There's a bunch of legal stuff that we need to lay out for you if you're to be our customer. This is to protect yourself and us, and to make sure everything runs smoothly. Carefully read the customer contract below to make sure you understand everything. If you have any questions, let us know so we can help clarify it for you.
CONTENTS
These are the terms and conditions of your relationship with Tensor NZ Limited. In remaining, or becoming, our customer, you and we agree to these terms and conditions unless agreed otherwise in writing.
These terms and conditions are a legally binding document between you and us regarding the services we provide.
If you wish to contact us, please use the following details:
| info@tensor.co.nz | |
| Online | via our contact form, or our live chat |
We will try to respond to any enquiries as soon as reasonably possible. Depending on levels of customer enquiries at the time we receive your enquiry, we expect to respond to your enquiry within five (5) Business Days.
You become our customer, and our Agreement with you is formed, from when you ask us to start supplying electricity to any Premises (including online or orally), and we agree to, and commence, that supply. You can apply to be our customer by:
We may decline your application to be our customer at our sole discretion if:
You must tell us if you feel you fit into any of the criteria above. Once you have become our customer, a contract is formed between us and you will be liable to pay our charges from the date when we accept you as a customer or when you first use electricity supplied by us, whichever occurs first.
If your application is accepted (or you use electricity supplied by us without applying to do so) you will be bound by the terms and conditions of this Agreement.
More than one person can be listed as the customer at any Premises. The terms and conditions of this Agreement will apply to each of you jointly and severally.
You can stop the supply of electricity under this Agreement at any time by:
The supply of electricity under this Agreement will end with respect to the supply of electricity to your Premises when:
This Agreement will continue to apply after we have ceased to supply electricity to you until you have satisfied all of your obligations to us under this Agreement (including payment obligations) and, in relation to access to and removal of Relevant Equipment only, or an additional period of six (6) months.
We can change this Agreement and our rates, fees and charges at any time provided that, where relevant, we give you at least 30 days’ notice of the change together with our reasons for making the change by any one of the following means:
This excludes circumstances where a change is to correct clerical errors or omissions that do not affect you as our customer where instructed by the Electricity Authority, or other regulatory requirement.
Any changes to this Agreement will take effect from the first Business Day of the month following the date of the invoice or email notifying you of the changes.
To become our customer, you must provide us with the required personal information. We may also, at any time prior to or after you have joined with us, request information, as reasonably required, about you from authorised third parties for the purposes of this Agreement.
We will store your information securely and in accordance with our Privacy Policy. Our Privacy Policy details the purposes for which we may use your personal information and can be found on our website at tensor.co.nz.
The information you provide to become our customer must be accurate. You will be in breach of this Agreement if the information you provide is false or misleading. We may, without notice, terminate the supply of services to your Premises if the information you have provided to us is false or misleading.
You and we agree to maintain the confidentiality of each other’s confidential information, and to use and disclose that information only to exercise our rights or perform our obligations under this Agreement or if we are otherwise required by law.
If you intend to move out of your Premises, you need to tell us at least three (3) Business Days in advance. The cost for electricity supplied to your Premises up to the date we disconnect you and the fee for conducting a final actual meter reading (if applicable) will be included in your next invoice.
If you do tell us of your intention to move out of your Premises, you will remain, liable for all electricity and other associated services supplied to your Premises until either:
We may be able to supply electricity to your new address if it is in our coverage area and you meet our requirements to be our customer. If you wish us to supply electricity to your new address, please give us at least three (3) Business Days’ notice. We will need to undertake the switch process together with the previous electricity supplier to the new address. It could take up to 10 Business Days from you notifying us of your move for the switch process to be completed. If we agree to supply electricity to your new address, your account with us will cover the supply of electricity and other associated services at your new address and all outstanding charges carried over from your former address.
You must tell us of the date you moved into the premises or took responsibility. You agree to provide us with evidence by way of a tenancy agreement, or sales and purchase agreement showing the date of occupation.
If you want us to stop supplying electricity to your Premises, you must give us at least three (3) Business Days’ notice. We will stop supplying electricity to your Premises as soon as reasonably practicable and in a safe manner after you have given us notice. The cost for electricity supplied to your Premises up to the date we disconnect you and the fee for conducting a final actual meter reading (if applicable) will be included in your next invoice.
If you have applied to switch to another electricity supplier, that supplier will advise us so that we can undertake the switch process together. We will facilitate the switch process, but you will remain our customer until the switch process is completed. You will need to pay us for all electricity supplied to your Premises and any other charges incurred before the switch process is completed.
We, or the network operator, may disconnect or restricted the electricity supplied to your Premises and we may end this Agreement (unless you are a vulnerable customer and the provisions of clause 10 apply) if any of the following occur:
If we intend to disconnect the electricity supply to your Premises for non-payment, we will tell you within fourteen (14) Business Days before we disconnect the electricity supply. We will also give you a final warning at least 24 hours before we intend to disconnect you. We will do this by sending an email to the email address we hold for you. Each notice will include information about the timeframe within which disconnection will take place and what you need to do to prevent disconnection. We will only disconnect you on a Business Day that is not a Friday or the day before a public holiday.
If the network operator disconnects your electricity supply to your Premises under this Agreement for any reason, we may require you to reimburse us for any fees charged by the network operator to us under any Agreement with the network operator for the disconnection and any subsequent reconnection.
We have the right to refuse to reconnect the electricity supply to your Premises if we have disconnected it for any of the reasons referred to in this Agreement. However, if we have disconnected your electricity supply for non-payment and you satisfy our reasonable requirements for reconnection, we will restore your electricity as soon as reasonably practicable. If we agree to reconnect your electricity supply this will be confirmed by email or by telephone.
You are a Medically Dependent or Vulnerable Customer if (or someone else living at your Premises):
You must tell us if you believe you are a Medically Dependent or Vulnerable Customer.
We may ask you to verify or re-verify your status as a Medically Dependent or Vulnerable from time to time. This may involve you providing us with a Notice of Potential Medically Dependent Consumer Status Form, which you can request from your primary healthcare provider or directly from us.
We may require you to re-confirm your status as a Medically Dependent or Vulnerable Customer when we would have ordinarily disconnected your electricity supply if you were not a vulnerable customer, or for any other reason, but no more frequently than once every 12 months.
A back up power supply is highly recommended due to the potential for faults, unplanned network outages or other events which may result in power outage.
You must pay all costs associated with seeking or confirming vulnerable customer status. However, we will reimburse you for the reasonable costs incurred if the verification or re-verification confirms that you are a Medically Dependent or Vulnerable Customer.
If you are a Medically Dependent or Vulnerable Customer:
We may transfer all or any part of our rights and obligations under this Agreement to a third party. We will advise you of the reason and how you can contact the third party when the transfer will take effect if we transfer all or any part of our rights and obligations under this Agreement.
If you are a residential customer you may not assign, transfer, subcontract, or delegate any of your rights or obligations to another person or third party.
The Electricity Authority may assign our rights and obligations under this Agreement to another retailer if we commit an event of default under the Electricity Industry Participation Code 2010. If such an assignment occurs, the terms of this Agreement may be amended to the standard terms of the recipient retailer which the recipient retailer would normally have offered you prior to the event of default. The terms of this Agreement may be amended to include a minimum period where you are required to pay an amount for cancelling before the end of the minimum period. You agree that if there is an event of default, we may forward your information to the Electricity Authority. The terms set out in this paragraph are included for the benefit of the Electricity Authority for the purposes of the Contracts (Privity) Act 1982.
If we have or are likely to have a receiver, liquidator or other similar officer appointed to us, we will take all reasonable steps to ensure that the supply of electricity to your Premises is not affected.
The network company is responsible for transporting electricity across its network to your Premises. It owns most of the electrical lines and Relevant Equipment in your region and may also own, lease and control lines and Relevant Equipment on your Premises. It is responsible for operating and maintaining;
The point of supply on your Premises is the connection point to the power lines. Usually this connection point will be on a power pole outside the boundary of your Premises. You can find out the exact location by asking the network company. Contact us to find out who is your network company.
You agree that you will:
Neither we nor your Network Operator guarantees that your supply of electricity will be free from defects or interruptions. Your electricity supply may be subject to load management by us, the Network Operator or metering service provider.
Your electricity supply may also suffer an outage due to an event beyond our reasonable control and the Network Operators’ (including acts of God, human events such as industrial actions, war and other hostilities, and natural events such as fire, earthquake, lightning strike and storms).
We or your Network Operator may interrupt supply if it is necessary to avoid any overload of, damage to, interference with, or to ensure the integrity, efficiency, security, safety or proper maintenance of the network. We or your Network Operator may also interrupt supply in an emergency of if required by law or permitted by this Agreement.
In the event of a local or national energy shortage, or in circumstances of extreme wholesale prices, your electricity supply may be rationed or restricted. Electricity may also be rationed as part of an electricity industry rationing plan.
If you enter into any agreement or arrangement with any third party in relation to control of your load you must ensure that:
You must provide us, the network operator, other authorised third parties, and the Electricity Authority, its contractors or auditors, with safe, unobstructed access to and over your Premises, including the interior and exterior of any buildings on the Premises and any land where any Relevant Equipment is located, when we reasonably require access.
Access to your Premises is required:
Except in an emergency or for routine situations (for example, reading a meter on the outside of a building), we or other authorised third parties will give you notice of when and why we need to access your Premises. We will give you:
We may provide you notice of any intention to access your Premises in writing, by text message, email, or telephone call.
If we, the network operator or other authorised third parties need to access your Premises in an emergency situation, you agree that those parties may take reasonable steps to gain access to your Premises without your permission and without prior notice.
When we or our employees or other authorised third parties access your Premises, we and our representatives will:
We will require our representatives, when accessing your Premises to:
If you do not provide safe and unobstructed access to your Premises:
The access rights you agree to provide under this Agreement are in addition to any access rights conferred by any statute or regulation.
You need to provide us with a key and/or security system code or arrange access to Relevant Equipment if any of it is located behind locked doors or gates. If we hold a key to your Premises that was supplied by a previous customer or landlord, we will ask your permission to use it. If you say no, you will need to make alternative arrangements with us for access. However, if we hold a key that is used to access meters in a common area (for example, an apartment block meter room), we will continue to use the key to access that area but will not enter your private Premises. We will keep all keys and security codes you give us secure and only use them to fulfil our rights and obligations under these terms and conditions. We will only return your key to you or your authorised person if you are still our customer at the Premises. If we no longer need your key to access Relevant Equipment, we will destroy it securely (we will let you know before we do this), or if you are still our customer at the Premises and you request it, we will return the key to you.
If you have a complaint or wish to provide us feedback on any aspect of our service, please contact us in the first instance on:
We will acknowledge your complaint within two (2) Business Days of receiving it. If we are unable to resolve your complaint immediately, we will provide you a response within seven (7) Business Days. We may refer your complaint to the network company if it is more appropriate that they manage your complaint. If we do this, we will inform you.
We are a member of Utilities Disputes Ltd, which is a free and independent complaints resolution service. If for some reason you are dissatisfied about the resolution of your complaint, or we can't resolve your complaint or problem within 20 Business Days, you can take your complaint to Utilities Disputes (utilitiesdisputes.co.nz or Free Phone: 0800 22 33 40). You have two (2) months to lodge a complaint with Utilities Disputes from the time we notify you of our final resolution. You can also take your complaint to the courts or the disputes tribunal.
If you dispute the correctness of charges on your invoice, we will not disconnect your electricity supply for non-payment of the disputed portion of your invoice until the matter has been dealt with through our dispute process. This will not prevent disconnection for any other reasons set out in this Agreement.
Our liability to you in contract or tort is limited to direct physical loss or damage to property or goods which was not caused by something beyond our reasonable control and was reasonably foreseeable and caused directly by a breach of this Agreement or negligence.
If we are liable, the maximum amount we will pay to compensate you for your loss is $10,000 for any event or series of related events. We may choose to repair or replace any of your damaged property or goods up to the same maximum amount instead of paying you cash.
Without limiting our obligations under the Consumer Guarantees Act and Fair-Trading Act, we will not be liable for any other loss or damage including indirect or consequential losses, force majeure events, loss of profits or business or similar claims. If you acquire electricity or other goods and services from us for the purposes of a business the Consumer Guarantees Act does not apply.
The liability of the network company and the meter equipment provider, including any liability in contract, tort (including negligence) or otherwise is excluded to the maximum extent permitted by law.
The limitations of liability under this provision and elsewhere in this Agreement extend to our directors, employees and agents and those of the network company and the meter equipment provider for the purposes of the Contracts (Privity) Act 1982. Other provisions in this Agreement that refer to the network company or meter services provider are intended for the benefit of and enforceable by the network company and the meter services provider under the Contracts (Privity) Act.
Your liability to pay compensation to us for damage or loss incurred by us which was caused or contributed to by you or your agent is limited to a maximum amount of $10,000 for any event or series of related events subject to the following exceptions. The caps on your liability do not apply to any charges payable by you under this Agreement or; for loss or damage caused or contributed to by fraud, dishonesty or deliberate or wilful conduct by you or your agents or; because of damage to the network caused by you or your agent or; where the electricity and other goods and services provided by us have not been acquired by you for ordinary residential use.
You indemnify us, the network company and the meter services provider against all damages and losses for which you are liable under this Agreement.
We are not required to honour this Agreement in circumstances where an event has occurred that is beyond our reasonable control where such an event prevents us from operating normally. These events include but are not limited to:
We will recommence honouring our responsibilities as soon as it is reasonably practicable for us to do so.
We will comply with all relevant laws, industry regulations, and good industry practice in New Zealand, related to the supply of electricity to your Premises, including:
We cannot guarantee the quality of supply of electricity to your Premises, that it will be continuous and uninterrupted. The supply of electricity to your Premises may be interrupted by planned or unplanned events. Network companies or meter service providers may have planned interruptions to the supply of electricity:
There are circumstances or events which may result in an unplanned interruption to the supply of electricity to your Premises. These circumstances or events include but are not limited to storms, high winds, third party interference (like a car accident) or other reasons. We are not responsible if a sudden, unplanned shutdown caused by circumstances beyond our reasonable control interrupts your electricity supply.
Surges and spikes in the supply of electricity are momentary fluctuations in the voltage or frequency that can happen at any time. You acknowledge that they are not treated as interruptions. We take no responsibility for any damage to equipment or property or loss of data which results from surges or spikes. It is your responsibility to protect your equipment and property and to insure yourself against damage form electricity fluctuations and interruptions.
If we receive compensation from a network operator, Transpower or another third party for losses that result from defects or interruption to electricity supply, we will calculate in good faith but in our sole discretion, and pass on to you, an appropriate portion of that compensation.
We, or the relevant network company or meter service provider, will provide you at least four (4) Business Days’ notice of planned shutdowns. In the event of an urgent shutdown for reasons that were not foreseeable, we will provide you with as much notice as possible.
We operate a 24-hour faults service which allows you to report any outage. This service is available via our team, who you can contact via email at outages@tensor.co.nz. Our team will pass the details of your outage on to the Network Operator (or their agent) as soon as reasonably practicable.
Vector network (Auckland Region) require that you contact them directly on 0508 VECTOR (0508 832 867) in relation to faults. Vector’s outages website is: vector.co.nz/personal/outages.
You can contact our team at any time to access further information about ongoing outages, either using our online chat or using our email above.
We or the network company may temporarily suspend electricity supply to some of your equipment (e.g., hot water cylinder) if your metering configuration and pricing plan allows us to do so.
We refer to such a pricing plan as a controlled (load) pricing plan. Where you are on a controlled (load) pricing plan and we have a contract with the network company, you must transfer your rights to your controllable load to us which will automatically be assigned to the network company if our pricing plan is consistent with the network company’s controlled (load) pricing option. If your contract is with the network company, you must transfer the rights to your controllable load to the network company for system security and network management purposes. In both instances, we retain the right to manage your load for energy market participation purposes. If you have engaged a party other than the network company or us to manage your controllable load, you must ensure that the party has agreed the relevant protocols with the network company.
We will endeavour to exercise our rights in relation to controlled load without compromising the minimum service levels agreed with you.
For us to supply electricity to you, your Premises must be fitted with a remotely communicating smart meter that can provide your electricity consumption information to us on a daily basis.
We will comply with all relevant laws and industry standards relating to metering and taking meter reads at your Premises. We will measure the amount of electricity you use by remotely reading the smart meter at your Premises.
We will endeavour to read the meter at your Premises on a regular basis.
However, if we have not read or are unable to read the meter for any reason, or some of all usage data is missing from our attempts to read the meter, we will estimate the amount of electricity supplied to your Premises until such time as the meter can be remotely or physically read.
We may also send an authorised third party to physically read the meter or ask you to read the meter for us.
If you ask us to test the meter, or if we decide to test the meter, and we find it is not within the industry standards of accuracy, we will estimate what we believe your actual electricity usage should have been. If you ask us to test the meter, and it is found to be accurate, we may charge you for testing the meter.
If the meter is unable to communicate your electricity consumption information to us at any time:
All meter readings, tests and associated processes will be done in accordance with relevant electricity industry codes and standards. You agree that we, our contractors, or authorised industry metering equipment owners, are able to upgrade, maintain, and replace faulty metering.
You agree that we own all information and data collected by the meter, including meter reading data. We may receive, collect and store meter data relating to you and your Premises. To the extent any such meter information and data is personal information we will ensure that such information is held by us in accordance with the Privacy Act 1993 and used in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
We will estimate what the actual electricity usage at your Premises should have been if:
Where we can reasonably do so, we will update any estimated usage data with actual usage data, or if we are unable to retrieve actual data, we will finalise our estimate after validating it against the meter. If you provide us with a valid actual meter reading, we will amend our estimate data. Finalised estimate data will then be treated as if it were actual data. If you request it, we will provide you with an explanation of how our estimates are calculated.
If an adjustment is required, we will invoice or credit you for the amount for any differences in calculated charges.
If you dispute our estimate, you should let us know prior to your next invoice date. Failure to do so will result in us invoicing the incorrect charge to you.
We will charge you for electricity and any other services at the rates, fees and charges detailed in your Pricing Plan and any special terms applicable to you. We may also charge service fees for services provided under this Agreement at our then current rates.
Your current Pricing Plan can be viewed on your invoice.
We may change your Pricing Plan from time to time by sending you notice of any changes by email, a letter, or updates on our website. We will provide 30 Business Days’ notice of any increase in our rates, fees or charges, including our reasons for the increase.
A list of our standard service fees, and the circumstances where they apply, is set out on the Prices page of our website. We will notify you if we become aware that you will incur a service fee that you have not already agreed to (such as a disconnection or reconnection fee) including the amount of the fee (or an estimate of that amount), and, where appropriate, explain how you can avoid that fee.
You will be responsible for all rates, fees and charges as stated on your invoice. These rates, fees and charges may change from time to time and may include rates, fees and charges from regulatory agencies, the network company, the meter services provider and other authorised third parties that relate to the supply of electricity or other services to your Premises.
If circumstances arise or are likely to arise where you may incur a fee, we will endeavour to give you reasonable notice of the circumstances before you incur the fee. This will be either through a phone call, a letter, or email.
We will inform you of the options, if there are any, to avoid incurring the fee. If you request an additional product or service that will incur an additional cost, we will advise you of the additional cost or provide you with an estimate of the additional cost if the exact amount is not known to us at the time.
Unless we agree otherwise with you in writing, we will send you an invoice every month. Your invoice will show the rates, fees and charges relevant to the supply of electricity to your Premises and include:
If you, as our customer, wishes to change your pricing plan, products, or services to another pricing plan, product or service offered by us, then:
You must pay your invoice each month, within 14 days after the date of issue, or as otherwise agreed, by bank transfer.
We will provide you with notice of any changes to our payment methods no less than 30 days before the change is to take effect.
You must pay the total amount (including GST) in full by the due date shown on your invoice, whether the invoice is based on an actual or an estimated meter reading. You may not deduct or set off any amount from the amount shown on your invoice. You remain responsible for paying for all electricity used by you at the Premises and any other fees and charges incurred while you were a customer even after your supply has ended or you are no longer our customer.
If your electricity account is overdue, we may use any payments received from you to pay the overdue amount before paying your current rates, fees and charges.
If your account is in dispute, you must still pay all other amounts that are not in dispute (see Clause 27).
If you are unable to pay your invoice in full and by the due date, you need to inform us immediately. If you are struggling to pay your account, we may be able to offer other options.
If you do not pay your invoice, and we do not have you registered as a medically dependent or vulnerable consumer, we may disconnect the supply of electricity to your Premises (under clause 9) and you may incur disconnection and debt collection fees. We will provide you with reasonable notice if disconnection or debt collection fees will be payable. We may register your payment default with a credit bureau or reporting agency. You are responsible for all costs incurred in collecting money you owe us.
You must contact us if you have not received an invoice.
If we send your invoice more than two months after the period to which it relates, you have at least 31 days to pay it. You will not be liable to pay any interest on an invoice that is incorrect or which we are late in sending you.
If your invoice is based on an estimate of the amount of electricity you consumed, your invoice would normally state that an estimate has been used. If you contact us, we will provide you with a simple explanation of how estimates are calculated. If you provide a meter reading within 24 hours of receiving an invoice based on an estimate of the amount of electricity you used, we will send you a new invoice if the reading is consistent with our records. We may undertake and charge you for an actual reading if the reading you provide is inconsistent with our records.
If your invoice is incorrect, irrespective of cause, you are only responsible for paying the correct amount. We will credit any amount that we have overcharged or you will pay any amount that we have undercharged. If we have undercharged you, any amounts that you are required to pay will take into account whether you have contributed to the error or could reasonably have been expected to know of the error. This does not apply where your invoice is based on an estimate of your electricity consumption as an adjustment will be made in a following invoice based on an actual meter reading.
No interest is payable on any amounts that have been overpaid or underpaid by you or us in relation to incorrect or late invoices.
If you dispute an amount on your invoice, you must inform us immediately. You must identify the amount in dispute and provide full reasons for the dispute. We will investigate your dispute as quickly as possible. You will still need to pay the amounts on your invoice that are not in dispute by the due date. We will not disconnect your electricity if you have paid your undisputed amounts by the due date. We may disconnect your electricity supply if you do not pay undisputed amounts.
| Agreement | means, collectively, these terms and conditions, any special terms on our website that are applicable to you, pricing plans and schedules, payment options, rates, fees and charges, and other communications and documents that we tell you will form part of this Agreement. |
| Business Day | means any day not including Saturday or Sunday or any public holiday in New Zealand |
| Consumer | means a person who is supplied, or who applied to be supplied, with:
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| Emergency | means a situation in which there is a probable danger to life or property or immediate risk to the continuity or safety or distribution of electricity. |
| Lines | means a Company that operates a local network for conveying electricity, and provides Line Function Services to Retailers, or directly to Consumers (these are also referred to as Network Companies). |
| Line Function Services | has the meaning as set out in Section 2 of the Electricity Act 1992 and as further provided for in a Consumer Contract. |
| Premises | means the property or address to which we supply electricity to you |
| Relevant Equipment | means any meter, telemetry equipment, and other equipment used to measure or record electricity usage or demand, to transmit or convey electricity usage data, or to supply electricity to your property or any associated equipment (including, without limitation, pipes, switches, fuses, transformers, relays, remote readers, wiring and meter boards). |