New customer commitments (proposed)

Please find below our proposed new Customer Commitments. We’d love to know what you think so once you’ve looked through them and also the proposed new Customer Service Standard Payment Scheme, please take our short survey.

Proposed new Customer Commitments

The electricity powering our communities is carried to you by Aurora Energy. As the second largest distribution business in the South Island, we are there for our customers 24/7 and put you at the centre of everything we do.

We’re in your community every day — connecting power to new homes and businesses, helping people connect solar to the network, responding to unplanned outages and emergencies, and working on the poles, lines and substations that carry electricity to you.

Climate change and reducing carbon emissions is changing how we all think about energy. Our network must be able to support the rapidly growing region and the growth of electrification as part of New Zealand’s drive to reduce carbon emissions. Aurora Energy is ensuring our network is ready to enable the energy choices of our communities.

This statement sets out our service commitments to you and our promise to provide you with electricity safely, reliably and efficiently – when and where you need it.

We will provide a friendly, respectful service, and commit to:

• Listen to your needs and be open and honest in our communications
• Plan our work to minimise the customer impact of planned outages
• Give you the information you need, when you need it
• Help you prepare for a power outage. There’s plenty of information on our website, and we recommend getting surge protectors for sensitive equipment
• Restoring your power as soon as possible after an unplanned outage (we can’t put a time limit on this as a number of factors contribute to how long it takes)

In return, we expect that you will:

• Treat our staff and contractors with respect; they are here to help you
• Keep yourself safe by reporting unplanned outages, damaged assets and safety concerns to us 24/7 on 0800 22 00 05, keep clear of fallen power lines and treat them as live at all times
• Register with your retailer (who you pay your bill to) if you are medically dependent on electricity. It is important to us that we can communicate with you directly if needed. Make sure you have an emergency plan and call 111 in an emergency
• Work with us to allow access to your property so we can carry out planned work. You can find more information about property access on our website
• Contact us before you do any work where you or your equipment will come within 4m of overhead power lines, if you’re unsure if there are underground cables, or if you’re excavating near poles or transformers
• Trim trees and vegetation on your property that is growing near power lines. We recommend you use a professional – find out more at www.auroraenergy.co.nz or give us a call
• Some lines and poles on your property are owned by you as the property owner, not Aurora Energy, and you are responsible for inspecting and maintaining assets owned by you. We can help you clarify who owns what
• Please notify us early if you plan to change how you use electricity, so we can work together

You told us you value being there when you need us

We will do this by

• Having a 24/7 call centre and fault response crew to restore your power if there is an unexpected power cut
• Acknowledging general enquiry emails and other messages to our customer experience team within two working days
• Listening to what you want from us through customer surveys and engagement, and making improvements where possible
• Having a clear and efficient complaints process, where we aim to resolve complaints within 20 working days. You can seek advice from Utilities Disputes if you disagree with our resolution
• Investigating and responding to any power quality (voltage) complaints you have within seven working days

You told us you value us keeping you informed 

We will do this by

• Letting your electricity retailer know at least 10 working days before any planned power outages, so they can advise you*
• Keeping our website up to date with information about all high voltage power outages on the network, including when your power should be restored. We will also update our website with information about any planned outages that will run over or under the start and finish times notified to you, and if any planned outages have been cancelled
• Having pricing information that is easy to understand on our website and sharing this with you

*This excludes momentary outages. From time to time, Aurora Energy or one of our contractors will notify you directly for low voltage outages less than 10 working days in advance

You told us you value being future ready

We will do this by

• Ongoing investment in the network to ensure it is in a good state of health to deliver electricity safely and reliably into the future
• Planning and preparing for more demand for electricity due to growth, changing energy needs and the drive to reduce carbon emissions
• Helping you get connected to the electricity network
• Helping you understand your future energy choices and new technologies

You told us you value putting safety first

We will do this by

• Always putting the safety of the public, our customers, staff and contractors first

Please note: Sometimes our network is affected by events beyond our control such as weather events or third party damage, which means we cannot guarantee a 100% reliable electricity supply.

Please refer to our Customer Service Standard Payment Scheme for information about service standard failure payments.