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…….
....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”…..
