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Electricity Industry Act 2010

Industry participants and consumers - Continuance of supply

106: Cessation and suspension of supply obligation

You could also call this:

“When and why electricity companies can stop or pause your power supply”

A distributor’s duty to supply electricity to a place can end in two ways. First, if the landowner, consumer (if different from the landowner), or the Minister agree in writing to stop the supply. Second, if another company takes over the distributor’s business and assumes this duty.

There are times when a distributor can temporarily stop supplying electricity to a place. This can happen if:

  1. The supply stops because of something the distributor can’t control, like a fire, earthquake, or accident.
  2. The supply needs to stop for safety reasons or to do maintenance or upgrades.
  3. The distributor or retailer is allowed to stop the supply because the customer hasn’t paid their bill.

If the electricity supply stops for any of these reasons, it can only stay off for as long as the problem continues. Once the issue is resolved, the distributor must resume the supply.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM2634513.

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105: Continuance of distributors' supply obligation, or

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Part 4 Industry participants and consumers
Continuance of supply

106Cessation and suspension of supply obligation

  1. A distributor's obligation under section 105(2) comes to an end with respect to a place if—

  2. the landowner and (if the landowner is not the consumer) the consumer, or the Minister, agree in writing to the obligation coming to an end; or
    1. the obligation is assigned to, or assumed by, a successor in business to the distributor.

      1. The obligation in section 105(2) is suspended, in relation to any place, in any of the following circumstances:

      2. the supply of line function services or electricity from an alternative source has ceased as a result of circumstances beyond the control of the distributor (such as fire, earthquake, or inevitable accident):
        1. the supply of line function services or electricity from an alternative source needs to cease for reasons of safety or in order to carry out maintenance or upgrading work:
          1. the distributor, or a retailer, is entitled to cease supply (whether of line function services or electricity) because of a failure to pay money due on account to the distributor or retailer in respect of the place.

            1. If the supply of line function services or electricity from an alternative source ceases in any of the circumstances described in subsection (2), the cessation may continue only for as long as the reason for cessation continues.