Regulator considers making electricity consumer guidelines mandatory

Regulator considers making electricity consumer guidelines mandatory
Guidelines on how electricity retailers treat customers who have difficulty paying bills are treated with contempt, say critics. (Image: Getty)
Ian Llewellyn
The Electricity Authority is considering making parts of its Consumer Care Guidelines mandatory for electricity retailers.This follows a review which showed many of them were not applying all or part of the guidelines, with some not even bothering to respond to the regulator's requests for information.The guidelines were brought in on a voluntary basis in 2021, following the Electricity Price Review in 2019. They cover issues such as dealing with vulnerable and medically dependent consumers, and how to treat people having difficulty pa...

More Law & Regulation

EPA tips firm on fast-track list into liquidation
Policy

EPA tips firm on fast-track list into liquidation

Energy Farms changed its name the same day it was liquidated.

Gregor Thompson 13 Jun 2025
The pragmatism behind the WorkSafe reforms
Law & Regulation

Mike Mercer: The pragmatism behind the WorkSafe reforms

The greatest risk right now is not the reform itself, but how it is being received.

Mike Mercer 13 Jun 2025
ComCom targets Foodstuffs with supplier charge crackdown
Retail

ComCom targets Foodstuffs with supplier charge crackdown

Only Foodstuffs co-operatives charge suppliers for merchandising.

Gregor Thompson 11 Jun 2025
Underfunding of Standards NZ a safety risk: Engineers
Property

Underfunding of Standards NZ a safety risk: Engineers

But NZ is too small to self-fund standards development, the agency says.

Maria Slade 11 Jun 2025