Australians hit by Energy Australia electricity rate error

Energy Australia customers are facing an unexpected bill shock, after an accounting error. See how it affects your household and have your say.

Customers of one of the country’s largest energy providers are digesting a fresh and frustrating round of bill shock, after an accounting blunder by the power company.

Energy Australia has been forced to apologise for failing to include GST costs in its forecast gas and electricity rate changes.

Thousands of customers in Queensland, ACT, NSW, Victoria and South Australia have been informed of the blunder by email.

“We wanted to let you know about an error we made on your recent rate change notice,” the notification from Energy Australia’s Chief Customer Officer Mark Brownfield read.

“In the ‘What does this mean for the cost of my bills?’ section, the estimated increase we listed for your account did not include GST, the estimated amount should have included GST as well.

“The figure is an estimated amount, based on an average household to show the difference in how much you could expect to pay over the next year once the new rates take effect based on your energy plan at the time.

“Rest assured there is no impact to your rates or bills from this error.”

The letter from Energy Australia to customers. Picture: Supplied

An Energy Australia spokesman said: “We recently contacted some of our customers to let them know there was an error in one of our recent rate change notices.

“The error was not related to any customer bills.

“The rate change notice included an estimated impact on customer bills, which incorrectly did not include GST.

“All other details, including the new customer rates were correct. Customer bills have been calculated correctly.

“A letter of correction has been sent to customers to explain this and that no action was required of them.

“We apologise to our customers for any inconvenience this may have caused.”

As the cost of living bites hard in Australia, the increased charge would have been an unwelcome surprise to families who have already been doing it tough.

A recent survey of more than 5000 people by Transurban found 60 per cent said groceries was their biggest worry, followed very closely by electricity bills at 59 per cent.

Australians feeling the pinch are finding creative ways to save money, with some using the steam from their shower to simultaneously steam their clothes and charging all their devices during off-peak hours.

Originally published as Australians hit by Energy Australia electricity rate error