property (e.g. youre renting) you need the owner's or landlord's permission before we can install any meters. If you do not get this permission then you must indemnify us against any claims your property owner or landlord makes against us.

Your meter set-up needs to be suitable for the pricing plan that you choose and appropriate to the amount of electricity you use. Some of our pricing plans require special meters.

We require that you provide us (or our meter service providers) with a safe, secure and accessible location for the meters on your property at no cost to us. This may involve digging trenches and building structures on your property.

If we, or our meter service providers, supply the metering equipment you must ensure that it is not removed from the premises unless you have our prior consent.

You must not allow the meters to be used as security in any way or allow any lien to be created over the meters.

We require you to protect the metering equipment against interference, damage, loss or destruction. This may include weatherproofing the meter at your expense. You must notify us immediately if any metering equipment on your premises is damaged, defective or otherwise appears unsafe. Empower may recover from you the cost of repairing or replacing any meters that are damaged on your premises, where the damage could have been prevented by reasonable care.

If you are having any work done on your property that affects the safety of the meters or requires their relocation you must give us five business days notice so that we can arrange for our representatives to undertake the necessary work. Empower has a service charge for meter relocation.

If you add to, modify or replace any electrical equipment on your property, we may require you to upgrade the meter(s), and this may affect the price at which we supply electricity to you. We may also charge you for the work on the meters.

We may repair, test, check or replace any meter at any time. We may also install check meters to ensure that the meters are giving correct readings.

You are responsible for:

• your customer line up to your point of connection; and
• any repairs and/or maintenance that may be needed to your own meter box or meter board and any fuse board or other wiring; and
• ensuring that all electricity supply equipment and appliances on your property comply with all relevant legal and network connection requirements; and
• repairs and maintenance to all electricity supply equipment and appliances that are located past the point of connection on your property; and
• all electricity past the meter and electricity services past the point of connection on your property; and
• ensuring that any installation, alteration or maintenance of any electrical equipment is certified by qualified personnel.

Important: any meter that does not belong to Empower will continue to be your responsibility after this agreement has ended.

You must let us know if:

• there is or will be any substantial increase or decrease in your demands for electricity from us;
• any electricity supply equipment on your property is defective, damaged or (in the case of a meter) operating inaccurately, so we can suspend your supply and carry out or arrange repair or maintenance work (or recommend contractors to do so at your cost);
• you become aware of a hazardous situation.

In the absence of a specifically negotiated tree trimming agreement between you and the electricity network operator, you are required to maintain any trees or vegetation, under your control, clear of any line that forms part of the electricity distribution network or that is used for the transportation of electricity to your premises or other premises.

If you dont trim or remove obstructing trees, the network operator may, after giving you ten business days written notice, enter your property and trim (and dispose of trimmings), but not remove, any tree threatening the operational integrity of the line.

Provided we are given access to your property, we plan to read your meter(s) regularly, normally every two or three months. In rural and remote areas, or sites with infrequent consumption, your meter(s) may be read less frequently.

You must provide us (or any party who owns electricity supply equipment on your property, including network operators) with safe and easy access to your property to:

• read any meter on your property;
• turn your electricity supply on or off;
• conduct any inspection, testing and installation, operation, mainte­nance or replacement of electricity supply equipment;
• install or remove any electricity supply equipment;
• ascertain the cause of any interference to the quality of electricity supply;
• protect or prevent danger or damage to persons or property;
• allow the network operator to trim trees where required to do so in accordance with this agreement, or to maintain public safety and the operational integrity of the electricity distribution network;
• enable us to enforce the terms of this agreement and comply with the law.

Where Empower owns electricity supply equipment on your property we maintain the right to have access to your property and that equipment even after this agreement ends.

Access to your property must be safe. Any dog or other animal that may put us, or our representatives, at risk must be controlled when we visit your property.

We will normally only access your property during business hours or at another time we have agreed with you. Under some circumstances you will need to give us immediate access.

If you dont provide us with access to read a meter on your property we may have to estimate the amount of electricity supplied and send you an invoice based on this estimate. We may charge you additional fees for making a special meter reading if you dont provide us with access during normal business hours.

If we are denied reasonable access to your property two times or more in a row we may disconnect your electricity supply on ten days notice.

If any energy supply equipment is located behind locked doors or gates you will need to provide us with a key and/or security system code, or arrange access for us. To provide us with a key and/or security system code please call our Customer Service Team on
0800 34 00 00.

When you send us a key, please send it in our key access card, which is available on request from our Customer Service Team. The card will have your account number in it. Dont include any details that arent specified on the card, e.g. your name or address, as these may compromise your security.

If your previous energy supplier holds a key for your property, under this agreement you give us permission to ask for, and receive, that key from them.

All keys and details of security arrangements at your property that you give us will be kept secure.

All our staff and contractors, and those of each network operator, will carry identification. Please feel free to ask for identification before you let them enter your property. If theyre unwilling or unable to show you identification we recommend you dont let them onto your property and call us immediately on 0800 34 00 00.

We will arrange to have tested any meter on your property that we or you think is faulty.

If the testing reveals that the meter is not operating within accepted industry standards, we will:

• replace or repair the meter; and
• meet the cost of the testing; and
• debit or credit the costs of any electricity charged incorrectly to or from your account with us (using estimates based on past usage) if the meter has been measuring inaccurately.

If you request a meter test, we may charge you for the cost of the meter testing if the meter is found to be measuring the supply of electricity within accepted industry standards.

Tampering with a meter is dangerous and is a criminal offence, and we may notify the police if meters are tampered with. If any meter has been tampered with at your address, you will be invoiced for the electricity that we estimate you would have used while the equipment wasnt reading correctly. You may also be invoiced for any costs we incur while we investigate the interference and for any costs we incur in repairing any damage to the meters. We may also cease or suspend our supply of electricity to you and take legal action against you.

If youve moved into premises where you suspect the meters have been tampered with or seals have been broken, you need to advise us immediately.

We will charge you for electricity and any other services at the rates detailed on our pricing plans. These rates may change from time to time. For a copy of our most recent pricing plan, just call us on 0800 34 00 00. Any charges made for services will be detailed on your invoice from us.

If our prices change during a billing cycle we will average out the electricity used over the period to determine a daily average usage and then apportion your bill at the different rates.

We plan to send you an invoice every month for the electricity and any other services we provide to you. This invoice may include rounding on the total amount.

Any notice or invoice we send you will be:

• delivered to your address; or
• mailed to the last postal address that youve provided us with; or
• sent to the latest facsimile number youve given us; or

We are entitled to assume that our notices or invoices have been received by you:

• on the day of delivery if delivered to your address;
• three days after being posted to you;
• on the day of transmission if we faxed them.

You will be responsible for any charges from the date that you occupy or become responsible for the property, or from the date that we first supply electricity or services to you unless agreed otherwise by you and us.

If you are changing your electricity supply to Empower from another retailer, or have moved house, your first invoice from us may cover a period shorter or longer than one month, but afterwards we plan to send you an invoice every month.

Our charges for will be based on either a meter reading or an estimate of the electricity you use (your invoice will indicate whether its an actual or estimated meter reading).

If we discover or you discover an error in the invoice before you pay it, we will issue a revised invoice immediately.

If, after youve paid an invoice, you discover or we discover an error in an earlier invoice we will calculate the amount that youve underpaid or overpaid and we will issue a credit or debit for the difference. No interest is payable on the amount overpaid or underpaid.

We will base any estimate of electricity supplied to you on either:

• the daily average of the electricity that you used in the same period the previous year; or
• the daily average of the electricity that you used (or were estimated to have used) in the last two billing periods, if youve been at your address for less than a year; or
• the tariff daily average or interim override daily average consumption where there isnt enough history to use one of the above options.

If youre changing electricity retailer we may base our final invoice on an estimate of the amount of electricity supplied by us and provide this estimated reading to the new retailer as a starting point for their billing.

As an alternative to estimated readings you can read your own meters and call us on 0800 34 00 00, or email us at support@empower.co.nz

You are responsible for paying all charges or fees shown on our invoices, in full and by the due date on the invoice (whether the invoice is based on a meter reading or an estimate, including rounding). These charges will be calculated based on your pricing plan at the time the electricity is supplied to you. It is your responsibility to pay GST or any other taxes levied on our supply of services to you, as shown on our invoices.

There are a number of ways you can pay your invoices:

• direct debit;
• automatic payment;
• telephone banking;
• in person at a NZ Post Shop or collection agent;
• by cheque using the Freepost envelope enclosed with your bill.
• credit card

For more information on payment options call our Customer Service Team on 0800 34 00 00.

A prompt payment discount may be given to you if payment is made in full by the qualifying date stated on your invoice. Post any cheque payments prior to the prompt payment discount qualifying date. Any cheques received more than three days after the qualifying date will be deemed to be non-qualifying payments.

If you pay a fixed amount we may require you to adjust the level of payment when the amount you are paying isnt enough or is too much.

If you cant pay your account by the due date please let us know. Well try to help and if your problem istemporary we can discuss payment arrangements. If you continue to have problems meeting payments we may require you to change to a different payment option.

If we have served a disconnection notice and then entered into a payment arrangement with you, you must strictly adhere to the terms of that arrangement. The payment arrangement will only put the disconnection notice on hold, and failure to honour that arrangement may result in disconnection of your electricity supply without further notice.

If any cheque or Direct Debit payments you make are dishonoured by your bank we will charge a dishonour fee in addition to recovering all other amounts owed to us.

If you think there is something wrong with your invoice please call us on 0800 34 00 00 immediately. If you dont contact us and dont pay your invoice you may be disconnected.

It will be your responsibility to pay us or our debt collector any costs incurred in recovering any money you owe under this agreement. This obligation will continue after this agreement has ended.

On those occasions when youve failed to make payment by the due date and weve sent a disconnection notice, we may charge a set administration fee to cover the costs of pursuing a late payment.

Subject to the maximum amount set out below, any liability that Empower has to you, in contract or tort, is limited to direct physical loss or damage to property or goods, where that loss or damage was reasonably foreseeable, and which has been caused by:

• a breach of these terms and conditions by us; and/or
• our negligence.

Empower shall not, in any event, be liable in an event or circumstance beyond our reasonable control (a force majeure event). A force majeure event includes, but is not limited to:

• war (whether declared or not), terrorism, riots, civil insurrection;
• strikes and any other industrial action;
• storms, lightning, flood;
• earthquake;
• fire;
• electricity shortages or extreme pricing events;
• other similar circumstances beyond our reasonable control.

The maximum amount that we will pay to compensate you for loss or damage to your property or goods is $10,000 for any event or related series of events.

If you wish to seek compensation for loss or damage arising from one of the above situations you will need to write to us within 21 days of the event occurring. If you havent written to us within 21 days to advise us of a possible claim we will not cover any loss or damage to your property. We will not pay compensation for loss or damage to a computer or electronically stored data, hardware and/or software, and fridges, freezers and their contents.

If you do not have a direct contract with your network operator then, to the extent permitted by law, the network operator shall have no liability to you, in contract or in tort, in respect of the supply of electricity to you under these terms and conditions. Any claims that you may have against the network operator under this agreement should be made to Empower, which, in turn, will seek to recover from the network operator any amount owing to you. This provision is included for the benefit of the network operator under the Contracts (Privity) Act 1982.

As a residential customer of Empower, nothing in this agreement excludes any rights or remedies that you have under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 unless you are acquiring electricity from us for the purpose of operating a business.

At Empower were committed to constant improvement in customer service. We want to know when things go right and when things go wrong. To make a complaint or take up an issue with us please call our Customer Service Team on 0800 34 00 00 and we will:

1. Try to resolve your problem immediately.
   
2. If the problem is too difficult to resolve immediately well refer it to more senior personnel for resolution (if the matter is very complex we may ask you to put it in writing).
   
3. After assessing the situation we will inform you of the outcome within seven business days. If its going to take longer than this well write to you to explain why.

You can refer your complaint to the Electricity Complaints Commissioner if:

• youre not happy with the way we propose to resolve your complaint; or
• we have not resolved the complaint within 20 business days of receiving your complaint and we havent written to you explaining why we need further time to resolve it; or
• in any event we have not resolved your complaint within 40 business days after receiving it.

Contact details:

Electricity Complaints Commissioner
PO Box 6144,
Marion Square,
Wellington,
New Zealand

Freephone: 0800 22 33 40
Email: info@electricitycomplaints.co.nz

You may also take a complaint against us to the Disputes Tribunal or the court system if you remain unsatisfied with the way your problem has been dealt with. If any terms of this agreement are ruled invalid in court it will not affect the rest of the agreement all other terms and conditions will still remain in effect.

We, us and our means Empower Limited and includes its officers, employees, contractors, agents, successors and assignees.

You means you, our customer.

Business day means any day, not including a Saturday or Sunday or any public holiday.

'Business hours' means Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm (meter readers may also work on Saturdays).

Agreement means the terms and conditions agreed to by both you and us and includes our pricing plans.

Services means the supply of electricity, and:

• contracting with each network operator for the supply of distribution network services to your property; and/or
• upstream high-voltage services; and/or
• contracting with each local metering company to provide metering services at your address; and/or
• providing other goods and services that may be included in our pricing plans.

Meter means any meter installed at your address to measure the quantity of electricity we supply to you and includes:

• in relation to the supply of electricity, all load control relays and demand and reactive power metering;
• any associated telemetry equipment.

Network operator means the company that provides the local distribution network services to your property and upstream high-voltage transmission services.

Pricing plans means any of the pricing plans for electricity and services published by us.

Electricity supply equipment means service mains, pipes, wires, equipment, meters and any other assets relating to the supply of electricity.

Your property, your premises and your address means the property (including any building) where we agree to supply electricity to you.

Point of connection means the point at which the responsibility for electricity supply equipment transfers from the network operator to you.

We think its important to keep you informed of your rights and obligations, so if theres anything you dont understand or you would like more information, please call our Customer Service Team on 0800 34 00 00, visit our website at www.empower.co.nz or write to, fax or email us at:

Empower
PO Box 624,
Wellington,
New Zealand

Fax: 0800 508 101
Email: support@empower.co.nz