Register of enforcement action

The nature of the contravention order/obligations: Sumo Power and Sumo Gas, on 5,941 occasions, during the period 13 January 2022 to 12 August 2022, called on a domestic customer at the customer’s ordinary place of residence for the purpose of negotiating supply and sale contracts for electricity and gas. In each case, the conduct contravened conditions of their respective retail licences, imposed under section 40EB(1) of the Electricity Industry Act 2000 and section 48DB(1) of the Gas Industry Act 2001 respectively.

Sumo Power on two occasions, and Sumo Gas on one occasion, on 14 December 2021 and 10 February 2022, entered customers into contracts for electricity and gas without obtaining the relevant customer’s “explicit informed consent”, contravening cl 16(4) or 57(1) of the Energy Retail Code.

During the period from 3 March to 15 July 2022, Sumo Power and Sumo Gas contravened cl 109(1) of the Energy Retail Code of Practice, on 47,943 occasions in respect of 37,302 electricity customers and 25,763 occasions in respect of 23,325 gas customers, by purporting to carry out deemed best offer checks where those checks were undertaken incorrectly.

During the period 1 April 2022 to 31 August 2023, Sumo Power and Sumo Gas contravened cl 110(1)(a) and (b) of the Energy Retail Code of Practice, on 34,886 occasions, in respect of 21,165 electricity customers and 35 occasions in respect of 35 gas customers, by failing to provide the customers at least one deemed best offer message on a bill or bill summary within a period of three months for electricity customers and four months for gas customers.

In its orders, the court also made declarations that Sumo Power and Sumo Gas, during the period between 10 and 28 February 2022 on 10,628 occasions collectively, contravened cl 70Q(1) of the Energy Retail Code, when it failed to undertake best offer message calculations correctly.

Amount of civil penalty orders: $10,000,000 ($7,000,000 for S ECI 2023 05897 and $3,000,000 for S ECI 2024 00858)

Other orders: Adverse publicity orders under s 54F of the ESC Act, Order for the implementation of a quality assurance system under s 54G of the ESC Act, Injunction under s 54ZH of the ESC Act.

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Enforceable Undertaking

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Number of Notices: 45

Penalty Amount: $1,676,104

Provisions contravened: Clauses 150(1), 150(4) and 151(1) of the Electricity Retail Code of Practice, Section 23A(2) of the Electricity Industry Action (2000) and its statutory licence condition, and section 33(2) of the Gas Industry Act (2001) and its statutory licence condition.

Obligations contravened: Engie failed to either prevent the disclosure or provision of confidential information about customers affected by family violence without their consent, take reasonable steps to find out an affected customer’s preferred method of communication, or offer practical alternatives if their preferred method was not practicable or provide customer service assistance that avoided the need for a customer affected by family violence to repeatedly disclose or refer to their experience. Also, allegedly failed to provide accurate performance reports to the commission.

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Number of notices: 22

Penalty amount: $825,472

Provisions contravened: clause 80(1) of the ERCOP, section 23A of the Electricity Industry Act 2000 and section 33 of the Gas Industry Act 2001.

Obligations contravened: Dodo Power & Gas allegedly failing to pass on guaranteed service level payments to customers within the required timeframe and also allegedly failed to report the guaranteed service level payment breach and a separate disconnection breach to the commission within the prescribed timeframe.

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Greater Western Water enforceable undertaking 2024.

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Number of Notices: 10

Penalty Amount: $369,840

Provision contravened: Energy Retail Code of Practice (version 1 and 2) clause(s) 108, 109(1) 110(1) and 110(2)

Obligation contravened: ReAmped Energy allegedly failed in its best offer obligations to customers when it did not identify the customer’s best offer, incorrectly calculated the best offer, or did not provide a best offer message frequently enough.

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ReAmped Energy's enforceable undertaking for alleged breaches of the ‘best offer’ obligations.

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AusNet's enforceable undertaking for failing to maintain outage tracker during February 2024 storm event.

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Jemena Electricity Networks (VIC) Ltd failure to notify customers of planned interruption undertaking 2024

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Number of Notices: 12

Penalty Amount: $436,176

Provision contravened: Electricity Retail Code of Practice (version 1) clause 80
Obligation contravened: Blue NRG allegedly failed to credit guaranteed service level payments to customers within the required timeframe.

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Number of Notices: 4
Penalty Amount: $147,936
Provision contravened: Electricity Retail Code of Practice (version 2) clause 152(1)
Obligation contravened: Origin Energy allegedly did not take into account the potential impact of debt recovery action at the time on affected customers as obliged to do so under the provisions of the ERCOP

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Number of Notices: 4
Penalty Amount: $147,936
Provision contravened: Electricity Retail Code of Practice (version 2) clause 152(1)
Obligation contravened: Origin Energy allegedly did not take into account the potential impact of debt recovery action at the time on affected customers as obliged to do so under the provisions of the ERCOP

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Number of Notices: 11
Penalty Amount: $406,824
Provision contravened: Electricity Distribution Code of Practice (version 1), clause 11.5.1(a) and (b)
Obligation contravened: CitiPower allegedly failed to provide at least four business days written notice of a planned interruption to customers

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Number of notices: 22

Penalty amount: $799,656

Provision contravened: Electricity Retail Code of Practice (version 1), clause 109(1) 

Obligation contravened: AGL allegedly did not carry out the deemed best offer check by calculating the deemed best offer check result in line with the prescribed formula. 

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Number of notices: 2

Penalty amount: $72,696

Provision contravened: Electricity Retail Code of Practice (version 1), clause 110(2)

Obligation contravened: Before providing a deemed best offer message, Red Energy allegedly failed to determine the deemed best offer for small customers in accordance with clause 108.

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Number of notices: 5

Penalty amount: $181,740

Provision contravened: Electricity Retail Code of Practice (version 1), clause 110(1)

Obligation contravened: Red Energy allegedly failed to provide a deemed best offer message on a bill to small customers in line with the prescribed minimum timeframes.

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Number of notices: 2

Penalty amount: $73,968

Provision contravened: Electricity Industry Act 2000, Section 40SE, Section 23A

Obligation contravened: AGL allegedly arranged for the wrongful disconnection of a customer who had arrears less than the $300 threshold, and allegedly failed to report the wrongful disconnection to the commission within the prescribed reporting timeframe.

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