Energy Retail Code review 2016 (customers facing payment difficulties)

We updated the energy rules to better protect residential customers that are anticipating or facing payment difficulty. 

Support for residential customers having trouble paying their energy bills

The framework has three key objectives

1. To help residential customers avoid getting into debt with their retailer.
2. To make it easier for residential customers to pay for their ongoing energy use, repay their debt when they have missed a bill and lower their energy costs.
3. To ensure residential customers are only disconnected for non-payment of a bill as a measure of last resort.

How we've supported the framework's objectives

The changes we made to the Energy Retail Code in relation to the payment difficulty framework took effect on 1 January 2019.

The payment difficulty framework is the culmination of three years work which began with an inquiry into why thousands of Victorians were being disconnected. In late 2017, we finalised the energy rules that support customers with payment difficulties and ensure that disconnection is only ever a measure of last resort.

The energy rules and the process undertaken to develop them can be found in our final decision.

This is accompanied by a guidance note that helps stakeholders understand our approach to compliance and enforcement of the new rules.

We also worked with retailers to update their hardship policies during 2018. All retailers must have  a hardship policy that contains specific information about how they support residential customers in payment difficulty. These documents are approved by us, must be published on the retailer's website and sent to you when requested at no charge.