Lismore residents with flood-damaged homes still received bills from energy companies

Lismore residents whose flood-damaged homes have been uninhabitable for months 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.

When Buckland refused to pay, she said she received automated phone calls, sometimes multiple times a day.

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.

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.

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.

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The bills were withdrawn in mid-July, while Heather was still living in emergency accommodation, but she still has to pay the $30 line rental fee for March.