The Energy and Water Ombudsman NSW (EWON) is calling for urgent reform of a consumer system which suffers from widening gaps in consumer protections for people with solar electrical systems.
The Ombudsman, Janine Young said a new report her office produced reveals widening gaps in consumer protections for customers who rely on renewable energy.
Ms Young said that while the National Energy Consumer Framework (NECF) guaranteed affordable energy access for all Australians, specific protections for solar customers were “fractured and far from comprehensive”.
“With energy prices rising, strong protections that apply equally to all energy customers are more crucial than ever,” Ms Young said.
“Most complaints about solar fall beyond the scope of NECF protections and customers are often unable to access free and fair schemes such as EWON,” she said.
“Instead, they are left to navigate a complex and confusing external dispute resolution journey when things go wrong.”
Ms Young said customers who entered third party solar arrangements like Solar Power Purchase Agreements or who stored and traded energy through Virtual Power Plants were particularly vulnerable, “often dealing with multiple service providers, consumer frameworks, and external dispute resolution mechanisms to resolve a single complaint.”
“This process is increasingly convoluted and unclear and can lead to ‘complaint fatigue’ amongst customers,” the Ombudsman said.
“For some, it can be a deterrent to making a complaint at all,” she said.
“Collaboration between governments, regulators, and stakeholders like EWON is essential to prevent a two-tier energy market which protects some customers and not others.”
The Ombudsman’s report Dispute resolution in the evolving energy market can be viewed online at this PS News link.
