Western Australian Current Acts

ELECTRICITY INDUSTRY ACT 2004 - SECT 59X

59X .         AES code of practice

        (1)         The Minister may prepare and issue a code of practice for alternative electricity services.

        (2)         The AES code of practice must set out customer protection requirements to be complied with by registration holders.

        (2A)         The AES code of practice must be consistent with the State electricity objective.

        (3)         Without limiting subsection (2), the AES code of practice may include requirements relating to any 1 or more of the following —

            (a)         standards of conduct in the supply and marketing of electricity or electricity services to small use customers, including in relation to the following —

                  (i)         the information to be contained in AES customer contracts;

                  (ii)         the ongoing provision of information to small use customers;

                  (iii)         the obtaining of the consent of a small use customer before entering into an AES customer contract or amending an AES customer contract (other than an amendment required to comply with a written law);

                  (iv)         the methods or principles to be applied by registration holders in the preparation of accounts for small use customers;

                  (v)         matters relating to bills for small use customers, including matters relating to the information to be provided on bills, how payments are to be made, the frequency of bills and the arrangements to be made for small use customers experiencing payment difficulties or financial hardship;

                  (vi)         the use of and access to electricity for life support equipment;

                  (vii)         customer protection for persons experiencing family violence;

            (b)         the regulation of pricing and price controls for the sale or supply of electricity or electricity services by registration holders to small use customers or the supply of electricity by a small use customer to a registration holder;

            (c)         the facilitation of access, at reasonable associated cost to the customer, to electricity or electricity services provided by other providers;

            (d)         the facilitation of access to electricity sources with low or zero greenhouse gas emissions;

            (e)         the metering of the supply of electricity, including —

                  (i)         the provision, operation and maintenance of metering equipment; and

                  (ii)         the ownership of and access to meters and metering data;

            (f)         technical requirements, including quality and reliability standards;

            (g)         requirements for asset management systems;

            (h)         internal and external complaints handling and dispute resolution processes for small use customers;

                  (i)         the continuity of supply of electricity to small use customers of a registration holder that ceases to provide an alternative electricity service for which it is registered;

            (j)         the disconnection, suspension and interruption and restoration of an alternative electricity service in relation to a small use customer.

        (4)         The AES code of practice may incorporate or apply with or without changes any provision of a code or standard issued and in force from time to time under section 39 or the electricity system and market rules.

        [Section 59X inserted: No. 10 of 2024 s. 14; amended: No. 10 of 2024 s. 26(2) and (3).]