eNEWS

The Energy and Water Ombudsman is an independent, impartial body that receives, investigates and resolves complaints about electricity, gas and water providers.

Our services are free and can be accessed by residential and small business consumers in Western Australia.

In this issue

• Annual Report 2022-23
• Regional visit to Esperance
• Case Study
• Find us on Facebook

Annual Report 2022-23

The Energy and Water Ombudsman has published its Annual Report for 2022-23. The report outlines the work of the Energy and Water Ombudsman for the year.

In 2022-23, there were 1,429 complaints, a 24% decrease on the previous year. Most complaints involved concerns about billing (46%), the supply of electricity, gas and water services (15%), customer service (12%) and credit (9%).

Regional visit to Esperance

The Energy and Water Ombudsman will be visiting Esperance from 5 to 7 December 2023 as part of our Regional Awareness and Accessibility Program.

The Program includes drop-in clinics where members of the public can bring their complaints to be resolved, meetings with the Aboriginal community, and visits to, and liaison with, public authorities and community organisations.

To ensure that our visit is as helpful as possible to Aboriginal Western Australians and those living and working regionally, we have coordinated with the following agencies to join us on the visit:

• Ombudsman Western Australia
• Commonwealth Ombudsman
• Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman
• Health and Disability Services Complaints Office
• Equal Opportunity Commission
• Consumer Protection
• Aboriginal Legal Service

Case Study

Default listing removed after Ombudsman involvement

A customer complained to their gas Retailer about a default listing for an outstanding bill for their previous residence. The customer had moved out of the residence and did not receive a notification about the default listing from the Retailer, although the Retailer had the customer’s current phone number. The customer complained to the Retailer but did not receive a response. The customer complained to the Energy and Water Ombudsman.

Prior to commencing an investigation, the Energy and Water Ombudsman escalated the complaint with a senior staff member at the Retailer to try to facilitate a resolution between the Retailer and customer. The Retailer agreed to remove the default listing in the circumstances.

Read more case studies on our website.

Find us on Facebook

The Energy and Water Ombudsman is now on Facebook!

Like and follow our page to stay up to date with news and our community engagement events, as well as consumer information about complaints to our office.