Consumer Care Obligations consultation extended

The Electricity Authority has extended the deadline for feedback on the Proposed Consumer Care Obligations consultation paper to provide participants with additional time to submit their feedback.

Submissions have been extended by one week and the new deadline for submissions is now 5pm Tuesday 10 September 2024.

We are seeking input on a proposed amendment to the Electricity Industry Participation Code 2010. This amendment aims to mandate the Consumer Care Guidelines from 1 January 2025, ensuring that consumers receive the care and protection they need from their electricity retailer.

In this consultation, we propose renaming the 'Consumer Care Guidelines' to ‘Consumer Care Obligations’ to reflect their proposed mandatory status. Additionally we suggest introducing a new Part in the Code, Part 11A, which would include the Consumer Care Obligations as a Schedule.

We also propose operational improvements to provide retailers and distributors with clearer obligations on their consumer care responsibilities. These improvements are designed to make it easier for them to achieve the protections set out in the Consumer Care Obligations by improving practicality and offering more operational flexibility.

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The proposed Code amendment is intended to come into force on 1 January 2025.