Submission on
Gas Codes Issues Paper Review of the Tasmanian Gas Retail and Gas Distribution Codes April 2013 About TasCOSS TasCOSS is the peak body for the Tasmanian community services sector. Its membership comprises individuals and organisations active in the provision of community services to low income, vulnerable and disadvantaged Tasmanians. TasCOSS represents the interests of its members and their clients to government, regulators, the media and the public. Through our advocacy and policy development, we draw attention to the causes of poverty and disadvantage and promote the adoption of effective solutions to address these issues. phone 03 6231 0755 fax 03 6223 6136 postal PO Box 1126 Sandy Bay Tas 7006 www.tascoss.org.au
Authorised by Tony Reidy, Chief Executive For enquiries Kath McLean, Manager, Social Policy & Research kath@tascoss.org.au
The Tasmanian Council of Social Service (TasCOSS) welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Gas Codes Issues Paper: Review of the Tasmanian Gas Retail and Gas Distribution Codes. We respond to this review in the context of gas supply being an essential service for those Tasmanian households who rely on gas to heat their homes and/or water, or for cooking. We believe it is therefore imperative that protections for gas customers in Tasmania are as comprehensive and robust as possible to enable uninterrupted, ongoing access to supply of this essential service. We begin our response by questioning the appropriateness of section 4.4 of the Gas Codes Issues Paper, ‘Complaints as an indicator’. This section implies that the apparently low level of complaints – and the nature of those complaints – indicate that there is little or no need for enhanced consumer protections, the subject of this review. We question this as an appropriate way to begin this Issues Paper, and we question whether the number of complaints are, in itself, appropriate as an indicator of the need for improved consumer protection. While the number of complaints to the retailers, distributor and Energy Ombudsman in recent years may indicate the current context of Tasmanian gas supply, it tells us nothing of the future, or of the changing face of Tasmanian energy supply. Indeed the proposed introduction to Tasmania of full retail competition in electricity is surely a relevant contextual factor for this Gas Codes Review. That one of the two current Tasmanian gas retailers (Aurora Energy) will soon be replaced with another retailer is also significant, especially as it is likely that the new gas retailer will be a company operating in mainland Australia, possibly under the National Energy Retail Law (NERL), also known as the National Energy Customer Framework (NECF). TasCOSS believes that Tasmania should adopt the NECF for retail gas supply so that customer protections for gas and electricity customers are as similar as possible. This would not only prevent confusion for customers, but would also create a consistent customer protection environment for those gas retailers operating in Tasmania as well as in mainland states and the ACT. The customer protection provisions of the NERL are comprehensive and, in many cases, are considered best practice. As the Gas Codes Issues Paper demonstrates, in general, the NERL provides stronger customer protections than the current Tasmanian Gas Codes, and in particular provides increased assistance for customers experiencing hardship. While TasCOSS recommends that the customer protection provisions of the NECF be adopted in full for gas customers in Tasmania, there are a number of protections that are currently absent in the Tasmanian Codes and that we believe need to be urgently addressed, if not by adoption of the NECF, then by some other means.
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We are particularly concerned that there is currently no obligation to offer supply to gas customers in Tasmania. The obligation to offer supply is fundamental to ensuring universal access to this essential service. If provisions of the NERL are not adopted for gas customers in Tasmania, this is one addition that must be made to the Tasmanian Gas Retail & Distribution Codes. The Gas Codes Issues Paper poses the question: Have there been any situations where no retailer has been prepared to supply gas to a customer? (p 16) – we believe that this is an irrelevant question. Simply: whether or not a retailer has denied access to supply in the past has no relevance for the future, and there should be provision in place to ensure that all customers have the right to gas supply. We are also concerned with the absence of any recognition of, or regulated processes to assist with financial hardship in the current Tasmanian Gas Codes. This leaves those experiencing hardship in a position that requires a retailer to offer a payment plan only as a precursor to disconnection. In many cases, this may be too late and does not allow for strategic early intervention where a customer is experiencing payment difficulties. The customer hardship provisions of the NECF are designed to ensure that customers experiencing payment difficulties over time are assisted with both payment plans that take into account their capacity to pay, and with exemption from punitive measures such as late payment fees and disconnection. As acknowledged in the Gas Codes Issues Paper, gas supply in Tasmanian households is not exclusively a product of choice. Many rental properties, including properties leased to low-income and vulnerable households by Housing Tasmania and other social housing providers, have gas appliances installed, including space and hot water heaters. It is imperative that these customers in particular enjoy comprehensive protections in respect of ongoing access to gas as an essential service. There are a number of other customer protection provisions of the NECF that are absent from the current Tasmanian Gas Codes which lead us to reiterate our recommendation that these provisions be adopted in Tasmania for gas customers. We understand that there may be some conditions concerning gas distribution in Tasmania that may preclude the adoption of some distribution-related aspects of the NECF; however, these should not affect the provision of protections to small retail gas customers. Natural gas has been available in Tasmania for a decade or more and its use has spread to significant numbers of households across the State. TasCOSS contends that the principles that first underpinned the development of the State’s natural gas industry and that are reflected in the Gas Codes, must be re-visited and revised in light of the maturity of the industry. The National Energy Retail Law and its Rules and Regulations provide a comprehensive framework for customer protection that has
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been adopted for electricity customers in Tasmania, and, we believe, should also be adopted for gas customers. We hope that these comments are helpful in your deliberations. Please feel free to contact Kath McLean at TasCOSS if you have any questions or require further information regarding this submission (contact details on cover page).
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