What are my retailer's obligations to me?

Most electricity retailers follow our voluntary minimum terms and conditions when they set up your contract. These minimum terms and conditions include processes around what to do when customers do not pay a bill.

By the end of 2021 most electricity retailers will have developed and published a consumer care policy. A consumer care policy is a retailer’s public commitment to consumer care. It will set out how retailers will work with their domestic customers, so they have electricity at the best price to meet the needs of their household.

As well as these guidelines and voluntary terms and conditions, retailers must follow a set of industry rules.

One of these rules is that for each tariff a retailer offers you for your home (main place of residence), the retailer must also offer you a low fixed charge tariff. 

What should the contract with my retailer include?

Retailers' contracts with consumers can follow our contracting principles and minimum terms.

These include:

  • meaningful choice, such as offering a range of pricing plans, products and services for consumers to consider and make informed decisions
  • connections and disconnections, and contract termination
  • the actual supply of electricity and related services, such as metering
  • contractual terms and conditions, such as being fair and reasonable
  • costs, for instance unexpected and unfair costs, should not be imposed on consumers
  • billing and payment should be timely and accurate
  • access to property
  • access to remedies in the case of complaints.

What does the Authority do?

We oversee the retail electricity market and set the rules under which the market operates.