Power bill increase shock for Woy Woy Pensioner
A Woy Woy pensioner has become the latest unsuspecting victim of NSW’s skyrocketing power prices after she received a huge bill.
Central Coast
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A WOY WOY pensioner has become the latest victim of NSW’s skyrocketing power prices.
Wilhelmina Woods was shocked and bewildered after her power bill rose by almost $200 in one quarter.
Mrs Woods said her power consumption had not changed before she received the bill for $515.24.
“Never in my life have I had a bill of that size,” Mrs Woods said.
She said a typical bill in summer was around $280 and in winter around $320 with extra heating costs. She said her reverse-cycle airconditioner had been out of order for six weeks – further perplexing her about how the bill could be so large.
Mrs Woods said she was on an automatic deduction plan with EnergyAustralia where she pays $50 per week toward her power bill. Recent news of possible power cost rises prompted her to increase that weekly payment by $5. Her forward thinking proved insufficient and when the bill arrived she still had another $189 to pay by October 10.
The EnergyAustralia account said the bill was based on an “estimate” because the meter had not been read.
Mrs Woods said she was lucky to be able to afford to pay the bill – but thought others might not be so fortunate.
“Elderly people on pensions are more likely to struggle and go without food to pay the bill,” she said.
EnergyAustralia announced price increases for electricity and gas which started from July 1.
In NSW, residential EnergyAustralia customers were told to expect electricity prices to increase by up to 19.6 per cent .
In June, EnergyAustralia blamed rises in wholesale prices since the closure of large coal-fired power stations.
A spokesperson for EnergyAustralia said they had investigated Ms Woods’ situation with Ausgrid - the distribution company which does the meter reading.
“While the reading on Ms Woods’ bill is recorded as “an estimate”, the usage for the full billing period is accurate,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said that as Mrs Woods had changed electricity plans during the billing period, it had been necessary to estimate the energy used to date before making the switch.
“We understand from time to time some customers may struggle to pay their bills. We encourage anyone having difficulty to contact us before the due date so we can set up a payment plan, ” the spokeswoman said.