28 Mar 2014

Power disconnection complaints up

10:18 am on 28 March 2014

The Electricity and Gas Complaints Commissioner is receiving more complaints as the number of households having their power disconnected continues to rise.

But the commissioner, Judi Jones, is unable to say whether it means power companies are breaching the guidelines for dealing with medically dependent and vulnerable consumers.

In 2008 the commissioner received fewer than 30 complaints or enquiries about disconnections.

Last year it jumped to more than 250.

In the same period the number of actual disconnections rose from nearly 11,000 to 41,000.

Ms Jones says it's likely many struggling households who are disconnected don't even know they can complain.

She says most complaints and enquiries are referred back to the electricity retailers so the commissioner doesn't have much information about what's responsible for the rise in complaints.