Australian Capital Territory Numbered Acts

ELECTRICITY SUPPLY ACT 1997 (NO. 81 OF 1997) - SECT 16

16. (1) An electricity distributor may require a new customer to contribute towards the costs incurred, or to be incurred, by the distributor in—

        (a)     extending its distribution system; or

        (b)     increasing the capacity of the system;

to enable the distributor to provide customer connection services to the customer.

(2) For the purpose of ensuring that previously incurred costs of the kind referred to in subsection (1) are equally borne by customers in the same vicinity, the electricity distributor may—

        (a)     require further new customers to contribute towards the costs; and

        (b)     apply the whole or any part of the contributions received from those customers to the repayment of existing customers who have previously contributed towards those costs.

(3) An electricity distributor may not require a contribution referred to in paragraph (2) (a) if—

        (a)     the total costs incurred or to be incurred by the distributor (excluding any amounts repaid, or to be repaid, in accordance with paragraph (2) (b)) have already been recovered; or

        (b)     the costs were incurred more than 6 years before the day on which the new customer applied for the provision of customer connection services.