Electricity disconnection

If you have been disconnected or are facing disconnection, EWON can negotiate payment plans with your electricity supplier, refer you to community agencies that distribute Energy Accounts Payment Assistance (EAPA) vouchers and offer referral advice about where to go for other types of assistance.

Generally, we would expect you to have tried to sort out your high bill complaint with your electricity supplier first. Before contacting them, have a look at some of our tips for dealing with your supplier. You can also read factsheets on disconnection and payment assistance.

If you cannot avoid disconnection or secure reconnection and require help after contacting your electricity supplier, contact us or use our online complaint form.

The two case studies below provide two examples of how we have helped people who have had their electricity disconnected.

Case study: disconnection danger

EWON was contacted by the caseworker for a client who had her electricity disconnected for over a month.

One of Ms M's children had been tragically killed a year before, and Ms M was being treated for depression and substance abuse. When she spoke with EWON, Ms M said that she had been using candles since her disconnection, and that her child had knocked one over in the night and set fire to her home.

Ms M owed $780, and was unable to cope with her financial obligations due to a reduction in her Centrelink allowance. This was not her first disconnection.

By working with the caseworker, other community organisations and her electricity supplier, EWON was able to assist Ms M in obtaining enough financial assistance to arrange reconnection.

Case study: problems compounded

Mrs R is an elderly paraplegic who relies on mains power to recharge her electric wheelchair.

Mr and Mrs R's payments to their electricity supplier had been gradually falling behind because they had not been receiving a pensioner rebate, and they had been charged the wrong tariff for more than a year. The supplier recently put the couple back on the correct tariff, but did not refund the overcharging, nor did they reinstate the pensioner rebate.

With more than $1000 outstanding, Mrs R sold some of their furniture to raise $300. They were only able to pay $60 using government-funded vouchers secured from a local community agency. Unable to raise any more funds, their electricity was disconnected while Mr R was waiting for open-heart surgery.

Realising their dire situation, the Department of Community Services referred the couple to EWON for assistance. EWON's investigation revealed that Mr and Mrs R had asked the supplier to apply the pensioner rebate to their account two years ago. The supplier confirmed that they had failed to apply the rebate, and had incorrectly charged the customers a higher commercial rate for electricity. Apologising for their mistakes, the supplier agreed to reconnect the property without payment.

With the power restored, EWON reviewed the billing data to discover the extent of the errors made on Mr and Mrs R's account. In the end, the supplier reduced the account by $220, removed a $90 commercial charge, and a $60 disconnection fee. The supplier also agreed to make a $200 payment in compensation for food spoiled during the period of disconnection.