Utilities (Gas & Electricity)

Your Gas Account:

In any Strata Plan the gas and hot water services cost for the building itself are paid by the Owners Corporation. This applies to any common area within the building.

The individual Units or Lots are responsible for their own Gas and Hot Water consumption.

This means that residents are free to choose their supplier of choice. These accounts will be billed to each individual unit.

The gas meters will normally be in the kitchen of each unit. Some buildings will have these located in the common area on each floor. This may mean you may need to contact your Building Manager to arrange access if you need to take a reading of your meter.

We do recommend this is done whenever you move in or out the building.

It is also advisable to routinely check your meter reading against your account.

Over the next few years all energy retailers will be moving buildings across to Smart Meters. Suppliers are also phasing out meter readers attending the building. The system will go completely online. Our experience has been that is resulting is some billing discrepancies and should be monitored regularly.

Your Hot Water Account:

Larger Strata buildings will have a central hot water system. The hot water is circulated around the building and each unit draws down on it as required. The Owners Corporation maintain this system for the building. However, inside the unit the maintenance of this system is the responsibility of each owner.

Located in your unit will be a separate hot water meter. This is normally located in the laundry, usually under the tub.

The consumption of hot water is billed as a separate charge on your Gas Account. So, in many plans even though you may not be using gas for cooking or heating, you will need to have a gas account.

The meters and billing network are not owned or maintained by Strata; they are independently owned. Therefore, any billing or maintenance issues will need to be directed to your chosen retailer.

The NSW Government offers a free comparison service for Energy suppliers, the link is below:

https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/transaction/compare-energy-plans-with-energy-made-easy

Below we have also listed the Service NSW reference page to contacting the Energy Ombudsman, in the event you may have a dispute with an Energy retailer you need some assistance with.

https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/referral/make-a-complaint-about-your-energy-or-water-provider

Please don’t hesitate to contact our office if you need assistance.

NSBM – 1300 724 701