54Civil penalty orders

54 Civil penalty orders (1) If a court makes a contravention order against a person, the court may order the person to pay a civil penalty of an amount not exceeding— (a) in the case of an energy licensee, the civil penalty amount in section 54A(1) in respect of that contravention; or (b) in the case of an officer of a body corporate that is an energy licensee, the civil penalty amount in section 54B(1) in respect of that contravention; or (c) in the case of a regulated entity (other than an energy licensee), the civil penalty amount in section 54C(1) in respect of that contravention; or (d) in the case of an officer of a body corporate that is a regulated entity (other than an energy licensee), the civil penalty amount in section 54D in respect of that contravention. 1 An energy licensee is a regulated entity. An energy licensee is the holder of a licence issued under Part 2 of the **Electricity Industry Act 2000** or a licence issued under Part 3 of the **Gas Industry Act 2001**. The electricity industry and the gas industry are regulated industries for the purposes of this Act—see section 7A of the **Electricity Industry Act 2000** and section 17 of the **Gas Industry Act 2001**. 2 A civil penalty payable under this section is a debt due to the Commission and the Commission may recover the civil penalty in the court—see section 54ZS. (2) A person must pay an amount under subsection (1) to the Commission for payment into the Essential Services Commission Enforcement Fund. (3) Without limiting the matters to which the court may have regard in making an order under subsection (1), the court must have regard to the following— (a) the nature and extent of the contravention; (b) the circumstances in which the contravention took place; (c) whether previously the regulated entity has engaged in conduct that constitutes a contravention of a civil penalty requirement or similar conduct; or (d) any loss or damage experienced by any other person as a result of the contravention; (e) if the Commission served a compliance notice on the regulated entity in relation to a contravention, whether the regulated entity has complied or failed to comply with the notice. New s. 54A inserted by No. 41/2021 s. 9.