Energy Consumers Australia welcomes the decision by the Australian Energy Regulator to extend consumer protections offered by its Statement of Expectations but urges retailers to do more to connect with customers and be proactive in offering relief from the pressures caused by the Covid-19 global pandemic.
“It is common sense that this pandemic is not yet over and just as obviously we can see that many consumers are still suffering economically from its impact,” Energy Consumers Australia Chief Executive Officer Lynne Gallagher said.
The AER has announced a fourth extension of its statement but has strongly signalled the protections it offers “can’t last forever” and are likely to end on June 30.
Under the statement, energy retailers are prevented from disconnecting household customers or triggering other punitive debt recovery actions where those customers have contacted their retailer to discuss their circumstances, been placed on payment plans or other forms of hardship assistance. Small business consumers cannot be disconnected if they are adhering to a payment plan or other payment arrangement.
After June 30 retailers will no longer be obliged to offer small businesses access to payment plans so it is critical that small business owners use this time window to get support.
The AER is urging any consumers who have outstanding debt with their energy retailer or who are encountering financial difficulty with their power bills to contact their retailer before June 30 and ask to be placed in a hardship program or sustainable repayment plan. Both the AER and Energy Consumers Australia offer resources on their websites to assist customers with this process.
“While we strongly urge consumers to seek the relief they are fully entitled to, we say it is incumbent on retailers to not place the onus of action entirely on their customers,” Ms Gallagher said. “Retailers should be doing everything they can at this time to engage with customers, make them aware of their rights and offer them meaningful relief.”
“We know, from our evidence-based work in this area, that consumer trust in the system remains low. As we transform towards a modern energy system in which consumers are more active participants it is vital that we navigate this difficult period with careful compassion. We need a strong energy system in which all may fairly participate and all may have confidence.”
Energy Consumers Australia urges retailers to:
- Accept responsibility for ensuring that anybody with an outstanding debt is placed in a hardship/repayment program.
- Engage directly with customers to ensure they are placed on the cheapest possible plan they are eligible for.
- Engage with customers to ensure they are aware of and receiving any discounts they are entitled to.
- Ensure that customers are aware of available financial planning services and understand how to access them.
- Ensure that consumers promptly and fully benefit from recent falls in the wholesale electricity prices and transmission costs.
“We are already seeing increasing attempts from some retailers to begin recovering debt more aggressively,” Ms Gallagher said.
“Now is not the time for this kind of activity. The pandemic is still in full swing globally, in Australia we are about to see the end of Jobkeeper, unemployment remains high and we know anecdotally and from the available data that people are really suffering.”
“In this context we’d prefer to see an open mind about whether further extensions of the statement might be necessary, given a global outlook that continues to be extremely uncertain.
“But if the statement is to end after this latest extension, the number of people who have an outstanding debt but are not signed up to an ongoing assistance plan should be close to zero by that point. It is the responsibility of retailers, not just consumers themselves, to do everything possible to make that happen.”
About Energy Consumers Australia
Energy Consumers Australia is the independent, national voice for residential and small business energy consumers.
We enable residential and small business energy consumers to have their voices heard by the sector by working with other consumer groups to gather evidence-based research with a national perspective, distil it to key viewpoints, and feed it back to the market to influence outcomes.
Media contact/interview request: Dan Silkstone 0414622762