1. Pursuant to section 38(3)(b) of the Electricity Industry Act 2010, and having complied with section 39 of that Act, the Electricity Authority gives notice of making the Electricity Industry Participation Code Amendment (Switch Saving Protection) 2014 (“amendment”).
2. The amendment comes into force on 12 January 2015.
3. The amendment allows a trader that buys electricity from the clearing manager to elect to be protected from another trader’s efforts to retain a customer that has agreed to switch its electricity supply to the protected trader. However, the protected trader is also prohibited from trying to retain a customer that has agreed to switch away from the protected trader.

4. A trader is only prevented from initiating contact with the customer to retain them. A trader is not prevented from making a counter-offer or offering an enticement to a customer who has invited the trader to attempt to persuade the customer to terminate its arrangement with the trader to which it has switched.

5. The protection exists from when the registry notifies the switch until the switch is completed.
6. A copy of the amendment and the Electricity Industry Participation Code 2010 (“Code”) are available on the Electricity Authority’s website at
            www.ea.govt.nz/code-and-compliance/the-code/
7. A copy of the amendment and the Code may also be inspected free of charge or purchased from the Electricity Authority, Level 7, ASB Bank Tower, 2 Hunter Street, Wellington.

Dated at Wellington this 21st day of October 2014.

Dr THOMAS BRENT LAYTON, Chairperson, Electricity Authority.