Residential Electricity General Terms and Conditions for customers with us up to and including 3rd April 2011
ESB Customer Supply - General conditions of supply up to 3rd April 2011.
Please note that with effect from 4th April 2011 ESB Customer Supply is known as Electric Ireland.
- Definitions
- Applying for an electricity supply agreement
- Change of Supplier
- Metering and billing
- Tariffs
- Paying accounts
- Equipment and right of access to premises
- Your liability if you interfere with or damage our property
- Our liability
- Our right to de-energise
- Ending the agreement
- Events beyond our control
- Customer information
- Our Codes of Practice and Customer Charter
- General
- Data Protection Notice
Please note that as a customer of Electric Ireland you are bound by the following
Terms and Conditions
Electric Ireland Electricity Terms and Conditions
for
Residential Customers
General Conditions of Supply
1. Definitions
a) In these conditions, the words below have the following meanings.
- 'Conditions' means the standard terms and conditions of supply set out in this document.
- 'Connection Agreement' means an agreement with the DSO under which you have the right for your installation to be, and to stay, connected to the electricity distribution system in line with the terms and conditions of that agreement.
- 'DSO' means the Distribution System Operator, ESB Networks.
- 'Maximum Import Capacity' means the maximum amount of electricity, expressed in kiloVoltAmps (kVA), that will be supplied to you at the point of supply.
- 'Point of supply' means the point shown in the Connection Agreement, or in an application to supply at a specific point, where energy may flow between the local electricity distribution system and your installation.
- 'You' means the person or organisation named on the application form.
- 'We' means ESB, acting through its Electric Ireland business unit.
b) The headings in these conditions are for convenience only and will not affect how they are interpreted.
2. Applying for an electricity supply agreement
a) You should apply to us for a new electricity supply agreement or for changes to an existing agreement.
b) It is a condition of supply that you have a Connection Agreement and keep to its conditions. Please read the DSO conditions for connecting you to the electricity distribution system, which you can get by phoning 1800 372 757 or visiting ESB website at www.esb.ie/networks. If you have taken over the supply to premises that were previously supplied in the name of another customer with a Maximum Import Capacity (MIC) of under 100kVA and you do not have a Connection Agreement for the premises, DSO will consider that the previous customer’s MIC and the conditions of the previous customer’s Connection Agreement apply to you. You will not have to enter into a new Connection Agreement yourself, but you must keep to all the conditions of the previous customer’s Connection Agreement. If you prefer to have a Connection Agreement in your own name, you should contact the DSO (see contact details above). If however, you have taken over the connection to premises that were previously supplied in the name of another customer and the MIC applying to the previous customer was 100kVA or more, you must apply to DSO to have a Connection Agreement in your own name.
c) You must give us all the information we need about the premises that the agreement applies to (‘the premises’), as set out on the application form over the page, and all other details which we ask for to work out what kind of account you need.
d) You may need to provide reasonable security, which may be in the form of a deposit that we will decide. You may also be requested to give us your date of birth in the interests of your account, security and for data protection purposes.
e) We will do all we can to process an application so the electricity account is set up by the date you need it, as long as you have met all the financial and other requirements.
f) The characteristics of the supply will be in line with the Connection Agreement and these conditions. You are responsible for choosing the appropriate Maximum Import Capacity.
g) You cannot extend your supply for someone else to use. We will consider them to be a separate customer.
h) We accept no responsibility for the adequacy, safety or other characteristics of your electrical installation.
i) All the information you give us must be truthful and accurate. You must tell us about any changes to the information as soon as possible.
3. Change of Supplier
a) In the event that You are found to be in breach of approved debt thresholds, should You choose to switch Your account to another licensed energy supplier a debt flag will generate on Your account at the point of switch. This debt flag will notify the acquiring supplier of this breach. The approved debt thresholds are as published from time to time and details can be obtained from our National Contact Centre.
4. Metering and billing
a) The electricity supply will be measured by metering equipment that will be installed and maintained in line with the Connection Agreement. DSO staff, its agents or contractors will read the meters.
b) We will regularly send you bills for the electricity you use.
c) If we or you discover that any meter reading has been inaccurate or omitted, or the readings have not been converted into charges correctly, we or you, as the case may be, must pay any money that is due at the date of the next bill.
d) If, for any reason, we have not been able to get meter readings, we will use estimated readings.
e) If we supply electricity, but all or part of it is not registered by the metering equipment, you must pay an amount that represents the charge which would have been due if the metering equipment had registered accurately.
5. Tariffs
a) The tariffs that apply will be in line with our current tariffs as published from time to time.
b) The particular tariff that applies in individual cases depends on you meeting our conditions in relation to classifying supplies and related matters. We will tell you which category any particular case is in.
c) You can get advice from us at any stage on choosing a tariff, but you are responsible for making the final decision.
d) You can only change your tariff once a year. To change your tariff, please phone us on 1800 372 372.
6. Paying accounts
a) You must pay us for all the electricity you use, or which we estimate you have used.
b) This liability continues until the agreement ends in line with condition 11 below, even if you leave the premises beforehand.
c) You must pay every bill we send you, including an estimated bill, by the date shown on that bill. We may charge you interest if you do not pay the bill by the due date. You may have to pay in a particular way. We will charge VAT at the appropriate rate.
d) We may estimate charges so we can issue bills between actual meter readings. You must accept the estimates. We will make any necessary adjustments when we take the actual meter readings. The adjustment will be shown on the bill following the next meter reading or, if there is a major difference, when you ask us.
e) We will be entitled to make extra charges which may include:
- charges arising from extra services we provide to you;
- ·our extra costs in enforcing this agreement, including the costs of collecting payments;
- the costs we have to pay to the DSO or anyone else; and
- charges relating to the tariff or the regulatory charges that are set by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities.
7. Equipment and right of access to premises
a) All equipment and installations, (other than your installation) belong to the DSO at all times and must be kept at the premises and used in line with our or the DSO’s instructions.
b) We accept no responsibility for maintaining any equipment.
c) You must allow DSO authorised personnel, agents or contractors, at all reasonable times and at any time in an emergency, to enter any premises to which electricity is supplied for the purposes of reading, inspecting, de-energising (switching off the supply) or removing the meter or meters, and for all other purposes in connection with supplying electricity. You must also give us similar rights of access.
8. Your liability if you interfere with or damage our property
You are responsible for looking after all property and other equipment that is placed on your premises or under your control. You will be liable for the cost of any injury or repairing any damage for which you are responsible. You will also have to pay for the charges for electricity that we have estimated you have used that have not been recorded.
9. Our liability
a) We will not be liable to you for any loss or damage caused arising directly or indirectly from your electricity supply and the equipment.
b) Nothing in this agreement will exclude or restrict your or our liability for death or personal injury resulting from your or our negligence.
c) We will not be liable to you under this agreement in contract, tort (including negligence) or otherwise for any indirect damages or economic loss, including but not limited to loss of revenue, business, contracts, predicted savings or profits.
d) If any exclusion or other condition in this agreement is invalid for any reason and we become liable for loss and damage that could otherwise have been limited, our liability will be limited to a maximum sum equal to the total amount of charges and other payments we received from you for the electricity supply.
10. Our right to de-energise
We may de-energise the supply if:
- you fail to pay any bill for the electricity we have supplied or any other amount under a contract for supplying electricity;
- your installation or use of electricity interferes with the distribution system or disturbs other customers;
- you extend the supply to someone else who we consider to be a separate customer;
- you do not meet all of your obligations under these conditions or the Connection Agreement, and fail to put things right;
- you have used electricity without permission or committed theft;
- you become insolvent;
- we need to do so by law;
- your Connection Agreement ends;
- it is no longer practical to supply electricity for reasons outside our control;
or
- you have asked us to.
11. Ending the agreement
a) You may apply to end the agreement by giving us seven days’ notice. As long as you let us into the premises, we will disconnect or de-energise the supply on the date you ask us to or as soon as possible after that. You will have to pay for the electricity you use up to the date we disconnect or de-energise it.
b) You may arrange to end the agreement for the supply without us disconnecting or de-energising it if satisfactory arrangements are in place to transfer liability to a person who is acceptable to us.
c) We may end this agreement by giving you written notice if, for any reason, we cannot supply you.
d) If we or you disconnect or de-energise the supply, or end the agreement, it will not affect our or your built-up rights and liabilities.
12. Events beyond our control
We will not have to carry out any obligation under this agreement if we are prevented from doing so by any cause beyond our reasonable control. This includes, but is not limited to, failure or shortage of power supplies, civil unrest, labour shortage or labour dispute, instructions or requests from the Government, an emergency services organisation, or any other competent authority, or legal obligations.
13. Customer information
a) You agree that we may search the files of certain credit agencies or bureaus when assessing you for credit. The agencies or bureaus concerned may record the search on your file.
b) We may use information about you for our own business purposes, including building up a profile of our customers, processing orders, carrying out credit checks and carrying out market research. We may give your information to the DSO and our agents who carry out certain business activities (for example, market research and debt collection) on our behalf.
c) We or our agents may from time to time, send you direct marketing material. If you would prefer not to receive this material, please contact our customer contact centre on 1800 372 372 or in writing to Electric Ireland, 2 Swift Square, Northwood Business Park, Santry, Dublin 9, Ireland.
d) In limited circumstances (and if you ask us), we may give your account details to a member of your family, your carer or your representative. If you would prefer that we did not pass on this information, please contact our customer contact centre on 1800 372 372.
e) You should note that we may record phone calls to our customer contact centre for training and quality management purposes.
14. Our Codes of Practice and Customer Charter
We have a Customer Charter and seven Codes of Practice - Complaint Handling, Marketing and Advertising, Customer Sign-Up, Billing and Disconnection, Pay As You Go Metering, Vulnerable Customers and Smart Services - which set out the way we do our business in each of these areas, the services provided, the service quality levels and any compensation and/or refund arrangement which apply if contracted service quality levels are not met, and also how to access these.
To obtain free copies please call Us on 1800 372 372 or visit Our website at www.electricireland.ie
15. General
a) These conditions form a legally binding agreement (the ‘agreement’) between us and you. This agreement will start when we accept your application, you get a Connection Agreement and the supply is energised.
b) Any special conditions or extra time that we allow are limited to the specific circumstances in which they are given and do not affect our rights under this agreement in any other way. This agreement is governed in line with the laws of Ireland and any disagreement will be dealt with in the Irish courts. Any reference to any act or section of the act will include the act or section as it is amended or replaced.
c) We will have given you proper notice if:
- we send the notice by ordinary post to your last known address on the second postal day after the date of posting; or
- we address the notice to some or all customers in an advertisement. Notices may be included in or associated with any other communication we send you.
d) If any competent authority considers that any condition of this agreement is not valid or cannot be enforced, the other conditions will still apply.
e) We may change the agreement for any commercial, technical, legal or operational reason, and we will tell you about any changes before we make them.
f) We and you must follow all the laws, regulations and orders that apply to us.
16. Data Protection Notice
a) In order that We may provide You with an effective service, and to comply with our legal obligations, it is necessary for Us to collect and use data relating to You (“Personal Data”).This includes Your name, address and contact details, information relating to your consumption of electricity and billing and payment data. Where appropriate, we may also hold information supplied by You, such as answers to security questions, bank account/credit card/debit card details and/or information relating to special circumstances you may have
b) Where you switch to Us from another supplier, we may receive details of Your account history from that other supplier.
c) We will hold, use and protect your Personal Data in accordance with data protection and privacy laws.
d) We may disclose your Personal Data to persons who are providing services to us under contract. We are responsible for ensuring that those persons handle and protect your Personal Data to Our standards.
e) Where the law requires, we may disclose Your Personal Data to authorities such as An Garda Siochana or Local Authorities. We may also disclose some or all of your Personal Data to another supplier in the following circumstances:
a. Where you switch your account to that other supplier; or
b. In the event of a market failure involving a supplier default, to the Supplier of Last Resort designated by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities
f) Where necessary, we will seek your consent to specific uses of your Personal Data. Where you give that consent, you are entitled to revoke it at any time.
g) You have significant rights in relation to the Personal Data that we hold about you. These rights include
a. Access to, and copies of, the Personal Data we hold about you
b. Correction of any Personal Data which is inaccurate
c. Deletion or erasure of Personal Data that we no longer require
h) Your personal information may be transferred to the Distribution System Operator for the purpose of maintaining and operating supply to your premises.
To find out more about your rights and how We manage and protect them, please refer to our Privacy Notice, which can be found at www.electricireland.ie/privacy or You can get a copy by contacting us in accordance with the contact details at Condition 13 in this document. Further detail can be obtained by contacting our Data Protection Officer by email at dpo@esb.ie or by postal mail at Data Protection Officer, ESB, Two Gateway, East Wall Road D03 A995, Dublin 3.