Phoenix Natural Gas Northern Ireland

Terms And Conditions

Phoenix Supply Ltd Terms and Conditions

(Effective from 1st February 2007)

PHOENIX SUPPLY LIMITED’S STANDARD TERMS AND CONDITIONS

FOR THE AGREEMENT TO SUPPLY GAS TO PREMISES CONSUMING

UP TO 732,000 KILOWATT HOURS PER ANNUM

Introductory notes (this does not form part of the Agreement)

The following are the standard terms and conditions for the supply of gas by Phoenix Supply Ltd whose registered office is at 197 Airport Road West, Belfast, BT3 9ED, for Customers using up to 732,000 kWh of gas a year. These have been drawn up within the legislative and regulatory framework of Northern Ireland.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF GAS SUPPLY

Whereas the Company agrees to sell and the Customer agrees to buy Gas, all subject to and in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement. It is agreed as follows:

1 DEFINITIONS

In this Agreement:

1.1 ‘Agreement’ means these standard terms and conditions for the supply of Gas and the Application Form for Supply to the Supply Address.

1.2 ‘Application Form’ means the application form sent to us offering to purchase a Supply on the terms and conditions herein.

1.3 ‘Authority’ means the Northern Ireland Authority for Energy Regulation.

1.4 ‘Calorific Value’ means the energy content of the Gas supplied, measured in megajoules per cubic metre.

1.5 ‘Company’, ‘we’, ‘us’, ‘our’, means Phoenix Supply Limited acting in its capacity as the supplier of Gas or its successors or assigns.

1.6 ‘Corgi’ means the Council for Registered Gas Installers.

1.7 ‘Customer’, ‘you’, ‘your’, means the person or persons who enter into the Agreement with us for Supply. If more than one person enters into the Agreement, then each person shall be jointly and severally liable to us under the Agreement.

1.8 ‘Department’ means the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment.

1.9 ‘Enabling Legislation’ means the Gas (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 and the energy (Northern Ireland) Order 2003 as each may be amended or re-enacted from time to time and any other enabling legislation relating to the provision of Gas in Northern Ireland.

1.10 ‘Gas’ means natural gas.

1.11 ‘Licence’ means the licence to the Company for the supply of Gas in Northern Ireland.

1.12 ‘Network Emergency’ means circumstances that in the opinion of the Network Operator:

(a) the safety of the System or any part of the System is significantly at risk;

(b) the safe conveyance of Gas through the System is significantly at risk; or

(c) the Gas conveyed by the System is at such a pressure or of such quality as to constitute, when supplied to premises, a danger to life or property, and that opinion is not manifestly unreasonable.

1.13 ‘Network Operator’ means Phoenix Natural Gas Limited acting as operator of the pipeline system which forms the Gas conveyance network used by us, or its successors or assigns.

1.14 ‘Network User’ means a Gas supplier, licensed in accordance with the Enabling Legislation, using the System to supply Gas to final customers.

1.15 ‘Party’ means a party to the Agreement.

1.16 ‘PAYG’ means a Pay-As-You-Go meter which is a meter that has been adapted to supply Gas by requiring prepayment, and may provide for the repayment of debt at a set rate.

1.17 ‘Start Date’ means the date on which we notify you that supply will commence or, if earlier, the date on which you sign the Application Form.

1.18 ‘Supply’ means the supply of Gas.

1.19 ‘Supply Address’ means the property owned or occupied by the Customer to which the Company is supplying Gas.

1.20 ‘System’ means the distribution pipeline system owned by the Network Operator for the conveyance of Gas as authorized in the Network Operator’s licence.

1.21 ‘Upstream Side of the Gas Meter’ means the Gas network up to and including the Gas meter.

1.22 ‘Your Side of the Gas Meter’ means the pipe work from the outlet of the Gas meter into the supply address.

2 SUPPLY AGREEMENT

2.1 Our obligation to supply Gas to the Supply Address is conditional upon:

(a) us having the requisite authorization under the Enabling Legislation;

(b) us agreeing to your request set out in the Application Form; and

2.2 Prior to the Start Date, we may require you to:

(a) pay any previous outstanding charges owed by you to us;

(b) provide us with a meter reading;

(d) pay a connection charge where applicable; and/or

(e) provide a reasonable deposit by way of security for future payments.

2.3 With effect from the Start Date we shall sell and deliver and you shall buy Gas for use at the Supply Address.

2.4 If we already supply you with Gas at the Supply Address this Agreement replaces any previous agreement for Supply with us.

2.4 You may cancel this Agreement:

(a) within 7 working days of entering into the Agreement where the Supply Address is connected to the System; or

(b) where the Supply Address is not connected to the System, within 7 working days of entering into the Agreement or any time up to 7 working days prior to the Supply Address being connected to the System, whichever is the later.

2.5 Ownership, risk and title to the Gas supplied pursuant to this Agreement passes to you at the outlet of the Gas meter.

2.6 We can refuse to supply you under the Agreement or require you to stop using your Supply where:

(a) an agreement to supply the Supply Address already exists;

(b) your existing Network User, where applicable, prevents us from supplying you;

(d) you are in breach of any clause of the Agreement;

(e) we have reason to believe that Supply may result in danger to life and / or property;

(f) we are required by the Authority, Network Operator or under any Enabling Legislation to do so;

(g) where metering arrangements and / or equipment provided are unacceptable to us;

(h) you have refused to accept our payment terms which may include a PAYG option or a security deposit; or

(i) you have not provided, to our satisfaction, proof of your identity.

3 WARRANTIES

3.1 You warrant that you are the owner or occupier of the Supply Address and, inter alia, have the power and authority to permit, grant and provide the matters referred to or contemplated by the Agreement including, but not limited to, securing any required consents, planning permissions, wayleaves or building warrants.

4 PRICE AND PAYMENT

4.1 You shall pay for the Gas supplied and our other charges in connection with this Supply to you at the price calculated in accordance with our relevant published tariff. We may change our published tariffs from time to time. We will provide details of our current tariff to you upon request.

4.2 We shall render periodic accounts and/or statements, which shall identify the charges payable. Our charges must be paid on demand.

4.3 The volume of Gas supplied (if any) by us shall be measured in cubic metres but shall be charged for in units of kilowatt hours. The measurement shall be converted to kilowatt hours (kWh) by the application of our standard method of calculation using the monthly average of the daily average Calorific Value of the Gas supplied and (if applicable) a correction factor for temperature and pressure. The register of the meter shall be prima facie evidence of the amount of Gas supplied. You must ensure that the meter is easily accessible to us and/or our agents if a meter read is required by us.

4.4 If we do not have an actual meter reading, or if the meter is found to be recording inaccurately, we shall base your bill on a reasonable estimate of the amount of Gas you may have used. Our estimate of your Gas charges shall take into consideration all relevant information available to us and, if necessary, we shall adjust the bill at the following meter reading.

4.5 In relation to the Gas supplied pursuant to this Agreement you must pay Value Added Tax (and any other applicable tax or duties imposed upon us in relation to such Supply).

4.6 Our prices may include an additional charge for other metering equipment at the Supply Address. This equipment shall remain the property of the Network Operator, unless you have purchased it and obtained written consent for such purchase from the Network Operator.

4.7 We may also charge you our reasonable costs arising out of or in relation to:

(a) disconnecting or reconnecting your Supply;

(b) any breach by you of your obligations under this Agreement including, but not limited to, any action or costs (including our legal costs) incurred by us in recovering unpaid charges; and

4.8 If you fail to pay any amount when due we may:

(a) charge interest on any overdue payments, at the rate of 3% per year above Northern Bank Limited’s base lending rate in force from time to time. Interest shall be calculated from the date on which the overdue payment became payable, to the date on which it is paid in full. We may also add reasonable charges to your next invoice or statement to re.ect our costs in trying to recover any overdue payments;

(b) require you to change the method by which you pay for your Gas;

(d) require that a PAYG meter is installed; and/or

(e) give you notice of our intention to terminate this Agreement in accordance with Clause 7.4 (a)(i) and to arrange to disconnect your Supply.

4.9 Any security deposit paid by you shall be repaid upon request following 12 months of payment, which in our reasonable opinion is satisfactory. You agree that if the Agreement has terminated we shall be entitled to deduct from the security deposit any money still owed to us and refund the balance to you.

4.10 If we are required to install PAYG, you may be required to pay reasonable charges for installation. If you use a PAYG, it is your responsibility to ensure that sufficient credit is purchased, any payment cards or tokens are safe and free from damage and you shall take all reasonable steps to keep all other PAYG equipment clean, safe and free from damage. If you lose or damage PAYG equipment, you shall pay our reasonable costs for visiting or sending an agent to visit your property and for any work undertaken in relation to the PAYG equipment or the replacement of cards or tokens.

4.10 If you are repaying a debt to us via PAYG at a set rate and do not make payments as agreed, we may request immediate payment of the total outstanding amount. In the event that you request a site visit to inspect your PAYG we shall be entitled to make a reasonable charge. If you have PAYG installed then you shall allow us or any other person nominated by us to calibrate, recalibrate or remove the PAYG equipment at our discretion.

4.12 You agree to pay any outstanding charges transferred or assigned to us by your previous Network User together with any administration charge as notified by us to you.

5 CEASING OCCUPANCY OF THE SUPPLY ADDRESS

5.1 If you are ceasing occupancy of the Supply Address you may terminate this Agreement by providing us with at least 48 hours notice.

5.2 If you fail to provide us with at least 48 hours notice, or you have not provided us with the meter reading on the day you ceased to occupy the Supply Address, you shall be liable for all charges relating to the supply of Gas at the Supply address until the first to occur of the following:

(a) the date from which the next occupier of the Supply Address requires a Gas supply;

(b) the date of the next meter reading obtained by us; or

(c) the 28th day after you notify us that you have ceased to occupy the Supply Address in accordance with your termination rights under this Agreement.

6 CONNECTION

6.1 Any quotation we give you for connection to the System (which may include an allowance) is valid only for 28 days from issue and applies only to the Supply Address.

6.2 Where the Supply Address is not connected to the System we will endeavour to arrange connection to the System within 15 working days from receipt of the relevant Application Form. If it is not possible to connect the Supply Address within 15 working days we will notify you of the reason.

6.3 If you do not use any Gas during the first 12 months after the Supply Address has been connected to a Supply, we will require you to pay the full installation costs, including any allowance given in our original quotation. You shall pay the full amount on the bill we send you within 7 days of its issue. Any late payment will be charged interest in accordance with Clause 4.8(a).

6.4 If we install or require access to equipment which is below the ground, we shall arrange reinstatement in order to maintain access to your property.

6.5 The constituents of Gas supplied under the terms of this Agreement shall be in accordance with the Enabling Legislation. It shall be your responsibility to assess and review the suitability of Gas in relation to specific uses and processes.

7 TERMINATION AND SUSPENSION

7.1 This Agreement shall continue in force until otherwise terminated in accordance with the provisions of this Clause 7.

7.2 Supply to the Supply Address shall be terminated:

(a) on the 28th day after you have confirmed in writing that you wish the Agreement to terminate, provided that on the date on which the notice is due to take effect, either another Network User has commenced to supply Gas to the Supply Address or the Supply Address has been disconnected because you no longer require supply; and

(b) on the date you no longer own or occupy the Supply Address, provided that you have given us at least 2 working days written notice of that date. If you do not provide us with at least 2 working days notice then Supply to the Supply Address by us shall not terminate until the first to occur of:

(i) the second working day after you have given us written notice that you no longer own or occupy the Supply Address;

(ii) the next day on which the meter(s) at the Supply Address is due to be read; and

(iii) the date on which Gas is supplied to the Supply Address by either us or another supplier under a supply contract with a person other than yourself.

7.3 Failure by you to provide us with the requisite notice under Clause 7.2 shall render your notice ineffective and you shall remain liable for all charges arising under the Agreement until the date of termination.

7.4 (a) We may by written notice to you immediately terminate the Agreement (in whole or in part) and/or disconnect your Supply if:

(i) you fail to pay any amount due to us by the date upon which such amount was due;

(ii) we require PAYG to be installed and this has not been done except in circumstances where the reason for such failure to install PAYG rests with us;

(iii) you are due to pay us a security deposit and we have not received it;

(iv) we are entitled to refuse to Supply you under this Agreement pursuant to Condition 2.7; or

(v) we give you 28 days prior notice of our intention to so terminate the Agreement.

(b) In the event that we terminate the Agreement pursuant to Clause 7.4(a) we shall be entitled to recover our reasonable charges incurred in discontinuing the Supply and our debt recovery costs.

7.5 This Agreement may terminate with immediate effect if you are in breach of any Clause of this Agreement or if the licence is revoked or our duty to supply is restricted.

7.6 The expiry or termination of the Agreement shall not affect the accrued rights of either Party prior to such expiry or termination.

7.7 During the winter period (October to March), we shall not cut off the Gas supply to the Supply Address if you are of pensionable age either living alone or with others all of whom are of pensionable age or under 18. This does not apply to those Customers who can pay their bills and simply have not done so.

8 SAFETY

8.1 Escape of Gas

Where you suspect that there is any escape of Gas (or any equipment is damaged which may result in an escape of Gas) you shall immediately notify the Network Operator’s emergency service on telephone number 0800 002 001, or such other number as is notified to you.

8.2 Misuse of Gas

You shall at all times use Gas in a proper, sensible and safe way and you shall not do anything which interferes with the Supply to you or to any other person.

8.3 Abuse of Equipment

You shall not in any way tamper with, misuse or damage the meter, PAYG or any other pipes or apparatus or equipment installed by the Network Operator or us. If you do so you shall be responsible for the costs incurred by us or the Network Operator repairing or replacing it or them.

8.4 Maintenance of Equipment

You are responsible for any pipes, pipe work and appliances on Your Side of the Gas Meter and shall ensure that all such equipment is adequately maintained. You shall ensure that any person you employ to carry out any work in relation to Your Side of the Gas Meter is CORGI qualified and registered or a member of a body approved to carry out such work. We give no warranty, express or implied, as to the adequacy, safety or other characteristics of any gas pipes and other apparatus, appliances or devices used or to be used in connection with the Supply and use of Gas on Your Side of the Gas Meter.

9 EMERGENCIES

9.1 The Parties acknowledge that the Company may amongst others be required, by the Department, the Authority or the Network Operator to disconnect or cease Supply at the Supply Address or take such other action as required for any reason of System security or to comply with any requirement of applicable law or regulation and the Parties agree that the Company shall not have any liability in respect of any loss or damage arising as a result. Supply may be disconnected by us or any other duly empowered person, or by our or their duly authorised officers or agents where permitted or required by law or any relevant licence, code or agreement. We may make a charge to reconnect your Supply.

9.2 Should we be required to disconnect, interrupt or discontinue Supply to the Supply Address you shall refrain from using Gas immediately upon being notified by us that you should do so.

9.2 You shall comply with all requests by us or the Network Operator for the purpose of:

(a) averting or reducing danger to life or property; or

(b) securing the safe transportation of Gas through the System and for maintaining the safety of the System itself.

10 “FORCE MAJEURE”

10.1 In this Clause “Force Majeure” means any event or circumstance beyond the control of the Party concerned and which, notwithstanding the exercise by it of reasonable diligence and foresight, that Party was or would have been unable to prevent or overcome. Without limitation to the generality of this Clause 10.1, it is acknowledged that any event or circumstance that qualifies as Force Majeure under a Party’s connection or transportation contract with the Network Operator (or another Network Operator) shall be deemed to be Force Majeure hereunder.

10.2 If either Party is by reason of Force Majeure rendered unable wholly or in part to carry out any of its obligations under the Agreement, then the Party affected shall be released from its obligations hereunder to the extent to which they are affected by Force Majeure and for the period during which those circumstances exist, provided that:

(a) the Party seeking relief under this Clause 10.2 shall advise the other Party as soon as practicable by notice in writing of the Force Majeure together with its estimate of the likely effect of the Force Majeure on its ability to perform its obligations and of the likely period of such Force Majeure having regard to the matters referred to in Clause 10.2(b);

(b) the Party affected shall use all reasonable endeavours to terminate the circumstance of Force Majeure if and to the extent reasonably practicable and with all reasonable speed and at reasonable cost; but nothing in this proviso shall limit the absolute discretion of the Company in relation to the settlement of any labour dispute constituting circumstances of Force Majeure; and

(c) the Parties acknowledge that Force Majeure shall not release any Party from any obligation to pay amounts due under the Agreement.

11 LIABILITY

11.1 Each Party agrees and acknowledges that:

(a) subject to clause 11.2, neither Party shall be liable to the other Party for loss arising from any breach of the Agreement, other than for loss directly resulting from such breach and which, at the date of the Agreement was entered into, was reasonably foreseeable as likely to occur in the ordinary course of events as a result of such breach in respect of physical damage to the property of either Party; and

(b) subject to clause 11.1 (a), we shall not be liable to you for any breach of the Agreement or liable to you in contract, tort (including negligence and breach of statutory duty) statute or otherwise for any indirect, consequential, economic or financial loss, or loss of business opportunity or goodwill or any loss arising from your liability to any third party (except as provided by 11.3 (a)).

11.2 The amount or amounts for which one Party may be liable to the other pursuant to clause 11.1(a) in respect of any event or circumstance or series of events constituting or resulting in a breach of a provision of the Agreement shall not exceed £1,000.

11.3 Nothing in this Agreement:

(a) excludes or limits a party’s liability to the other for death or personal injury resulting from that party’s negligence; or

(b) affects your legal rights as a consumer.

12 ACCESS TO THE SUPPLY ADDRESS

12.1 You shall allow us, the Network Operator or any duly empowered person, or our or their duly authorised of.cers or agents, safe access to the Supply Address where permitted or required by law or any relevant licence, code or agreement (including this Agreement).

12.2 You shall allow us, the Network Operator or any duly empowered person, or our or their duly authorised officers or agents safe access to the Supply Address, without charge, to enable us to operate the Agreement in accordance with its terms and conditions, including access for the following purposes:

(a) when your property is being connected, for the installation of equipment, meter, pipes and other apparatus which we or the Network Operator considers necessary for you to be connected to a Gas supply;

(b) at any reasonable time, for the purposes of reading, inspecting, installing, operating, maintaining, repairing, replacing, testing, removing or carrying out any other services in relation to equipment which has been installed or is to be installed for the purpose of supplying Gas to the Supply Address;

(c) at any time, to disconnect the Gas supply for the purpose of averting imminent danger to persons or property or securing the safety of the network or the safe conveyance of Gas thereby, or where otherwise entitled to disconnect pursuant to the Agreement;

(d) to undertake maintenance and emergency works for the purpose of meeting operational or legal requirements.

13 ASSIGNMENT

13.1 We shall be entitled to assign, transfer, charge or otherwise encumber all or part of our rights and obligations under the Agreement and shall be able to transfer our rights and obligations under the Agreement to a company who is entitled to supply Gas to the Supply Address. You may not assign, transfer, charge or otherwise encumber all or part of your rights under the Agreement without our prior written consent.

14 NOTICES

14.1 Any notices we are required or wish to give you under the Agreement shall be accepted by you as properly given if delivered by hand or sent by prepaid first class post to your Supply Address or such other address as you may notify us should be used. Any notices you are required or wish to give to us under the Agreement shall be accepted by us as properly given if delivered or sent to our registered of.ce marked on this Agreement or such other address as we may notify you should be used.

14.2 Any notice served in accordance with clause 14.1 above shall be deemed to have been received:

(a) if delivered by hand, at the time of delivery; or

(b) if delivered by prepaid .rst class post, on the second working day following the day of posting.

15 WAIVER

15.1 No waiver of any default or delay in enforcing rights under the Agreement by us or by you shall be construed as a waiver of any rights or remedies.

16 CHANGES TO THIS AGREEMENT

16.1 We may change the terms and conditions of this Agreement by giving you 21 days’ notice and updated copies of this Agreement shall be provided to you upon request. If you object to the change(s) you must send written notification to us within the 21 days’ notice period. If you so notify us of an objection the change will not be effected and this Agreement will terminate 28 days after the receipt of your objection. In the event that we do not receive any notice of your objection within the 21 days’ notice period, the change(s) shall be effective without any further notice or confirmation.

17 USE OF INFORMATION

17.1 Information you provide or that we hold about you may be used by us, our other group companies or our employees and / or agents:

(a) to identify you when you make enquiries or to contact you through mail, telephone or other electronic means;

(b) to help administer any accounts, services and products provided by our group of companies now or in the future;

(d) to help us, or other companies in our group of companies, prevent and detect crime, fraud or loss; and

(e) to inform you about services and products which may be of interest to you (only if you have consented to us doing so).

17.2 We may monitor or record telephone calls for security purposes or to monitor or improve our customer standards of service.

17.3 We may obtain searches about you from credit reference agencies. We and/or that credit reference agency may retain a record of any credit checks and details of your account and such details may be passed to other organisations, including debt collection agencies, to allow us and/or them to access further applications by you or for our or their debt tracing, debt collection and fraud prevention purposes. This includes tracing those who have moved and are in default.

17.4 Where applicable, you agree that we can obtain the information from your previous supplier that will enable us to take over your Supply.

17.5 Where applicable and where we are advised that you owe any debt to your previous supplier(s) you permit us to contact your previous supplier(s) for details of the debt you owe. Where we are advised that another gas supplier has received a request to supply gas to the gas Supply Address, we may provide details of any debt you owe us to that gas supplier.

17.6 If you wish to obtain a copy of the data held about you on our systems please write to our Data Protection Officer at 197 Airport Road West, Belfast, BT3 9ED. We will require payment of a fee prior to processing your request.

18 COMPLAINTS

18.1 If you are dissatisfied with any aspect of our service please write to the Customer Services Director, Phoenix Supply Ltd, 197 Airport Road West, Belfast, BT3 9ED. Our aim is to resolve complaints to the satisfaction of our customers. However, if having followed our complaints procedures, you remain dissatisfied you may wish to contact the Consumer Council on 0845 601 6022 or e-mail complaints@consumercouncil.org.uk

19 ILLEGALITY

19.1 If at any time any provision of this Agreement shall be found by any court or administrative body of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, such invalidity, illegality or unenforceability shall not affect the other provisions of this Agreement which shall remain in full force and effect.

19.2 If any provision of this Agreement is so found to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable but would be valid, legal or enforceable if some part of the provision were deleted, the provision in question shall apply with such modifications as may be necessary to make it valid, legal or enforceable.

20 THIRD PARTY RIGHTS

20.1 The parties do not intend that any term of this Agreement shall be enforceable solely by virtue of the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 by any person who is not a Party to this Agreement.

21 CONDITIONS APPLICABLE TO BUSINESS CUSTOMERS

21.1 This Clause 21 shall only apply to business customers consuming more than 32,000 kilowatt hours per annum.

21.2 Gas will normally be supplied to the meter at a pressure of 21 mbar, but at your request and subject to availability, Gas may be supplied at an elevated pressure. On completion of the supply installation, we will notify you of the correction factor we will apply to the volume of Gas recorded by the meter for billing purposes. We do not guarantee the continued availability of elevated pressure in excess of the standard 21 mbar. The facility of a supply of Gas at elevated pressure may be withdrawn by us on providing a minimum of 12 months notice to you.

22 LAW OF NORTHERN IRELAND

22.1 The Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the law of Northern Ireland.

Phoenix Supply Ltd 01.02.07