Electricity (Class Exemptions from the Requirement for a Licence) Order (Northern Ireland) 2013

Change of supplier

1.—(1) This paragraph applies if a supply exemption holder enters into a contract with a customer to start supplying electricity to any premises.

(2) The supply exemption holder must, within 5 working days beginning with the day on which the contract is entered into, give any person who is currently supplying electricity to the premises a notice stating—

(a) that the contract has been entered into; and

(b) when the supply exemption holder will start supplying electricity to the premises.

(3) Subject to sub-paragraphs (4) and (7), the supply exemption holder must start supplying electricity to the premises within 15 working days of the relevant date.

(4) The supply exemption holder need not comply with sub-paragraph (3) if—

(a) the customer requests that the supply start on a later date;

(b) the customer terminates, or gives notice to terminate, the contract; or

(c) one or more of the reasons in sub-paragraph (5) applies.

(5) The reasons in this sub-paragraph are—

(a) that the supply exemption holder—

(i) does not have all of the information it requires in order to start supplying electricity to the premises, despite having taken all reasonable steps to obtain the missing information from the customer; and

(ii) cannot readily obtain that information from another source;

(b) that the customer is taking a supply of electricity through an exempt distribution system and the supply exemption holder is unable to start supplying electricity to the premises because—

(i) a connection which the customer or supply exemption holder requires to be made in pursuance of paragraph 7(2) of Schedule 4 has not yet been made; or

(ii) the distribution exemption holder has specified, in a notice under paragraph 1(6)(a)(i) of Schedule 4, a metering arrangement which it considers would be required for access to be given to a third party supplier (within the meaning of that Schedule) and that metering arrangement is not yet in place;

(c) that any other circumstance which is outside the control of the supply exemption holder and which it has taken all reasonably practicable steps to resolve prevents it from starting to supply electricity to the premises.

(6) If, because of a reason in sub-paragraph (5), a supply exemption holder is not required to start supplying electricity to the premises within 15 working days of the relevant date, it must start supplying electricity to the premises as soon as is reasonably practicable after the reason ceases to apply, and in any event within 15 working days of the date on which the reason ceases to apply (but if there is more than one reason, references in this sub-paragraph to a reason’s ceasing to apply to all the reasons having ceased to apply).

(7) If another supply exemption holder is currently supplying electricity to the premises and has objected to the change of supplier under paragraph 2, then the supply exemption holder mentioned in sub-paragraph (1) above—

(a) must not start supplying electricity to the premises before that objection is resolved; but

(b) must start supplying electricity to the premises as soon as is reasonably practicable after the objection is resolved, and in any event within 15 working days of the date on which the objection is resolved.

(8) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (7) an objection made under paragraph 2 is taken to be resolved—

(a) in the case of an objection based on the reason in paragraph 2(5)(a) alone—

(i) when the customer, or the supply exemption holder who made the objection, informs the supply exemption holder mentioned in sub-paragraph (1) above that the debt has been paid off in full, or

(ii) when an arrangement such as is mentioned in paragraph 2(5)(a)(iii) is made with respect to the debt;

(b) in the case of an objection based on the reason in paragraph 2(5)(b) alone, when the period mentioned in that paragraph expires;

(c) in the case of an objection based on both those reasons, when the objection has been resolved in relation to each reason in accordance with paragraphs (a) and (b) above; or

(d) in any case, when the objection is withdrawn.

(9) In this paragraph “the relevant date” means—

(a) the day after the day on which the supply exemption holder enters into the contract mentioned in sub-paragraph (1); or

(b) if, after the contract is entered into, there is a period within which the customer may decide not to proceed with it, the earlier of—

(i) the day after the day on which that period ends; or

(ii) 10 working days after the day on which the contract was entered into.

2.—(1) This paragraph applies if—

(a) a person (“the new supplier”) has entered into a contract with a customer to start supplying electricity to any premises; and

(b) a supply exemption holder is currently supplying electricity to the premises under a contract with that customer.

(2) If one or more of the reasons in sub-paragraph (5) applies, the supply exemption holder may object to the change of supplier by sending notice of the objection and the reason (or reasons) for it to—

(a) the new supplier; and

(b) the customer.

(3) A notice under sub –paragraph (2) must be sent—

(a) as soon as reasonably practicable; and

(b) if the supply exemption holder is notified under paragraph 1(2), or in accordance with a condition in a licence, that the contract has been entered into, not later than the end of the 10th working day after the day on which it receives that notification.

(4) If the supply exemption holder objects to a change of supplier because of the reason in sub-paragraph (5)(b), the notice of this objection must also state when the period mentioned in that sub-paragraph will expire.

(5) The reasons in this sub-paragraph are that—

(a) the customer owes money in excess of one hundred pounds (£100.00) (“the debt”) to the supply exemption holder in respect of electricity supplied to the customer and—

(i) the supply exemption holder has demanded payment of the debt;

(ii) at least 20 working days have passed since the date on which the demand was sent to the customer and any date for payment stated in the demand has also passed; and

(iii) the new supplier and the supply exemption holder have not agreed to an arrangement under which all of the debt will be assigned to the new supplier; or

(b) a contract between the supply exemption holder and the customer includes a term which prevents the customer from terminating that contract within a specified period which has not expired.

(6) The supply exemption holder must comply with any reasonable request from the new supplier to provide any information, or take any other steps, required to enable the new supplier to start supplying electricity to the customer’s premises.

3.—(1) A supply exemption holder must not require a customer to pay any sum in respect of a change of supplier by that household customer.

(2) Sub-paragraph (1) does not prevent a supply exemption holder from requiring payment of any termination fee payable under any contract between it and the customer.

(3) A supply exemption holder must take all reasonable steps to ensure that a final bill in respect of any unpaid charges for electricity supplied to a customer’s premises is sent to that customer within 6 weeks of the date on which the supply exemption holder stops supplying electricity to the premises.