10th anniversary retrospective
Our beginnings ten years ago
 EWON began as the Energy Industry Ombudsman NSW (EION) and was formally launched by the Minister for Energy on 9 June 1998.
The scheme was established by the six Government-owned electricity providers at the time and TransGrid, the transmission company, with the support of the Electricity Association of New South Wales.
A working group representing the energy industry, consumers, small
business and government advised on EWON’s Constitution and processes. The aim was to provide electricity and gas customers with an independent, free and accessible dispute resolution service.
When EION began operation it only covered electricity providers. Its jurisdiction expanded after Sydney Water joined in December 1999 and EION became EWON, the Energy & Water Ombudsman NSW.
In the following year, 2000, AGL became the first gas provider to join the scheme. Up to this time membership of the scheme had been voluntary but through changes in legislation in 2001, it became a licence condition for all energy retailers supplying small customers in New South Wales to join the approved ombudsman scheme.
The requirement for EWON membership is also now written into the licence conditions of some water providers.
As required by the EWON Constitution, a Board of member providers is responsible for the scheme’s corporate governance and funding. A Council, representing the interests of consumers, small business, and member
providers, oversees EWON’s policies and strategic direction.
Clare Petre was appointed Energy Ombudsman in April 1998 and she has overseen the organisation’s development over its first decade.
Complaints and milestones 1998-2008
Click here to view a larger image of the graph below
| Year |
Complaints |
Milestone |
| 1998-1999 |
2730 |
EWON officially launched 9 June 1998 |
| 1999-2000 |
3648 |
Sydney Water joins the scheme |
| 2000-2001 |
4344 |
Gas retailers join the scheme |
| 2001-2002 |
4908 |
NSW energy market open to full retail compeition |
| 2002-2003 |
6242 |
Hunter Water and second-tier retailers join the scheme |
| 2003-2004 |
8568 |
Increase in affordability and disconnection complaints |
| 2004-2005 |
8259 |
Enquiries decrease, complex investigations increase |
| 2005-2006 |
7624 |
Increase in complaints about energy marketing |
| 2006-2007 |
8641 |
Retail competition overtakes billing as the primary complaint issue |
| 2007-2008 |
8913 |
Billing and credit complaints increase in line with economic conditions |
Response to consumer issues
From its inception, EWON has reported to providers and other stakeholders on systemic issues identified in our investigation of customer complaints. These issues may have related to a particular provider, or to the electricity, gas or water industries, or to utilities overall.
In EWON’s first years of operation, the clear issue that required a systemic response was financial hardship and disconnection. To address this, EWON hosted regular forums which brought together representatives from industry, community and government. At the forums participants discussed support for customers who were struggling to pay utility accounts and ways of reducing the high rate of energy disconnection in New South Wales. A customer hardship forum which EWON initiated in 2004 continues to operate today under the auspices of the energy and water retailers.
Where appropriate EWON has promoted best practice regulation and we welcomed the New South Wales regulatory requirement for all energy retailers to have a hardship charter and offer customers payment plans. More recently, EWON supported the inclusion of customer assistance measures into a new national consumer protection framework.
Overall, EWON’s approach to working with our member providers has helped to promote best practice in customer service. By raising provider-specific issues in our reports to individual members, we have also helped reinforce the information they receive from their internal complaint handling processes. This has created opportunities for ongoing discussion to address and resolve complex matters. Our reports to members have become an essential part in working with them to address customer concerns.
While EWON’s primary role remains that of dispute resolution for utility customers, our work to prevent complaints is equally important. Our work in raising systemic issues with key stakeholders such as the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal, has seen us extend our reporting function and communicate customer concerns to a broader audience.
Over the years EWON has looked for opportunities to contribute our experience of customer issues to Government processes and reviews. EWON raised a number of concerns with the Unsworth Energy Consultative Reference Committee, which were incorporated into the Committee’s final recommendations. In particular, we highlighted the need for review of the pensioner utility rebate and the Energy Accounts Payment Assistance program.
Partnerships with stakeholders
Early on, EWON recognised the importance of developing strong links and partnerships with all parties with an interest in consumer issues in the energy and water industries – customers, providers, government, regulators, community organisations, peak bodies and other complaint handling agencies.
To meet our objectives, it has also been important to understand the business environment in which our members operate, the concerns and interests of individual consumers or groups of consumers, and the role that government and regulators play in helping to create a robust industry environment with strong consumer protection measures.
EWON, as the primary place of review for complaints about energy and water providers, has always been well placed to work with all stakeholders to improve customer service standards and consumer protection, in order to reduce or prevent complaints. No one group can do it alone.
In keeping with this approach, each year we have visited different utilities and regions across New South Wales to understand the particular issues facing customers and companies. Distributors such as Country Energy, Integral Energy, EnergyAustralia, Sydney Water, Hunter Water and State Water, have provided our investigations staff with field training that has proved invaluable in the investigation and resolution of customer complaints. Similarly, retail companies have regularly presented to our staff on key policy and process changes regarding pricing, marketing, green energy products, billing systems and customer assistance programs.
Over the past ten years complaints to EWON have highlighted issues that could only be addressed through broad industry discussion. We have hosted a series of forums on key issues including affordability, customer service, complaint handling practices, marketing and business-to-business relationships.
The formal information sharing and referral arrangements we have in place with key government agencies and regulators – Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal, Department of Water and Energy, Office of Fair Trading and NSW Ombudsman – have also been critical to our work.
Development of our outreach program
EWON’s community outreach activities began in 1998 soon after the
scheme was established, with the aim of promoting the scheme and preventing complaints.
Initially the activities were undertaken by investigations staff, however EWON developed a team dedicated to public and stakeholder relations, community education and service development. The team includes an Indigenous Project Officer whose work is focused on outreach to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
It also became clear soon after EWON began, that we needed to focus outreach activities on culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities. In 1999 EWON launched its first campaign to six major ethnic groups: Arabic, Chinese, Greek, Italian, Spanish and Vietnamese communities. Today EWON has information translated into 29 languages and our work has expanded to include the smaller, emerging ethnic communities.
Over the years EWON has worked with hundreds of workers and advocates in community agencies including legal information centres, neighbourhood centres, Anglicare, Centacare, Creditline, St Vincent de Paul, Salvation Army, Samaritans, The Smith Family, disability services and migrant resource centres. Our Indigenous staff have forged relationships with Aboriginal land councils, and legal and medical services.
We have hosted numerous forums for consumers and advocates on issues such as affordability and sustainability.
We regularly host stalls at diverse community events including multicultural festivals, Yabun, Mardi Gras Fair Day and Seniors Days at the Easter Show.
We also participate in training days for financial counsellors, electorate officers and customer service staff in government services.
The success of our outreach has relied upon community leaders and frontline staff in agencies helping us to spread the word about our service. We thank everyone who has promoted or partnered with EWON to ensure energy and water customers across New South Wales have access to our service.
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