Media Release

9 October 2018

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Shadow Minister for Energy, Adam Searle MLC, has recommitted a Labor Government to re-regulating electricity prices in NSW following the release of a damning report by the NSW Energy and Water Ombudsman.

A new report by the NSW Energy and Water Ombudsman (EWON) has shown that the NSW electricity market is not working for NSW Households. Complaints to EWON increased in 2017-18 for the first time in five years, a 12 per cent increase from 2016-2017.

According to the report, billing was the most significant complaint issue raised to EWON and was present in 60 per cent of all complaints.

Complaints about energy affordability, including payment difficulties, debt collection and disconnections rose by 12 per cent and were present in 21 per cent of all complaints across the 2017-2018 period.

Mr Searle said that EWON’s report was another indication that the NSW electricity market was broken and needed to be reset.

Mr Searle said that increases to average power prices of 60 percent since the Liberal-Nationals took office in 2011, including a 20 percent rise since Gladys Berejiklian became Premier were hurting households and businesses across NSW, especially in rural and regional NSW where households and businesses are already suffering from severe drought.

Quotes attributable to Labor Leader in the Legislative Council and Shadow Minister for Energy, Adam Searle MLC:

“The latest report from the Ombudsman is another damning example of how broken the NSW electricity market is and why it needs to be fixed.

“Households across NSW are hurting because Gladys Berejiklian and the Liberals have only one energy policy: to privatise and deregulate retail electricity prices.”