New EAPA guidelines
Did you know…?
1. If a person has an appointment to be assessed by a community agency for EAPA, their retailer must defer disconnection until their eligibility has been assessed.
2. EAPA can be used to pay electricity and gas bills (but not LPG).
3. It doesn’t matter which electricity or gas retailer (in NSW) a person owes money to, community agencies can issue EAPA.
4. EAPA can only pay for consumption of electricity and gas.
5. Customers who have been disconnected can use EAPA to reduce their consumption bill.
6. EAPA should not be used for charges such as a disconnection fee, late payment fee, meter test fee, reconnection fee, service call charge or as a security deposit.
7. People can seek EAPA from more than one agency.
8. An agency can reassess a customer and decide they need more EAPA than they have received from another agency. If the agency issues more EAPA to them, they must tick and sign the box located under the account number on the voucher, and also stamp the original bill with the organisation’s stamp.
9. If vouchers are lost or stolen contact DEUS immediately. |
Water assistance programs
Sydney Water and Hunter Water have developed their own Payment Assistance Schemes (PAS) to assist customers in financial hardship. Customers having difficulty paying their Sydney Water or Hunter Water accounts can obtain PAS vouchers from their local community agencies. |
On 1 January 2005, new guidelines came into effect for community agencies distributing EAPA vouchers.
Energy Accounts Payment Assistance (EAPA) is a NSW government program designed to help people having difficulty paying their home gas and electricity bills due to financial hardship, a crisis or emergency situation. The scheme aims to help people stay connected to essential energy services.
In 2004 the Department of Water and Energy (DWE) reviewed the EAPA scheme and consulted with a range of community agencies, energy retailers and government bodies about the new guidelines.
For community agencies currently distributing EAPA, the significant changes are as follows:
- There are now four allocations of vouchers each year, at the start of March, June, September and December.
- Vouchers can only be given to a person twice in a financial year, unless there are exceptional circumstances. However, if a customer is enrolled in Centrepay or a payment plan with a retailer, they can receive EAPA more than twice a year.
- DWE recommends that the maximum number of EAPA given to a customer per application is six vouchers (total value of $180), however more can be given in exceptional circumstances.
- EAPA should never place an account into credit.
- The amount of EAPA provided should not be for the entire amount of the bill.
Client eligibility
As has always been the case, community agencies use their internal policies and criteria to assess a client’s eligibility for EAPA. To help agencies assess clients, the guidelines identify an emergency situation as follows:
- when a person has received a disconnection notice
- there has been a significant increase in electricity or gas use due to unforeseen events such as unexpected illness
- there has been a significant decrease in income or high unavoidable expenses eg due to job loss, medical or hospital bills, robbery or change of income support
- there has been a natural disaster or family crisis.
Limit on vouchers
While DWE suggests a limit on EAPA vouchers, the guidelines note there will be times when agencies may need to issue more vouchers to a client, due to exceptional circumstances or a crisis. In such cases, the agency needs to advise the EAPA Coordinator at DWE.
EAPA shortages
If a community agency has a shortage of EAPA, they should contact:
- their agency’s head office and speak with the nominated EAPA Coordinator
- to seek additional vouchers
- the EAPA Coordinator at DEUS
- other local agencies that distribute EAPA to see whether they have surplus vouchers or they can assess the client
- the customer’s retailer to request the account be put on hold until vouchers become available.
IMPORTANT! Please return excess or unused vouchers
If your agency has more vouchers than you can issue, it is important that you:
— return the vouchers to your head office so they can be redistributed within your organisation, or
— return the vouchers to the EAPA Coordinator at DEUS for redistribution.
Who to contact
For more information contact Ramona Blacklock, EAPA Coordinator, Department of Energy, Utilities and Sustainability, on (02) 8281 7712.
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