Complaints this quarter

Complaints received (all industries) 

April to June 2025 – April to June 2026

Complaint numbers for the April to July 2026 quarter continued at an elevated level compared to the same quarter in 2025, up 12.25%. However, complaints numbers are down 2.48% compared to the January to March 2026 quarter. Complaints that factor in consumer energy resources (CER) also remained elevated.

Complaints received by industry 

April to June 2025 – April to June 2026

Complaints received by industry 

April to June 2026 

Industry	Provider type	Apr 26 – Jun 26
Electricity	Retail	4,814
Electricity	Network	229
Electricity	Not allocated	135
Electricity	Exempt retailer	45
Electricity total		5,223
Gas	Retail	852
Gas	Network	46
Gas	Not allocated	26
Gas	Exempt retailer	1
Gas total		924
Water	Retail	163
Water	Not allocated	69
Water	Network	53
Water total		285
Non energy / non water total		16

 

Complaint issues 

Cost of living pressures continued to drive complaints, with high bills remaining the most common complaint issue this quarter. Complaints about payment difficulties increased compared to the January to March 2026 quarter. Complaints about energy tariffs/rates re-entered the top 10.

Top 10 core issues closed including the previous four quarters 

April to June 2025 – April to June 2026  

Primary issues	Secondary > tertiary issues	Apr 26 – Jun 26	Jan 26 – Mar 26	Oct 25 – Dec 25	Jul 25 – Sep 25	Apr 25 – Jun 25
Billing	high > disputed	1,979 30.26% *	2,096 33.15%	2,372 36.49%	2,707 37.67%	1,595 27.26%
Billing	estimation > meter access / not read	285 4.36%	204 3.23%	207 3.18%	202 2.81%	214 3.66%
General	energy / water	206 3.15%	152 2.40%	143 2.20%	152 2.11%	147 2.51%
Billing	error > payment	202 3.09%	188 2.97%	194 2.98%	222 3.09%	184 3.14%
Billing	account closing > error	199 3.04%	208 3.29%	160 2.46%	168 2.34%	174 2.97%
Billing	delay	151 2.31%	179 2.83%	112 1.72%	101 1.41%	105 1.79%
Credit	payment difficulties > current / arrears	147 2.25%	102 1.61%	107 1.65%	180 2.50%	129 2.20%
Billing	tariff > rate	142 2.17%	125 1.98%	113 1.74%	102 1.42%	69 1.18%
Billing	account opening > error	135 2.06%	139 2.20%	139 2.14%	91 1.27%	125 2.14%
Billing	backbill	127 1.94%	128 2.02%	115 1.77%	119 1.66%	145 2.48%

* percentage of the total number of complaints received for that quarter 

 

Water complaints 

Water complaints increased compared to last quarter, with 285 complaints received. Water complaints represented 4.4% of EWON’s overall complaints this quarter, which is a typical proportion. Water complaints included disputes about:

• high bills

• customer classification, fees and charges

• smart metering

• connection issues

• concealed leaks

• credit, affordability, restriction

• sewerage services

• storm water infrastructure

• water quality.

 

General and out of jurisdiction complaints

There were 81 ‘General’ water complaints closed. Most of these were matters that fell outside EWON's jurisdiction. These complaints were about other water providers that were not members of EWON during the period, including:

• local government water authorities

• social housing providers

• irrigation corporations

• real estate agents

• residential developments, such as strata corporations or retirement villages

• water providers outside NSW.

From 1 July 2026, we expanded our jurisdiction to provide free, fair and independent dispute resolution to customers of five irrigation corporations. However, this new jurisdiction had not commenced during this period.

Top five water core issues closed 

April to June 2026 

Issue	Number
General > energy / water	81
Billing > high > disputed	69
Land > property damage / restoration	13
Supply > sewer overflow / blockage	10
Billing > estimation > meter access / not read	7

 

Embedded network complaints 

EWON received 201 embedded network complaints this quarter, a significant increase of 54.62% compared to the preceding quarter, after several quarters of falling complaints.

Embedded network complaints by service providers

April to June 2026

Service provider	Number
Retail	153
Exempt retailer	44
Network	4
Total	201

 

Top five embedded network core issues closed 

April to June 2026 

Issue	Number
Billing > high > disputed	49
Billing > tariff > rate	14
Billing > account opening > error	11
Billing > contract terms > price increases	9
Billing > backbill	9

 

Consumer energy resources complaints

EWON received 910 electricity complaints where the customer mentioned they were using consumer energy resources (CER). This represents a 78.78% increase compared to the same quarter the year before. It represents 17.42% of electricity complaints this quarter. For the same period in 2025, CER complaints represented 11.0% of all electricity complaints.

Complaints received involving consumer energy resources by service provider

April to June 2026

Service provider	Number
Retail	775
Exempt retailer	8
Network	19
Not allocated	108
Total	910

 

Top five core issues for closed complaints involving consumer energy resources

April to June 2026

Issue	Total
Billing > high > disputed	281
Consumer energy resource > system performance > fault	58
Billing > tariff > feed-in	52
Digital meter exchange > delay	35
Consumer energy resource > installation/connection > non-compliant installation	29