Commitment
Standard
Responding to written enquiries
95% of enquiries within 5 business days
(4) For the purposes of subregulation (3)—
(a) a written enquiry will be taken to be an enquiry by email, fax or letter from a small customer to the retailer requesting information from the retailer or making a complaint about an act or omission of the retailer; and
(b) a response to such an enquiry will include any direct or telephone contact, or a written response, in which the retailer answers the enquiry or acknowledges receipt of the enquiry and indicates the process that will be followed in dealing with the enquiry, including the time within which the retailer will deal with the enquiry.
(5) The applicable service standard under this regulation for telephone enquiries is as follows:
Commitment
Standard
Responding to telephone enquiries
85% of telephone calls within 30 seconds of receipt of the call between 8 am and 6 pm on a business day
(6) For the purposes of subregulation (5), a response to a telephone enquiry must be—
(a) by a person answering the telephone call; or
(b) by the provision of a computer or telephony based interactive service which is able to process calls by providing information or directing a call to a person,
but not so as to include the answering of a call by being placed in an automated queue to wait for a response under paragraph (a) or (b).
(7) A retailer must report to the AER by 31 August in each year in relation to the service standards achieved by the retailer during the immediately preceding financial year (or part of a financial year).
(8) A report under subregulation (7) must include—
(a) the percentage of compliance with the service standards set out above; and
(b) an explanation of the reason or reasons for any non‑compliance with a service standard; and
(c) a report on how the retailer intends to improve the retailer's performance so as to meet the service standard set out above.
10—Extreme weather events
For the purposes of Part 6 of the National Energy Retail Rules, any day in relation to which a heatwave warning has been issued by the Bureau of Meteorology in respect of the forecast district in which a customer's premises are located is declared to be an extreme weather event.
11—Re‑energisation after de‑energisation for non‑payment
(1) This regulation applies in relation to the re‑energisation of premises of a small customer after there has been a de‑energisation for—
(a) failing to pay a bill by the pay‑by date; or
(b) failing to make a payment in accordance with a payment plan; or
(c) failing to pay an instalment due under an instalment arrangement; or
(d) failing to pay a security deposit.
(2) The following standards apply in relation to the provision of electricity:
(a) if a retailer is required to arrange for the re‑energisation of a small customer's premises under the National Energy Retail Rules and the customer makes a request for re‑energisation before 4 pm on a business day, the retailer must—
(i) in the case of premises in the Adelaide central or metropolitan areas—arrange for the re‑energisation of the premises on the day of the request; and
(ii) in the case of any other premises—use the retailer's best endeavours to arrange for the re‑energisation of the premises on the day of the request and in any event ensure that arrangements are in place by the end of the next business day for the re‑energisation of the premises;
(b) if a retailer is required to arrange for the re‑energisation of a small customer's premises under the National Energy Retail Rules and the customer makes a request for re‑energisation at or after 4 pm and before 9 pm on a business day—
(i) if the premises are in the Adelaide central or metropolitan areas and the customer pays any reasonable charge determined by the retailer or the distributor for after‑hours re‑energisation—arrange for the re‑energisation of the premises on the day requested by the customer; and
(ii) if the premises are not in the Adelaide central or metropolitan areas, it is reasonably practicable for the retailer to arrange for re‑energisation of the premises on the day requested by the customer, and the customer pays any reasonable charge determined by the retailer or the distributor for after‑hours re‑energisation—arrange for the re‑energisation of the premises on the day requested by the customer; and
(iii) if the premises are not in the Adelaide central or metropolitan areas and subparagraph (ii) does not apply—arrange for the re‑energisation of the premises by the end of the next business day (and any after‑hours connection fee will not apply);
(c) if a retailer is required to arrange for the re‑energisation of a small customer's premises under the National Energy Retail Rules and the customer makes a request for re‑energisation at or after 9 pm on a business day, the retailer must arrange for the re‑energisation of the premises by the end of the next business day;
(d) if a retailer is required to arrange for the re‑energisation of a small customer's premises under the National Energy Retail Rules and the customer makes a request for re‑energisation on a day that is not a business day, the retailer must arrange for the re‑energisation of the premises by the end of the next business day.
(3) The following standards apply in relation to the provision of gas:
(a) if a retailer is required to arrange for the re‑energisation of a small customer's premises under the National Energy Retail Rules and the customer makes a request for re‑energisation before 3 pm on a business day, the retailer must arrange for the re‑energisation on the day of the request;
(b) if a retailer is required to arrange for the re‑energisation of a small customer's premises under the National Energy Retail Rules and the customer makes a request for re‑energisation at or after 3 pm and before 9 pm on a business day—
(i) if the customer pays any reasonable charge determined by the retailer or the distributor for after‑hours re‑energisation—the retailer must arrange for the re‑energisation of the premises on the day requested by the customer; or
(ii) in any other case—the retailer must arrange for the re‑energisation of the premises by the end of the next business day;
(c) if a retailer is required to arrange for the re‑energisation of a small customer's premises under the National Energy Retail Rules and the customer makes a request for re‑energisation at or after 9 pm on a business day, the retailer must arrange for the re‑energisation of the premises by the end of the next business day;
(d) if a retailer is required to arrange for the re‑energisation of a small customer's premises under the National Energy Retail Rules and the customer makes a request for re‑energisation on a day that is not a business day, the retailer must arrange for the re‑energisation of the premises by the end of the next business day.
(4) For the purposes of this regulation, but subject to subregulation (5), the Adelaide central or metropolitan areas will be constituted by areas determined by the Minister from time to time by notice in the Gazette.
(5) Any area where a small customer is supplied with electricity through a 19 kV SWER line will be taken to be outside the Adelaide central and metropolitan areas.
12—Immunity in relation to failure to supply electricity (section 25(2)(a) of Act)
(1) For the purposes of section 25(2)(a) of the Act, an agreement under section 25(1) of the Act that limits the liability of a distributor of electricity for an act or omission associated with a failure to supply electricity done or made in bad faith or through negligence must comply with the following requirements:
(a) in the case of a small customer who purchases less than 30 MWh of electricity per annum—the agreement—
(i) must provide for liability for any loss suffered, including physical loss, consequential loss and loss of profits, due to—
(A) problems in the quality of the supply of electricity to the premises at which electricity is to be supplied (such as power surges and power drops); or
(B) interruptions to or failures of the supply of electricity to the premises at which electricity is to be supplied; and
(ii) must not set the amount for limitation of liability to less than $500 000 (indexed) in relation to an event;
(b) in the case of a small customer who purchases at least 30 MWh of electricity per annum—the agreement—
(i) must provide for liability for any physical loss or damage, and for personal injury (but no other loss), due to—
(A) problems in the quality of the supply of electricity to the premises at which electricity is to be supplied (such as power surges and power drops); or
(B) interruptions to or failures of the supply of electricity to the premises at which electricity is to be supplied; and
(ii) must not set the amount for limitation of liability to less than $1 000 000 (indexed) in relation to an event.
(2) An amount under subregulation (1) that is expressed to be indexed will be adjusted on 1 July of each financial year commencing after this regulation comes into operation by multiplying the stated amount by a proportion obtained by dividing the Consumer Price Index (All Groups Index for Adelaide) for the March quarter of the calendar year in which the relevant financial year commences by the Consumer Price Index (All Groups Index for Adelaide) for the March quarter 2003.
(3) A distributor must not enter into any other agreement with a small customer—
(a) that seeks to vary or exclude a distributor's liability for an act or omission associated with a failure to supply energy done or made in bad faith or through negligence; or
(b) that seeks to set a lower monetary amount in connection with such a liability that is less than an amount that applies under subregulation (1).
(4) Rule 83 of the National Energy Retail Rules (insofar as those Rules apply as part of the law of South Australia) is modified to the extent of any inconsistency with section 25 of the Act or a provision of this regulation.
(5) The National Energy Retail Rules (insofar as they apply as part of the law of South Australia) are also modified as if they provided that an agreement that complies with this regulation may constitute a permitted alteration under section 69(4)(c) of the National Energy Retail Law (South Australia).
(6) This regulation does not affect any immunity that applies under section 120 of the National Electricity Law (South Australia).
13—Use of prepayment meter systems
For the purposes of section 56(2) of the National Energy Retail Law (South Australia), the sale of energy to small customers using a prepayment meter system is permitted within this jurisdiction.
14—Price comparator
Section 62 of the National Energy Retail Law (South Australia) is declared to apply in relation to this jurisdiction.
15—Small compensation claims regime
(1) For the purposes of section 178(1)(b) of the National Energy Retail Law (South Australia), and subject to subregulation (2), a designated claimable incident (including a transitional designated claimable incident) is prescribed as a claimable incident for small customers in this jurisdiction.
(2) A small customer may only make a claim under Part 7 of the National Energy Retail Law (South Australia) in respect of a transitional designated claimable incident that affected particular premises (regardless of whether the customer made a claim in respect of the incident as affecting those premises before the relevant day) if—
(a) the customer has not, before the relevant day, been compensated (whether as a result of a decision of the distributor, a decision of the relevant energy ombudsman or otherwise) in respect of the incident as affecting those premises; and
(b) the claim is made within 2 years after the relevant day.
(3) For the purposes of section 180(2)(a) of the National Energy Retail Law (South Australia), the amount of $15 000 is prescribed as the maximum amount for a claim.
(4) For the purposes of section 181(2)(a) of the National Energy Retail Law (South Australia), the amount of $100 is prescribed as the minimum amount for a claim.
(5) For the purposes of section 182(2)(a) of the National Energy Retail Law (South Australia), the amount of $1 000 is prescribed as the median amount for a claim.
(6) Section 184 of the National Energy Retail Law (South Australia) is declared to apply in relation to this jurisdiction to the extent that it relates to the repeated claims maximum number determined under section 183 in respect of this jurisdiction.
(7) In this regulation—
designated claimable incident means a failure of electricity infrastructure owned or operated by a distributor where the failure causes a relevant voltage variation, provided that the failure is not caused (whether wholly or partly) by any of the following:
(a) lightning, a storm, an earthquake, a flood, a fire or another natural event;
(b) a person, other than the distributor or an employee, contractor or agent of the distributor, damaging the electricity infrastructure;
(c) property of a person, other than property of the distributor or an employee, contractor or agent of the distributor, damaging the electricity infrastructure;
(d) fauna or flora coming into contact with the electricity infrastructure;
electricity infrastructure and Technical Regulator have the same respective meanings as in the Electricity Act 1996;
relevant day means the day on which the National Energy Retail Law (Local Provisions) (Small Compensation Claims Regime) Amendment Regulations 2025 came into operation;
relevant voltage variation—a relevant voltage variation caused by a failure of electricity infrastructure owned or operated by a distributor occurs when there is a change in the voltage of electricity supplied to the premises of a small customer such that the voltage is outside the standard voltage range determined by the distributor, with the approval of the Technical Regulator, from time to time and published on a website determined by the distributor;
transitional designated claimable incident means a designated claimable incident that occurred between 1 July 2022 and the relevant day.
16—Review of small compensation claims regime
(1) The Minister must cause a review of the operation of the small compensation claims regime in this jurisdiction to be conducted and a report on the results of the review to be submitted to the Minister.
(2) The review must commence as soon as practicable after the expiry of 2 years from the commencement of regulation 3 of the National Energy Retail Law (Local Provisions) (Small Compensation Claims Regime) Amendment Regulations 2025.
(3) The Minister must, as soon as practicable after receiving the report submitted under subregulation (1), cause a copy of the report to be published on a website maintained by the Technical Regulator.
(4) In this regulation—
Technical Regulator has the same meaning as in the Electricity Act 1996.
17—Variation of National Energy Retail Rules
The National Energy Retail Rules, insofar as they have effect as part of the law of South Australia, apply as though the following amendments were made to those Rules:
(a) Rule 16(2)(b)—strike out ", unless the customer is a small market offer customer";
(b) Schedule 2, clause 8—after paragraph (d) insert:
(e) We are also entitled to limit our liability for an act or omission done or made in bad faith or through negligence to $500 000 (indexed) in respect of claims by customers who purchase less than 30 MWh of electricity per annum or to $1 000 000 (indexed) in respect of customers who purchase at least 30 MWh of electricity per annum.
Schedule 1—Repeal of National Energy Retail Law (Local Provisions) Regulations 2013
The National Energy Retail Law (Local Provisions) Regulations 2013 are repealed.
Legislative history
Notes
• For further information relating to the Act and subordinate legislation made under the Act see the Index of South Australian Statutes or www.legislation.sa.gov.au.
Principal regulations
Year
No
Reference
Commencement
2025
49
Gazette 26.6.2025 p2105
1.7.2025: r 2