Published: March 16, 2009 - 01:00 PM
50 NSW Homes per day have electricity cut off
The Sydney Morning Herald has today reported that up to 50 homes per day in NSW are having their power disconnected due to non-payment of electricity bills.
NSW electricity suppliers must offer payment plans to help families that are struggling to pay their bill. But despite this requirement, more homes are losing power.
Of the homes affected, as reported in the SMH, IPART figures show that 31.5% were on payment plans prior to having their electricity disconnected.
The number of NSW homes disconnected from the electricity supply was 18,162 in 2007-2008. This compares to Victoria where approximately 7,100 of homes are disconnected from the electricity supply each year.
Mr Ludbrooke of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre told the SMH "Our research shows just one in three of those disconnected had no contact with their electricity provider before being disconncected. The payment plans people are being offered are simply not affordable in many cases."
The figures show that retailers Jackgreen Energy and Origin Energy had the highest levels of disconnection.
Alison Walter of ShopAround.com.au said "Whether your electricity supplier is in NSW, Victoria, Queensland or South Australia, if you are having trouble paying your bill contact your retailer to try and put a payment plan in place. And remember, if you haven't already taken the time to compare electricity suppliers and find out how much you could save, use ShopAround's electricity comparison service now to make sure you're getting the cheapest electricity possible."
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