Let s get down to. business. This quick introduction covers the main things you need to know about being a Contact electricity or natural gas customer

Transcription

1 Let s get down to business This quick introduction covers the main things you need to know about being a Contact electricity or natural gas customer

2 Running a business can be hectic. No two businesses are the same, but you have to be a multi-disciplined multi-tasker, which is why we think energy should be the least of your worries. Contact has a dedicated team to help business customers like you. Whatever the needs of your business, from advice on an energy plan or taking advantage of our latest offers, we re happy to help. You ve probably got questions. Phone: Hours: Web: help@contactenergy.co.nz am 9pm Monday to Friday, 8am 5pm Saturday contactenergy.co.nz/business Please let us know if your business contact person changes so we can update our system. To ensure your business s privacy, we only allow authorised persons to have access to account information. 1

3 Making it easy for you As a Contact electricity or natural gas customer, there are many ways we can help you save money and manage your energy bills more easily. A one-stop shop Being one of New Zealand s leading suppliers of electricity, natural gas and LPG means we can take care of all your energy needs. Prompt payment discount Pay your bill in full by the due date, and we ll reward you with a 10% prompt payment discount. DualEnergy prompt payment discount Do you have natural gas or LPG as well as electricity? Our business DualEnergy discount means you will receive a 12% prompt payment discount instead when you combine your electricity and natural gas or Contact Rockgas LPG* with us and pay your bill on time and in full. Sorry, prompt payment discounts can t be combined. Online Services Access your account information 24 hours a day with Online Services. See how your energy is tracking from month to month with your own online graph. Receive your bills online, view your last 24 bills and your last 12 months transaction history. View an up-to-date summary of all your accounts, and check when your next meter reading is due. Visit contactenergy.co.nz/businessonlineservices to find out more. All you ll need is your account number and ICP number, which are in your welcome letter. SmoothPay SmoothPay evens out your monthly electricity and natural gas costs, which makes paying them even easier. You pay the same amount each time by direct debit, so you can be sure to get your prompt payment discount. SmoothPay makes it easier to budget, so there s one less thing to worry about for your business. Choose weekly, fortnightly or monthly payments. Smart meters We are in the process of rolling out smart meters to all our customers. Contact s SmartConnect TM service allows customers with smart meters to access their daily or hourly electricity use online, helping them to better understand, monitor and control their energy use. SmartConnect TM customers will also be billed on an actual read every month so no more estimated bills. We expect to finish rolling out SmartConnect TM electricity meters to all Contact customers by If you d like to know more about smart meters or the roll-out, visit contactenergy.co.nz/smartconnect. Statement billing Our consolidated statement billing service makes managing your multiple energy accounts easier. Instead of getting separate bills for each property that has an account with us, you can have all your accounts combined on one invoice, all due on one convenient date the 20th of the month. Upgrades or downgrades Sometimes, a significant change in your energy use calls for you to upgrade or downgrade the energy supply to your business. For instance, when moving to new premises, it is a good idea to review your electricity supply, as you will take over the building with and be charged for the previous owner s supply, even though this may not be required. * For customers with LPG, the discount recognises that you have two fuel types with us electricity and LPG however the discount will only apply to your electricity bill. SmoothPay excludes Contact Rockgas LPG, Time of Use and PrePower customers. The DualEnergy discount applies to full billing periods and accounts at the same property and excludes Contact Rockgas Auto LPG, cylinders less than 45kg, PrePower and Time of Use accounts. Prompt payment discounts, Online Services and statement billing only apply to electricity and natural gas customers. 2 3

4 Important things you need to know Here are the main things you need to know about our agreement to supply energy to your business. For a full copy of our terms and conditions of supply, please call or visit contactenergy.co.nz/termsandconditions. Reading your meter If you re a SmartConnect customer, you should receive a bill based on an actual read every month. Otherwise, your meter will be read regularly usually every 2 months in urban areas and every 3 months in rural areas. In most cases, this means you ll get a bill based on an actual read when your meter is read and an estimated bill for the month(s) in between. If you d like, you can take a note of the reading on your meter and let us know if your estimated bill is higher than you think it should be. Gaining access to your property We need to be able to access your property easily and safely to read your meter, to deliver LPG and for other work we may need to do. This also includes anyone else who owns energy supply equipment 1 on your property. Please make sure access to your property is safe for our meter readers. Paying your bill If you pay your bill in full and by the due date, you ll benefit from a prompt payment discount. Please let us know straight away if you can t pay your bill on time so we can discuss payment arrangements. By keeping to these arrangements, you can make sure your supply stays connected and avoid the need to pay disconnection and reconnection fees. Install motion sensors on your outside lights and in areas that aren t used all the time, such as meeting rooms, bathrooms, storage rooms and so on. Use compact fluorescent light bulbs these use around 75 per cent less electricity and can last 6 15 times longer than standard incandescent bulbs. Source: energywise.govt.nz Closing your account Remember to let us know if you want to close your account. That way, we can make sure any responsibility you have for paying for energy used at the property stops on the day you want it to. Metering equipment Please be aware that you don t own the metering equipment 2 on your property, so it can t be counted as a fixture or fitting. Please don t move or remove it. It is your resonsibility to protect all of the equipment installed in your meter box against interference, damage, loss or destruction. The best way to do this is to make sure your meter box doesn t leak and the door can be secured. Power protection We aim to provide you with a continuous electricity supply, but we can t guarantee it. Surges or spikes in voltage or frequency and unplanned interruptions can cause damage to your electrical equipment and appliances. It s a good idea to install power protection devices to reduce the chance of damage. Make sure you re fully insured too. 1 Energy supply equipment means the distribution lines, pipes, poles, wires, fittings, metering equipment and any other assets relating to the supply of energy. 2 Metering equipment means any meter or associated equipment (including software) used to measure and/or provide information about your energy usage and to regulate and/or control the supply of energy to your property. 4 5

5 Helping your business become more efficient With the time pressures of running a business, it can be difficult to think about your energy usage. However, by putting in place even small changes, you may be able to save energy and money and help the environment. Effective energy management is about everyone working together to reduce the amount of energy used in your workplace. So, how do you start managing energy in the workplace? Appoint an energy management champion. This could be the business owner or a member of staff. This champion is responsible for encouraging everyone to use energy as efficiently as possible. Develop an energy management plan. Decide on the best ways your business can save energy, and plan how to implement any changes that need to be made. You may also want to measure your energy savings. Visit contactenergy.co.nz/energysavingtips for some great ideas for your energy management plan. Brief your staff. Talk to your staff about your energy savings plan and what you need them to do and why. It s a good idea to be specific you could produce a checklist they can keep. Remind staff regularly. Keep everyone updated on the energy-saving initiatives and, if possible, energy savings to date. Turn your computer off every night after work and when you re on holiday. Leaving your PC on overnight costs money and also adds to the wear and tear of your computer. If computers must be left on, turn off the monitor (they consume well over half of the total energy used to run a computer). This won t affect any applications you have running. Dairy farmers Sue and Myles Chamberlain have increased energy efficiency by installing an LPG hot water system. It used to take quite a few hours to heat 600 litres of water to wash the plant, says Sue. Now, it s instant. 6 7

6 Getting energy to your place Generating electricity at Contact s Wairākei power station. It s important to Contact that our customers understand how the market works and the factors that impact on your electricity and gas prices, so you feel better informed. Here s an overview to help you understand the part Contact plays. Electricity Power station Electricity is generated at power stations across the country. Wholesale market The electricity is sold into a single wholesale market. Electricity retailers Retailers such as Contact buy electricity from the wholesale market. Transmission and distribution Electricity is delivered across the country through Transpower s transmission system (the national grid). Local distributors (lines companies) deliver the electricity to homes and businesses. Retailers purchase transmission and distribution services. Business customers Retailers bundle costs and sell electricity to customers. Gas Gas Production and wholesale gas is retrieved and processed from gas fields. Sometimes, LPG is imported as required to support demand. Gas retailers Retailers such as Contact buy gas through contracts with wholesalers. Transmission and distribution Natural gas is delivered across the North Island through Vector and Maui s high-pressure transmission (pipeline) systems, and piped Contact Rockgas LPG is available in some parts of the South Island. LPG is also delivered in bulk to large storage tanks or by cylinder. Local distributors deliver the gas to homes and businesses. Retailers purchase transmission and distribution services. Business customers Retailers bundle costs and sell natural gas through pipelines in the North Island. LPG is sold by our branches and franchises across New Zealand in cylinders. In parts of the South Island, it is also delivered via pipelines. 8 9

7 Making sure the future is bright Electricity Contact is committed to sustainable electricity generation to meet New Zealanders energy needs. We are continually developing new generation capacity to ensure electricity supply to the homes and businesses of Kiwis, now and into the future. Our Te Huka geothermal power station near Taupo is one example of new generation we have constructed. It will help meet New Zealand s electricity demand and provide enough renewable energy to power a town the size of Taupo. Our gas-fired peaking plant at Stratford allows us to quickly and easily respond to changes in power demand. If demand peaks or the hydro lakes are low and the wind isn t blowing, we can generate electricity as and when it is needed. The Stratford peaking plant can run at full capacity within 10 minutes of being started and supply enough electricity to power 200,000 average homes. Visit contactenergy.co.nz/ourprojects to find out more. Gas Contact sells gas to commercial and residential customers across New Zealand. We supply piped natural gas to customers in the North Island and piped Contact Rockgas LPG to some parts of the South Island. Richard Emerson, Contact Rockgas LPG customer and the brains behind Emerson s Brewery. Richard has grown his business from humble beginnings in his garage at home to an award-winning micro-brewery. Contact is a market leader in bottled LPG and has the largest coverage of bottled LPG in the country. We also supply Contact Rockgas Auto LPG a cost-effective fuel that produces lower levels of greenhouse gases, such as C0 2, than petrol and rivals diesel when it comes to CO 2 performance. Gas will continue to be a key source of energy for heating homes, fuelling cars and barbecues and providing endless hot water for the foreseeable future. Domestic LPG production is increasing, and we will continue to import LPG to supplement demand where required

8 Power for your large business If your energy needs are bigger than most, you ll require specialist advice. That s why we have a dedicated Energy Solutions team to provide specialist knowledge on energy efficiency and energy management issues for our large commercial and industrial customers. A large commercial or industrial business might have an average monthly energy spend of around $20,000. To find out whether your business qualifies, call us today. Phone: Web: business.support@contactenergy.co.nz contactenergy.co.nz/largebusiness If you have a complaint Energy Challenger is a web-based tool designed to help medium and larger-sized businesses identify opportunities to improve energy use at their workplace. Visit contactenergy.co.nz/energychallenger to find out more. Please note only computers with Internet Explorer 5.0 or later can access this page. We welcome customer feedback. If you have a complaint, please contact us on or help@contactenergy.co.nz to use our free internal complaint service. If we cannot resolve your complaint, the Electricity and Gas Complaints Commissioner Scheme offers a free independent dispute resolution service. You can contact them on or go to egcomplaints.co.nz. 12

9 R292 12/12 Internet: contactenergy.co.nz Telephone: Address: PO Box 624 Wellington 6140 New Zealand