AusNet enters $12M court enforceable undertaking after website crash leaves storm affected customers in the dark

The Essential Services Commission has accepted a court enforceable undertaking from AusNet Electricity Services Pty Ltd (AusNet) following Ausnet’s failure to provide adequate power outage information and customer communication channels to its customers after the February 2024 Victorian storms. 

Approximately 255,000 AusNet customers were left without power after the storms on 13 February 2024. AusNet’s outage tracker webpage did not have the technical capacity to withstand the amount of traffic to it following the storm, and so it crashed and was not fully restored for more than a week until AusNet completed works to restore it on 21 February. While the outage tracker webpage was unavailable, customers calling AusNet’s phone number also experienced excessive wait times. 

Essential Services Commission Chairperson and Commissioner Kate Symons says AusNet has acknowledged its failure to provide timely service interruption information to customers was a contravention of Victoria’s energy laws.

“The commission has accepted a court enforceable undertaking that represents a legally binding obligation for AusNet to directly contribute $12 million to provide remediation to its affected customers and to improve community energy resilience to extreme weather events. 

“In addition, AusNet has committed to a Compliance Improvement Action Plan through which it must improve its systems, issue a formal public notice acknowledging its contraventions and apologising to customers, pay for independent consultant reviews, and report to the commission regularly on its progress.

“The enforceable undertaking achieves an expeditious outcome for the Victorian public. The undertaking provides for AusNet to face a financial imposition for its contraventions, with the money going directly to enhance future energy resilience in the affected communities. It also formalises AusNet’s commitment to improve its systems to avoid a repeat of the same situation in a future power outage,” Commissioner Symons said.

Under the terms of the undertaking, AusNet has agreed to issue an additional $2 million to its previously announced Energy Resilience Community Fund, bringing its total commitment to $12 million. The additional $2 million will go directly to the Brotherhood of St Laurence, St Vincent de Paul and Financial Counselling Australia to further support consumers experiencing vulnerability.

Through the Energy Resilience Community Fund, AusNet will: 

• Provide direct financial assistance to affected customers and small businesses experiencing financial hardship
• Make donations to local emergency relief charities
• Work with regional councils to award grants to provide communities with access to powered facilities to charge devices, shower, make phone calls and access support in future power outages
• Work with the Victorian Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action, local councils and community groups to identify locations for local generation solutions to keep multiple small businesses on a main street operating during future power outages.

The undertaking requires AusNet to distribute the full $12 million Energy Resilience Community Fund by 31 December 2026, with any remaining amount donated to charities approved by the commission. 

The commission will closely monitor AusNet’s compliance with the terms of the court enforceable undertaking. The full details of the court enforceable undertaking are available on the commission’s website.