Are you automatically deemed to be a member of the Energy and Water Ombudsman?
You are a member of the Energy and Water Ombudsman if you:
- on-supply electricity to residential customers pursuant to a retail authorisation or individual exemption;
- on-supply electricity under exemption class D2, D6, R2, R3 or R4 as described in the AER Exempt Selling Guidelines (e.g. sale by bodies corporate, landlords, caravan parks, manufactured home estates and retirement villages to residential customers);
- hold an exemption under the National Electricity (Queensland) Law, section 12 or 13, if the exemption is included in class ND2, ND6, NR2, NR3 or NR4 described in the network exemption guideline.
What does this mean for dispute resolution?
If you are a member of the Energy and Water Ombudsman then your customers may refer certain disputes to the Energy and Water Ombudsman for resolution.
What type of disputes may be referred to the Energy and Water Ombudsman?
A dispute between a residential energy customer and an on-supplier may be referred to the Energy and Water Ombudsman where that dispute relates to the performance of the on-supplier in respect of its energy function e.g.:
- connection or disconnection;
- billing; and
- reliability or quality of service.
The Energy and Water Ombudsman cannot accept a referral or investigate any dispute that relates to the fixing of tariffs.
What fees are associated with membership?
The Energy and Water Ombudsman is funded by fees imposed on the participants (a participation fee and a user-pays fee).
Category of on-supplier | Participation fee | User-pays fee |
|---|---|---|
On-supply to residential customers pursuant to retail authorisation | $5000 (or $10,000 if the entity holds more than one retailer authorisation) | Nil. |
On-supply to residential customers pursuant to an individual exemption | Nil - If the entity sells to not more than 2000 customers.
| |
On-supply under exemption class D2, D6, R2, R3 or R4 as described in the AER Exempt Selling Guidelines | ||
On-supply pursuant to an exemption under the National Electricity (Queensland) Law, section 12 or 13, if the exemption is included in class ND2, ND6, NR2, NR3 or NR4 described in the network exemption guideline. |
Other important considerations
Condition 2 of the AER Retail Exempt Selling Guideline requires an on-supplier to advise its customers in writing of the customer’s rights in relation to dispute resolution, including any right to access the applicable energy ombudsman scheme.
Each on-supplier must update its information provision processes to include the new right that its residential customers have to access the energy and water ombudsman.
If you would like any further information or assistance, please contact our Resources and Energy or Manufactured Homes team.