Lismore residents whose flood-damaged homes have been uninhabitable for months have received bills for hundreds of dollars from energy providers, based on estimated power usage.
Lismore resident Ella Buckland only moved back home with her young daughter last week following flooding in February, and still does not have a meter, but in that time Origin Energy has sent her two invoices for estimated electricity charges.
Retailers can use estimated reads as a last resort, when the bill cannot be based on an actual reading or metering data is not provided.
In Buckland’s second bill, for $460, her usage was cited as 9.29% higher than in the past year. She says the estimate would have included use for hot water despite witnessing her hot water system float away and floods “ripping out” her plumbing.
When Buckland refused to pay, she said she received automated phone calls, sometimes multiple times a day.
“It’s the chaos of it,” Buckland said. “It’s been going on months.
“They ring me, put me on hold, I don’t have time for this shit … it just goes on and on. Nobody has the energy to fight.”
Origin has now said it is rectifying Buckland’s situation and she will receive some compensation.
Another resident who wished to remain anonymous was issued a $230 estimated read bill, of which $140 was prepaid. The billed period included just a week when the house was occupied, prior to her family’s evacuation.
After complaining, she received $50 in credit but still had to pay the remainder of the bill, and was told by customer service she could always “go find someone else”.
On 25 July, the woman received another bill for an “actual” meter read of $336. Her house still does not have walls.
“I haven’t had the energy to fight,” she said. “It’s a full-time job between chasing down insurance and calling services.”
Since December 2017 energy retailers, instead of suppliers, have been responsible for meters at customer properties – including responding to any problems or faults.
Essential Energy is responsible for the electricity network in the Lismore region. It disconnects the power during floods, and advises retailers of all sites that are confirmed to be off supply due to damage. A spokesperson told Guardian Australia the network had agreed with retailers to “refund any amount charged to northern rivers’ flood-affected customers where there hasn’t been any power supply available since the floods”.
“If a flood-impacted customer receives an electricity bill from their retailer when electricity was not available for a period of time, they should contact their energy retailer to advise,” they said. “The respective retailer will work with Essential Energy regarding any refund – this will be credited through a customer’s electricity bill.”
The spokesperson said in cases where an electricity meter has been destroyed, energy regulations allow for suppliers to make an estimate of the amount of power used based on consumption in the same billing period in previous years.
“Essential Energy has confirmed with retailers that if a northern rivers flood-impacted customer is concerned their estimated read is too high, we will review as a priority,” a spokesperson said.
In January 2021, three AGL retailers were issued penalties totalling $160,000 for alleged breaches of the national electricity rules after the regulator took action for delays in rectifying faulty meters, leading to the unnecessary use of estimated reads.
On 29 June, Origin Energy was fined a record $17m after the regulator took action. Origin admitted automated processes had resulted in the company breaching its hardship obligations on more than 100,000 occasions, affecting more than 90,000 customers across four states in an almost four-year period between January 2018 and October 2021.
The Australian Energy Regulator chair, Clare Savage, said retailers needed to be cautious in applying automated processes.
“Being unable to afford a necessity like electricity is distressing enough,” she said. “This message is even more important in the current market conditions where customers are facing significant cost of living pressures.”
Lismore woman Heather, who did not want to use her surname, said she and her partner received a $270 bill from AGL for the month of March. Their power was not reconnected following the floods until the end of April.
“I rang them up and they said ‘we just estimated your usage’,” she said. “I said ‘but we used nothing’.”
She said AGL told her once the meters were working they could fix the bills, but she should pay the fee in the meantime.
The bills were withdrawn in mid-July, while Heather was still living in emergency accommodation, but she still has to pay the $30 line rental fee for March.
“By this point we just couldn’t be bothered,” she said. “We’re dealing with all this trauma and you think it’s OK to send us all these bills?
“It’s not acceptable to say we estimated your usage based on March 2021. That would be great normally, but March 2022 was a very different to March 2021.”
Origin said the company was providing a “range of support” to households and small businesses impacted by floods, including bill relief.
“There are processes in place to prevent customers from receiving bills based on estimated reads when we become aware their property or meter has been damaged, but in the case of Ms Buckland, we made a mistake and we are sorry,” a spokesperson said.
“We should have cancelled her account when she called in April … we are now fixing this and providing her some compensation.
“If any local Lismore resident has received an estimated bill for a period where their property was unliveable, then please give your energy retailer a call.”
An AGL spokesperson said it had “worked closely” with distribution networks and customers through “unprecedented flooding”.
“We encourage customers who have been off supply for an extended time due to damage to contact us to arrange a closure of their account from the date they lost supply.
“If customers have received an estimated bill, we encourage them to get in touch with us … to correct their bill and make sure the energy usage is more accurate.”
