South Australian Consolidated Acts South Australian Consolidated Acts26A—Licences authorising retailing
(1) A licence
authorising the retailing of gas must, if the Minister so determines and
despite section 7 of the Essential Services Commission Act 2002 , confer
on the gas entity an exclusive right to sell gas as permitted under Annex E
(Franchising Principles) of the Natural Gas Pipelines Access Agreement made on
7 November 1997 between the Commonwealth and the States and Territories of the
Commonwealth.
(2) The Commission
must make a licence authorising the retailing of gas subject to conditions
determined by the Commission—
(a)
requiring compliance with the relevant parts of the National Gas Procedures
(South Australia); and
(b) if
the gas entity sells gas to customers of a prescribed class, requiring the
entity to maintain specified accounting records and to prepare accounts
according to specified principles; and
(c)
requiring the gas entity to establish customer consultation processes of a
specified kind; and
(d)
requiring the gas entity to comply with code provisions as in force from time
to time (which the Commission must make under the Essential Services
Commission Act 2002 on or before the prescribed date) relating to the
provision of pricing information to enable small customers to compare
competing offers in the retailing of gas; and
(da)
requiring the gas entity to include (in a print size and form prescribed by
regulation) in each account for gas charges sent to a small customer
information prescribed by regulation, including information relating to—
(i)
the customer's gas consumption during the preceding 12
months; and
(ii)
the entity's daily charges for gas during the period to
which the account relates; and
(iii)
obtaining advice through the Commission about reducing
gas consumption and about gas consumer choices; and
(iv)
greenhouse gas emissions associated with the customer's
gas consumption; and
(e)
requiring the gas entity to comply with code provisions as in force from time
to time (which the Commission must make under the Essential Services
Commission Act 2002 ) relating to standard contractual terms and
conditions to apply to the sale or supply of gas to small customers or
customers of a prescribed class; and
(f)
requiring the gas entity to comply with code provisions as in force from time
to time (which the Commission must make under the Essential Services
Commission Act 2002 ) imposing minimum standards of service for customers
that take into account relevant national benchmarks developed from time to
time, and requiring the entity to monitor and report on levels of compliance
with those minimum standards; and
(g)
requiring the gas entity to comply with code provisions as in force from time
to time (which the Commission must make under the Essential Services
Commission Act 2002 ) limiting the grounds on which the supply of gas to
customers may be discontinued or disconnected and prescribing the process to
be followed before the supply of gas is discontinued or disconnected; and
(h)
requiring a specified process to be followed to resolve disputes between the
gas entity and customers as to the sale or supply of gas; and
(i)
if the gas entity sells gas to customers with an
annual gas consumption level of less than the level prescribed, requiring the
entity to participate in an ombudsman scheme—
(i)
that applies to the gas supply industry and to other
regulated industries (within the meaning of the Essential Services Commission
Act 2002 ) prescribed by regulation; and
(ii)
the terms and conditions of which are approved by the
Commission.
(3) This section does
not limit the matters that may be dealt with by terms or conditions of a
licence authorising the retailing of gas.