Service standard FAQS | Vector Limited

1	How do I know what sort of customer I am?
2	Why do your service standards differ by area?
3	Is the per annum allowance based on 1 January to 31 December?
4	How does Vector calculate the duration of a fault?
5	How does Vector calculate fault frequency?
6	How does Vector measure power quality?
7	Why don't you have service standards posted here for your North Shore, Waitakere and Rodney customers?

1 How do I know what sort of customer I am?
Residential customers have a connection that is used or intended for occupation mainly as a place of residence. Business customers are commercial customers with a connection capacity of up to 69kVA. Commercial and Industrial customers are commercial customers with a connection capacity of greater than 69kVA. The connection capacity can be found on the energy bill you receive from your electricity retailer.

2 Why do Vector's service standards differ by area?
Vector's service standards recognise that different parts of our network experience different problems and recovery times. For example, bird strike is more prevalent in rural than urban areas. Similarly, restoration times for faults differ depending on factors such as the remoteness of the location and traffic congestion.

3 Is the per annum allowance based on 1 January to 31 December?
No. The per annum allowance is based on a rolling 12 months, which means we look back over the previous 12 months from the date the customer claims we have exceeded our service standards.

4 How does Vector calculate the duration of a fault?
High Voltage (HV) Faults - our system control notes the time an HV fault occurs (or the time at which they are notified of an HV fault) and the time at which the power is restored to all transformers affected by an HV fault. Low Voltage (LV) Faults - our call centre logs the fault call at the time the first customer notifies Vector of a fault and our field crew advises the call centre as soon as the power is restored. The duration of a fault is calculated as the difference between these two times.

5 How does Vector calculate fault frequency?
Vector maintains a database of HV fault incidents, and records all reported LV fault incidents.

6 How does Vector measure power quality?
Vector operates a number of power quality meters distributed around the network, which provide power quality information to substation level. To obtain information on power quality for a particular customer site, we can either estimate the power quality levels by modelling waveform data, or install temporary power quality meters on that site.

7 Why don't you have service standard information posted here for your North Shore, Waitakere and Rodney customers?
We are committed to providing all of its customers with a reliable power supply – no matter where they live. The service standards we have in place for our Auckland, Manukau and Papakura customers form part of our contract with those customers. On the North Shore, Waitakere and Rodney networks, we contract with the electricity retailer and not with customers directly, so customers must contact their electricity retailer for information about service levels. These different arrangements are due to historical differences in network ownership and the differing customer contracts, service levels, pricing and relationship agreements put in place by these owners. Vector purchased UnitedNetworks - the North Shore, Waitakere and Rodney lines company - in 2002.