Paralowie’s Rick and Lyn Wahlheim’s say power bill stress made worse by power company’s ‘basic harassment’

A Paralowie couple says the stress off exploding power bills is made even more unbearable by this relentless act from big energy companies.

Moving around without power is a struggle for Paralowie pensioner Rick Wahlheim – but it’s made worse by the “basic harassment” they suffer at the hands of impatient power companies.

Mr Wahlheim, 73, lost both his legs to diabetes and now relies on electricity-powered devices to start his day.

His wife Lyn Wahlheim said that without power they “can’t lift him out of bed”.

“His bed needs power to lift it up and down,” she said.

“He’s got a motorised wheelchair that needs to have power.”

But paying the power bills has been getting tougher and tougher for the couple, with Mr Wahlheim on a disability pension.

Their bills have increased from around $900 to $1200 but despite switching energy providers this year, the dollar figure has continued to rise. The last bill was $1400.

“I normally try and pay half and then the next payday, I’ll pay the other half. But in between … you get the emails, plus the SMSs, plus the phone call to tell you that your bill is still outstanding, so you’ve got the added stress of basic harassment,” Mrs Wahlheim said.

“They don’t seem to understand that pensioners don’t have a lazy $1200 or $1300 lying around every time the power bill comes.”

Years ago, the couple paid $15,000 to have solar panels installed but their current rebate is a meagre $3.

Lyn and Rick Wahlheim of Paralowie are both pensioners, their power bills have gone up from $900 to $1400 in a year. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

The couple received the $255 government energy rebate this week but Mrs Wahlheim said the subsidy was “a drop in the ocean” and they’ve been forced to cut back on food and heating.

It comes as some of the state’s most iconic businesses have revealed how much power hikes are crippling their companies.

Drakes, Seeley International and Angove Family Winemakers are among the businesses that are grappling with increases of up to 60 per cent.

The Advertiser surveyed several households around Adelaide to see how ordinary South Australians are dealing with rising electricity costs.

St Kitts mother-of-four Heather Carter has seen her power bills grow from $400 a quarter to $250 a month.

She now uses a smart meter that predicts power prices for different times of the day.

“During the day, I’ll see that it’s jumping up to 57 cents a kilowatt an hour but at night time it’s down at 22,” she said.

“So instead of doing my dishes and washing during the day, I’m putting it off and I’m doing it 9 o’clock at night because of the difference in the price.

“It’s extending my days by that extra hour or two and I’m already so busy.”

Ms Carter said in the past she’s had to borrow money from her family to make ends meet.

Alberton resident, David Benfell, 70, said he and his wife were hit with their “biggest power bill” ever on Tuesday, after receiving a combined electricity and gas bill of $1600 for the quarter.

Alberton resident, David Benfell, received a $1300 electricity bill saying bills continued to go up. Picture: Douglas Smith

“My wife was thinking of going to the (Royal) Show today (Wednesday), and I said, ‘Are you going to the Show’, and she goes, ‘We just got a $1600 power bill, I’m not going anywhere’,” he told the Advertiser.

Mr Benfell said that the amount was “almost double” what it was for the same quarter last year, and said he had noticed it had been getting higher over time.

As an aged-pensioner who works part time “to make ends meet”, he said he and his wife will now consider moving to a different energy provider, and cut down on recreational spending.

“The bills have just slowly crept up. We’ve tried to be just a little bit more careful with what we use and what we switch on and what we switch off, but yeah, it just seems to be creeping up and up and up,” he said.

“We usually go out one night a week with some friends but until we pay the bill off, we won’t be going anywhere, so we’ll cut down our expenses for tea and seeing our friends for a while.

“We try to save up a bit but you’re always getting something in … it’s ridiculous.”

Mr Benfell said he and his wife were now considering changing providers.

Meanwhile, a few streets over, Shae Desmet said she and her husband had just switched providers at the start of the year after receiving a $1200 power bill for the first quarter when they were with AGL.

Ms Desmet, who is on a Disability Support Pension (DSP), admitted that she used the airconditioning for large parts of the day over the summer, but said she needed a cooler environment for “medical reasons”.

She said she applied for additional cover in her DSP but was denied.

“This year we actually switched providers because with AGL, the prices just kept going up, and then last summer we paid upwards of $1100 for the quarter,” she said.

“We know we’ve got the airconditioner 24-hours during the summer, but for some reason, I’m not eligible for medical heating and cooling which is frustrating.

“My husband works and I’m on a Disability Support Pension (DSP) so we’re always trying to keep our bills low.”

In Port Adelaide, pensioner Robert Blackwell, 75, said he has noticed a “bump” in his gas bill, but couldn’t work out why it was higher.

Mr Blackwell, who has to use a gofer for transportation, said he was now paying at least $40 more every quarter for gas, which did have an impact on his groceries as the cost of food was also rising.

Pensioner, Bob Blackwell, 74, of Port Adelaide, is very concerned about both electricity and gas bills going up. Picture: Dean Martin

“Well I could use another $100 a fortnight to be honest, and that would cover a few things going up like fruit and veg and other groceries,” he said.

“I can’t explain why it is going up because I’m using the same appliances and doing the same thing everyday and everything has gone up.”

Mr Blackwell is considering switching from Energy Australia, but said he would wait until his next bill to see if it is higher than the last before making a decision.

It’s a similar story for Kiran Shah, of Mawson Lakes, who’s seen his power bill with electricity provider Origin increase by around “$100 to $200 per quarter on average” despite not using more electricity.

“It’s not a constant increase, but our usage hasn't changed much, it’s pretty much exactly the same,” the 48-year-old said.

The father-of-one and his wife are now paying an average of $550 to $650 per quarter, compared to around $450 to $500, last year.

The couple who have one daughter, have to restructure their finances to substitute for the increased cost of their power bill, in areas such as dining out and online shopping.

“We’re not buying things at random, just because we saw something and making more informed decisions, he said.”

“The perishable goods we used to buy, now we only buy something that we are definitely likely to use.”

“My wife used to purchase a lot of online stuff, so that’s also gone down quite a bit.”

Originally published as Paralowie’s Rick and Lyn Wahlheim’s say power bill stress made worse by power company’s ‘basic harassment’