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For immediate release
15 September 2004
Gas added to complaints scheme
Gas consumers who use reticulated natural
gas will be able to take complaints about their supply to
the office of the Electricity Complaints Commissioner from
next year.
Yesterday (Tuesday 14 September) members
of the Electricity Complaints Commission scheme and consumer
groups voted to add gas to the complaints scheme from 1 April,
2005.
Electricity Complaints Commissioner Judi
Jones says many of the issues facing gas customers are similar
to issues her office is already dealing with for electricity
consumers.
"We've already had a number of complaints
about dual fuel bills but have only been able to deal with
the electricity aspect of these complaints," Ms Jones says.
"The experience of Australian schemes that
have taken on gas having had electricity is that the issues
are similar and that there is an increase in complaints once
they added gas. We are expecting billing and quality of supply
to be the main issues."
There are only 250,000 reticulated natural
gas consumers and they are all in the North Island. As with
electricity complaints, gas consumers will need to complain
to their supply company first. If their complaint then reaches
deadlock, they can bring it to the office of the commissioner
for dispute resolution.
The office of the commissioner can take complaints
about gas that occur after 1 April, 2005.
The Electricity and Gas Industries Bill and
the draft Government Policy Statements (GPS) on gas and electricity
make provision for a consistent framework to apply to both
the electricity and gas sectors.
Ms Jones says it is a requirement of the
Government that the gas industry establish a consumer complaint
resolution scheme and it makes sense to tap into the existing
electricity complaints scheme.
"We have an established office, an experienced
staff and a framework in place already," she says.
Membership of the scheme will be voluntary
for gas suppliers, but some are already members because of
their electricity supply business.
The addition of gas will also require rewriting
scheme documentation and rebranding the office to Electricity
and Gas Complaints Commissioner. The cost of this will be
met by the gas industry.
Free, independent of the industry and binding
on its members, the Electricity Complaints Commissioner Scheme
was established in 2001 to create a forum where consumers
can access an independent dispute resolution service for complaints
about their electricity lines or retail companies.
The scheme is funded by member companies,
but remains independent of the industry in its investigation
processes and decision-making.
The commissioner can look into almost any
complaint about a member company, excluding the amount companies
charge for their services. However, the commissioner can check
that a company has applied its charges appropriately and given
proper notice of changes to those charges.
Her decisions are binding on the company
involved, but if the consumer doesn't accept a decision, they
can proceed to the disputes tribunal or go through the court
system.
ENDS
For more information contact:
Josie Vidal
Publicity/Communications Officer
Electricity Complaints Commission
(04) 914 4526 0274 757 305
j.vidal@electricitycomplaints.co.nz
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