Standard terms for Nova Energy gas and electricity supply

1. Our aim is to provide you with a safe, reliable and competitive energy service, 24 hours a day, all year round.
2. To help us do this, we have prepared these energy supply terms, which detail the rights and responsibilities you have as a customer and we have as your energy retailer. Nova Energy will supply, and you will purchase and pay for energy and energy related services on the terms set out in this agreement.
3. When we talk about “energy” or “energy related services” in this agreement we mean electricity, natural gas and services related to those products.
4. When we talk about "Nova Energy" in this agreement we mean Bay of Plenty Energy Limited trading as Nova Energy.
5. These terms are effective from 1 January 2008 and replace all prior agreements and understandings relating to the supply of energy and energy related services by Nova Energy to you.

Who do these terms and conditions apply to?

6. These terms govern the supply of energy and energy related services by Nova Energy to all of its residential customers. When we talk about “residential customers” we mean those customers who use the energy supplied by us solely for residential purposes.
7. If you are not already a customer of Nova Energy, you become one by:
   
   1. making an oral agreement with us for energy supply by calling our customer care team on 0800 668 236
   2. receiving and using energy and energy related services supplied by Nova Energy
   3. continuing to receive and use energy and energy related services at a residence that a previous Nova Energy customer has vacated; and/or
   4. signing our application form for supply.
8. If more than one person is the customer at any premises supplied by Nova Energy, these terms will apply to each person jointly and severally.
9. Nova Energy reserves the right to decline any application for the supply of energy and energy related services, and to discontinue the supply of energy and energy related services to any customer at any time.

What are your responsibilities?

10. We will invoice you on a monthly basis for all the services we provide you. You must pay each invoice by the due date shown on that invoice.
11. You are responsible for the things that happen on your premises, including compliance with any applicable network, safety and technical requirements. Your particular responsibilities include:
    
    1. ensuring the security of all energy supply equipment and appliances located past the point(s) of supply at your premises (including any energy supply equipment owned by a third party).
    2. protecting all meters and associated any fittings at your premises from tampering, unauthorised interference or damage and not permitting anything that prevents or hinders the reading of such meter(s). You will be liable for all costs associated with meter tampering, interference or damage;
    3. repairing and maintaining any power line or wiring from the point of supply to your meter board (excluding electricity meters and relays owned by a third party) and any wiring or gas supply piping and equipment owned by you (or the relevant land owner) and located at your premises;
    4. ensuring that all energy supply equipment and appliances at your premises comply with all relevant legal and network connection requirements;
    5. ensuring that any installation, alteration or maintenance of any energy supply equipment is certified by qualified personnel;
    6. ensuring that any trees and vegetation (on or overhanging your property) are kept trimmed away from all energy supply equipment (For your own safety, please contact your network company for advice regarding tree cutting near power lines);
    7. making sure there is sufficient safe and secure space and associated wiring at your premises for any metering equipment we consider necessary.
12. You must provide us and/or our agents with reasonable access to your premises for meter reading, testing, inspections and maintenance or for any other reason where access is reasonably required by Nova Energy or the operator of any relevant energy transmission or distribution system or metering service provider. If you do not provide us with access to read a meter at your premises we may have to estimate the amount of energy supplied to you and send you an invoice based on this estimate. If access is not provided for 1 month or more, we may disconnect your energy supply on 14 days written notice.
13. You must notify us as soon as practicable if:
    
    1. you expect your electricity or gas usage to change significantly, or cease, at any time;
    2. you intend to vacate any premises at which you take a supply of energy from Nova Energy;
    3. you become aware of any emergency involving your electricity or gas supply or energy supply equipment;
    4. you become aware of any circumstances that may prevent or hinder you from meeting any of your responsibilities under this agreement;
    5. you become aware, or have reason to suspect, that any meters and/or associated fittings at your premises have been tampered or interfered with, damaged or may otherwise be inaccurate.
14. If you give us notice of your intention to vacate any premises at which you take a supply of energy from Nova Energy, we will arrange for final meter readings to be carried out at that premise. We require at least 3 working days notice to arrange a final reading and we may charge you for this service. The final meter readings will be used to generate a final invoice that you must pay in accordance with this agreement. Following any final meter readings, we may disconnect the relevant premises. If we do not, and you continue to take energy at the relevant premises after any final meter readings, you will be liable to pay all charges applicable to that energy supply on the terms of this agreement. If you vacate your premises, but fail to notify us, you will remain liable to pay all charges applicable to any energy supplied by us to those premises on the terms of this agreement until you terminate your account with us.
15. If you give us notice of tampering, interference, damage or suspected inaccuracy of any meter or associated fitting located at your premise, we will arrange for the meter to be inspected and, if necessary, repaired or replaced. If, as a result of such inspection or our own investigation, we believe that you have tampered with any meter or associated fittings at your premises or you have done anything that prevents or hinders the proper reading of such meter(s), we may require you to pay any inspection, repair and/or replacement costs and we may also disconnect your energy supply and take legal action against you for tampering. You must pay for any meter inspection requested by you unless an inaccuracy is found. If an inaccuracy is found, we will arrange for the meter to be repaired or replaced at our cost and we will calculate, and issue an invoice or credit note for (as the case may be), any over or under-charging that has resulted from the inaccuracy.
16. Nova Energy may request that you provide us with a certificate of compliance, issued or approved by the relevant qualified personnel, that certifies that any wiring or gas pipe work at your premises complies with relevant industry standards and regulations. We will have no obligation to supply you with energy or energy related services if we are not satisfied that such wiring or gas pipe work so complies.

What do you pay for?

17. You must pay for the energy and energy related services that we supply to you. This may include paying fixed charges and/or costs that do not depend on your energy usage.
    There are three main sets of cost components in the supply of energy:
    1. The first set of costs is for the provision of the energy, metering systems and administration services by Nova Energy.
    2. The second set of costs is for the provision and maintenance of the national transmission systems and the local distribution networks needed to deliver energy to you.
    3. The third set of costs is taxes, levies, rates, imposts, charges or costs imposed by operation of law (including any carbon charges (or the cost of activities which Nova Energy deems economically rational for mitigating the incidence of carbon charges) that Nova Energy is required to pay).
18. If we have concerns about your ability to pay, we may ask you to:
    
    1. provide us with an acceptable credit reference from a previous energy supplier;
    2. pay a bond as security for payment of your account, either before or after connection. We may use your bond at any time to offset any debts you owe us. Any unused portion of your deposit will be refunded to you when your account is closed (unless we decide to refund it to you earlier or if you are transferring to another premises in which case we will apply your bond to that new account); or
    3. pre-pay for energy and energy related services.
       If you refuse any request by us for a credit reference, bond or pre-payment, we may cease energy supply to you without further notice.
19. The charges on each invoice that we send you will be based on our then current price list together with any other relevant charges or costs, unless we have made a separate arrangement with you. We may amend our price list from time to time, but any new prices will not apply to you until 14 days after we have given you notice of the amendments.
20. You agree to pay the total amount shown on each invoice whether the invoice is based on an actual or estimated meter reading. If you wish to provide your own meter reading, you should advise us of the reading before the due date shown on your previous invoice. Acceptance of any meter reading provided by you is at our absolute discretion.
21. If you do not pay any invoice by the due date we may:
    
    1. charge you interest on the unpaid amount;
    2. take steps to recover payment from you and you agree immediately to pay any collection costs, legal fees and any other costs incurred by us in doing so; and/or
    3. disconnect your energy supply in accordance with our disconnection procedure.

Disconnection Procedure

22. Before disconnecting your energy supply we will give you at least 7 days written notice. If your invoice and any interest or other charges due have not been paid at the end of that period we may attempt to give you a final warning 24 hours prior to disconnection.
23. Disconnection does not alter your responsibility to pay all outstanding debts including any disconnection cost, collection cost, legal fees and any other costs incurred by Nova Energy in relation to charges that are due from you.
24. We may also disconnect your energy supply without notice for safety reasons where we need to protect persons or property, or where meters or equipment have been tampered with.
25. If you want your energy supply disconnected temporarily, you need to give us 14 days notice. We may charge you a disconnection and/or reconnection fee.

What are Nova Energy’s responsibilities and commitments?

26. We will supply energy and energy related services to you on the terms set out in this agreement.
27. We will endeavour to maintain a continuous supply of energy to your premises. However, energy supply may be suspended, interrupted or reduced:
    
    1. by an event beyond the reasonable control of Nova Energy;
    2. in an emergency;
    3. if Nova Energy or the operator of any energy transmission or distribution system reasonably considers that it is necessary to avoid any overload of, damage to, interference with, or to ensure the integrity, efficiency, security, safety or proper maintenance of that system
    4. if required by law or permitted by the terms of this agreement.
       Suspension, interruption or reduction may occur without notice. However we will use our best endeavours to give you advance notice of planned outages that might affect you.
28. We will comply with all applicable legal and/or industry requirements relating to energy supply. We will also comply with any contractual obligations that we have to any energy supplier, transmission or distribution system operator or any metering service provider.
29. We will read the meter(s) at your property or residence several times a year, unless otherwise agreed between us. Estimated accounts are based on average household usage at a similar time last year.

Personal Information

29. To provide our services, we need some information about you. This information will only be used for the purpose for which it was collected and no other, unless:
    
    1. we have your permission;
    2. we need to do so by law; or
    3. this agreement allows it.
30. You can request a copy of all information we have about you or your account and you are able to correct it if it is wrong.
31. You agree that we may give information about you or your account to:
    
    1. the operator of any energy transmission or distribution system or any metering service provider if, and only to the extent that, Nova Energy deems it reasonably necessary for the safe and efficient supply of energy to you and its other customers; or
    2. an agency employed to recover overdue payments. Only information necessary for debt collection will be passed on.
32. You agree to allow us to obtain information about you from third parties for the purpose of ascertaining or verifying your credit status.
33. We may send you information, such as details of payment methods, energy efficiency, special promotions etc, if we believe it will benefit you.

What happens if one of us breaks this contract or suffers loss?

35. If you do not meet your responsibilities under this agreement we will send you a written notice explaining what is wrong and asking you to remedy your default. If you do not comply with such a notice, we may end our contract with you.
36. If we do something that should reasonably have been avoided, or omit to do something that should reasonably have been done, and as a result you suffer a loss in relation to normal domestic activity, then we may be liable for that loss.
37. Neither you nor Nova Energy will be liable for:
    
    1. any losses arising from events beyond the parties’ reasonable control, including acts of God, human events such as industrial actions, war and other hostilities, and natural events such as fire, earthquake, lightning strike and storms; or
    2. any indirect or consequential loss, loss of profits or similar types of losses.
38. We are not liable for any loss or damage which results from any act or omission of the operator of any energy transmission or distribution system or any metering service provider, nor are we liable for any loss or damage arising from the failure of someone else to supply us with energy or the quality or character of energy supplied.
39. Nothing in this contract excludes or limits any rights or remedies you might have under the Consumer Guarantees Act.

What happens if we disagree on something?

40. Please contact us with any problems as soon as you can. We will make every effort to answer you promptly. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may wish to write to our Customer Services Manager.
41. If it is more appropriate that your complaint is dealt with by the operator of any energy transmission or distribution system or any metering service provider rather than by us, we will refer your complaint to them. We will notify you of this and will give you the name of the relevant company.
42. In the case of a dispute about charges, once resolved we will promptly credit your Nova Energy account with any amount found to be due to you, or you must pay us within 14 days any amount which is owed to us by you. If you do not pay us within this time the amount will be treated as overdue and we may disconnect your energy supply.
43. Nova Energy may amend this agreement from time to time but any new terms will not apply to you until 30 days after we have given you notice of the amendments.

Nova Energy - PO Box 404, Whakatane
Ph: 0800 668 236