Gas (Switching Arrangement) Rules 2008
The Gas (Switching Arrangements) Rules 2008 (‘Switching Rules’) were gazetted by the Minister of Energy on 14 February 2008.
A copy of the rules is available by clicking on the relevant link below:
Gas (Switching Arrangements) Rules 2008 (PDF 597 KB) in effect up to 10 February 2011
Gas (Switching Arrangements) Rules 2008 (PDF 460 KB) in effect from 10 February 2011
The purpose of the Switching Rules is to establish a set of gas switching and registry arrangements that will enable consumers to choose, and alternate, efficiently and satisfactorily between competing retailers. The rules provide for:
- The establishment of a central registry of gas customers;
- The management of information held by the registry;
- The appointment of a registry operator; and
- A process for switching customers between retailers.
Parts 1, 2 and 4 of the Switching Rules (rules 1 to 50 and 88 to 91) came into effect on 13 March 2008. Those rules provide for the appointment of the registry operator and establishment of the registry. Part 3 (rules 51 to 87) deals with the processes for initiating and processing switches between retailers. Part 3 came into effect on the “go-live date” of 1 March 2009, being the date on which Gas Industry Co confirmed that the registry became fully operational under the Switching Rules.
Minor amendments to the Switching Rules
On 27 October 2010, Gas Industry Co made a recommendation to the Minister of Energy and Resources in respect of minor amendments to the Switching Rules. The amendments were gazetted on 13 January 2011 and came into force 28 days later. The amendments to the Rules fall into four categories:
- Altering the scope of some of the Rules to align with industry best practice;
- clarifying the scope of some of the Rules;
- promoting ease of understanding and interpretation; and
- resolving minor drafting and wording issues.
The original and amended versions of the Switching Rules can be viewed below in marked-up and in clean format:
Gas (Switching Arrangements) Rules 2008 (clean version) - in effect up to 10 February 2011
Gas (Switching Arrangements) Rules 2008 (track-changes version) - in effect from 10 February 2011
Gas (Switching Arrangements) Rules 2008 (clean version) - in effect from 10 February 2011
Registry and Registry Operator
The Gas Registry website can be found at https://www.gasregistry.co.nz
The Rules require Gas Industry Co to appoint a registry operator. The gas registry is owned and operated by Jade Software Corporation (NZ) Limited and the service provider agreement can be viewed here.