Definitions

Hot water customer: A customer living in an apartment who obtains hot water from a common hot water system. The customer’s hot water usage is registered by a hot water meter.

Common hot water system: A system designed to heat and distribute water to separately metered apartments within a residential complex. Typically, the gas network operator Jemena owns, maintains, and reads the hot water meter for billing purposes and the customer is billed by an authorised energy retailer. Also referred to as ‘bulk hot water services’, or ‘centralised hot water services’.

Hot water embedded network: A common hot water system that is owned, operated, or controlled by a third-party and not by any network operator (gas or electricity). The hot water meter for each individual apartment is managed by a third-party. The hot water seller is not required to be an authorised energy retailer or hold a licence for selling water in NSW. Hot water embedded networks frequently bundle the hot water service together with an unmetered gas supply, used by residents for cooking.