As this sad milestone approaches for Lismore residents it must often feel as though the pain will never stop.
ABC News, 18 January 2023:
The Energy & Water Ombudsman NSW says it has received dozens of complaints about power bills issued for unoccupied flood-affected homes & businesses on the state's Far North Coast.
Lismore business owner Anne Walker said she had not used her business premises since it was flooded in February 2022, but months later she received messages from her retailer that said she owed more than $700.
"The texts were coming in saying if I didn't pay this amount, they were going to discontinue my electricity, which is ironic because there was no electricity," she said.
Ms Walker spoke to her provider in October to address the issue, but it took until last week to be resolved.
"It was very stressful — extremely stressful," she said.
The ombudsman's office recorded 55 complaints from the Northern Rivers since the start of September, including 28 from the Lismore area.
"Often there's no resident there, the property is not occupied and, of course, the billing doesn't reflect the fact that," said ombudsman Janine Young.
"[There is] either no usage or, where there is some usage, it's overestimated."
Estimated bills to be reviewed
Residents who spoke to the ABC said the incorrect bills they received were based on estimates of their usage.
This occurs when a meter reader is unable to access a property to record the energy usage, so an estimated bill is issued by the energy provider.
In the case of a situation that has led to vastly reduced energy usage, or no usage at all, Ms Young said the rules for bill estimates needed to be reviewed.
"When estimates are done, the rules allow an estimated bill based on the same period the prior year, or on what a comparable customer might be," she said.
"When there's been floods & there's been no usage, if you're getting an estimate based on the prior year, that's completely wrong.
"Those rules have to be looked at."
Customers should first try to resolve any dispute with their retailer, but those left dissatisfied could turn to Ms Young's office for help, she said.
"We've had outcomes where we've got the bill waived, where we've had the daily supply charges waived as well," Ms Young said.
"The retailer is much more aware of the customer circumstances & when it's likely that the property can be again inhabited — if it can be."
No meters, no power
Adrian Walsh from Broadwater said he received an estimated usage bill of about $800, despite not having power after the flood.
"When I first rang up & complained [to the retailer] ... their solution was to pay the bill & perhaps I could claim it back later," he said.
"I wasn't really in the mood for that."
Bungawalbin's Keely Patch said metering equipment damaged by the floods was still not working in her area.
Despite having only a single working power point in her home, Ms Patch said she was sent estimated usage bills that totalled $800.
"If estimated bills are based off previous usages, that kind of gets taken out of the picture when, for months, there was no usage at all," Ms Patch said.
"Since the bills have come in, I've only been running a fridge & some lights & that's pretty much all I've got."
The ABC heard from people who were experiencing similar issues across a range of energy retailers.
In a statement, Origin Energy said it was committed to supporting customers affected by floods…...
Red Energy said it stopped billing & debt collection activities in the aftermath of the floods while it assessed the situation…….
Exclusive: Only one-fifth of the $1.6bn promised to flood-ravaged communities in the Northern Rivers region of NSW has been paid out by the Perrottet government, new data reveals. @australian https://t.co/SAmCfpvdxe
— Max Maddison (@maxmaddison) January 18, 2023
....Eleven months ago, an unprecedented deluge swept across the eastern seaboard, inundating towns across southeast Queensland and northern NSW, in one of the worst recorded flooding disasters in the nation’s history.
With communities such as Woodburn, Kyogle and Nimbin in the northeastern corner of NSW facing a monumental rebuild, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet vowed not a dollar would be spared in the recovery effort, saying those who had lost homes were a primary concern.
But of the $1.6bn promised by the government in May last year, Service NSW data reveals only $322.2m has been distributed eight months later.
Inordinately high numbers of grants had been ruled ineligible by the government, with more than 67 per cent of small business grants rejected.
South Lismore cafe owner Tony Zammit said his experience in the aftermath of the floods had been positive, but he had faced issues applying for the small grants program later on, with multiple applications green-lit by Service NSW staff before being subsequently rejected.
“Early on they were helpful but as time went on it became daunting. By the end, honest claims and applicants were treated as criminals,” Mr Zammit, the owner of The Sassy Bean cafe, said.
One near-$50,000 claim was deemed ineligible by Service NSW because assessors could not verify an $1100 electrician’s bill, he said. When he attempted to resubmit his claim, Mr Zammit was told he could not submit any of the same receipts as they had all been deemed fraudulent.
More than 80 per cent of rental support applications have been declined, while of special disaster grants available to farmers and primary producers, only $116m of $302m claimed has been paid out, despite 86 per cent of applications being approved or rejected.
Emergency Services Minister Steph Cooke warned in May last year the government had an “obligation” to ensure the proper processes were in place to filter out fraudulent grant applications. The NSW government’s independent 2022 flood inquiry noted concerns among flood-impacted farming communities that there were “onerous processes for accessing grants, and for submitting development applications”.
An upper house inquiry reached similar conclusions, finding a lack of streamlined grants processes meant applicants were repeatedly interviewed, “leading to frustration and trauma”, while a lack of assessors on the ground “delayed the rollout of grants”…..
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