27 October, 2011           Energy Report for Committee Submission

 

EXTRACT: 

The purpose of this exploration is not to present accurate, concise figures but to demonstrate that problems exist in the community in relation to residential energy disconnections.  It is also to demonstrate that reconnection of these services have a potential impact on customers’ economic and social wellbeing, as well as possible personal exclusion.

 

This exploration shows that, with an estimated 80,731 households being disconnected from electricity and gas services each year in Australia, it should be expected that residential energy customers seek access to credit to maintain essential energy supplies when the hardship, instalment and payment programs provided by the energy suppliers fail to deliver the much touted protection to these customers.   Furthermore...