Guaranteed Service Levels
We're committed to making sure the safe and efficient delivery of electricity to your home or business meets an agreed set of industry standards.
It's our promise to eligible customers1 that we'll meet the Guaranteed Service Levels (GSLs) set out in the Electricity Distribution Network Code effective 1 July 2020.
Identification of GSLs for our small customers is generally automated, however small customers can also make a manual claim if they believe they're entitled to a GSL by completing our GSL claim form within 3 months of the event.
Our guaranteed service levels
We guarantee to meet the following Network service levels, or you'll receive a GSL payment by cheque. This payment will be made to the electricity account holder to acknowledge the inconvenience experienced.
If we make an appointment with you directly or via your retailer to come to your premises to:
- Read, test, maintain or inspect a meter, or
- inspect, alter or add to your electrical installation,
we'll nominate a time (no longer than a day) within which we'll turn up. If we don't come and don't call you to reschedule the day before the appointment, we’ll pay you $62.
Once we've received all necessary paperwork and approvals from you or your retailer, electricity will be connected to your premises, where supply is available, by the agreed date.
If we need to construct new powerlines or infrastructure in order to connect your electricity, we'll work with you to set a date for the connection to be completed.
Should we not connect within the agreed time frame, we’ll pay you $62 for each day we're late.
If you need to reconnect your electricity supply and you've completed all necessary paperwork, reconnection will take place as follows (unless otherwise agreed with you):
- Customers connected through a Central Business District (CBD) or urban feeder:
- We guarantee to reconnect within the same business day if you contact your retailer by midday, or the next business day if you contact your retailer after midday (or on a non-business day).
- Customers connected through a short rural feeder:
- We guarantee to reconnect you on the next business day.
- Customers connected to a long rural or isolated feeder:
- We guarantee to reconnect you within 10 business days.
Should we not reconnect within the agreed time frame, we’ll pay you $62 for each day we’re late.
If we wrongfully disconnect your electricity supply, we'll pay you $155.
If we need to interrupt your electricity supply to carry out maintenance on our network, we'll provide at least 4 business days' notice.
We'll advise you of the expected start and finish times of the planned outage by one of the following:
- letterbox drop, letter or flyer
- newspaper or radio advertisements
- phone
- fax
If we don't meet this guarantee, we'll pay residential customers $31 and eligible business customers $771.
For urgent work requiring action without delay - where failure to do so could result in an emergency or create a risk to the community or our staff - we'll use our best endeavours to advise you of the power outage.
Interruption duration
If you're connected to:
- A CBD feeder and experience an interruption that lasts longer than 8 hours, or
- An urban or short rural feeder and experience an interruption that lasts longer than 18 hours, or
- A long rural or isolated feeder and experience an interruption that lasts longer than 24 hours,
we'll pay you $124.
Interruption frequency
We understand how much you depend on electricity and try hard to minimise the number of interruptions that affect you.
In any financial year, if you're connected to
- A CBD feeder and experience 10 or more eligible interruptions to your electricity supply
- An urban feeder and experience 13 or more eligible interruptions to your electricity supply
- A short rural, long rural or isolated feeder and experience 21 or more eligible interruptions to your electricity supply
we'll pay you $124.
Interruptions exempt from reliability service guarantees include:
- Planned interruptions
- Interruptions of one minute or less in duration
- Load shedding due to a shortfall in generation
- A direction from the Australian Energy Market Operator
- Automatic shedding of load following the occurrence of a power system under-frequency condition
- Directions by police officers exercising powers in relation to public safety
- Under-frequency load shedding
- A failure in the shared transmission grid
- Interruptions requested/initiated by small customers
- Interruptions caused by a small customer's electrical installation or failure of that electrical installation
- Eligible natural disasters.
Our service order timeframes
Preconditions for completions
Standard service orders can vary in their preconditions; for example, a special read only requires a service order to be submitted by your electricity retailer, whereas a new connection has additional steps including a connection agreement with us and an Electrical Work Request from your electrician.
Once the necessary preconditions for your service have been satisfied and all documentation is received, we will schedule the work to be completed. The following timeframes for completion apply for services in our distribution area:
| Service order type | Feeder type that supplies the premises | Time required for completion |
|---|---|---|
| New connection | CBD / Urban | 5 business days |
| New connection | Short rural / Long rural | 10 business days |
| New connection | Isolated | 30 business days |
| Reconnection | CBD / Urban | If a valid service order request is received by 1.00pm on a business day, then on the same day. Otherwise the next business day. |
| Reconnection | Short rural | The next business day |
| Reconnection | Long rural / Isolated | 10 business days |
| Disconnection | CBD / Urban / Short rural | 5 business days |
| Disconnection | Long rural / Isolated | 10 business days |
| Special read | CBD / Urban / Short rural | 4 business days |
| Special read | Long rural | 5 business days |
| Special read | Isolated | As agreed between us and your electricity retailer |
| Additions & alterations | CBD / Urban | 5 business days |
| Additions & alterations | Short rural / Long rural | 10 business days |
| Additions & alterations | Isolated | 30 business days |
| Meter reconfiguration | CBD / Urban | 20 business days |
| Meter reconfiguration | Short rural / Long rural / Isolated | As agreed between us and your electricity retailer |
| Meter investigation | CBD / Urban / Short rural / Long rural | 15 business days |
| Meter investigation | Isolated | 30 business days |
| Supply abolishment | CBD / Urban | 20 business days |
| Supply abolishment | Short rural / Long rural / Isolated | As agreed between us and your electricity retailer |
| Miscellaneous services | All | Depends on the work requested and subject to commercial negotiation between us and your electricity retailer |
Service order timeframe quarterly reports
Quarterly service order timeframe reports provide an overview of the volume of service orders completed on time in each quarter. The Queensland Competition Authority (QCA) monitors our performance to ensure that service orders are completed on time, at least 95% of the time, in any given quarter.
Historical service order timeframe quarterly reports
GSL scheme quarterly reports
We're required to report payments made to customers for failing to meet GSLs to the Queensland Competition Authority (QCA). These reports are listed in the table below. For earlier periods please refer to the QCA’s website.
Historical GSL scheme quarterly reports
Footnote
- GSLs apply to small customers who are the named electricity account holder for a premises or the occupier of the premises if there's a card-operated meter. Customers are able to claim $496 in total across all GSL types excluding wrongful disconnections, per electricity account in any one financial year. Payments for wrongful disconnections are not subject to a cap.