The Economic Regulation Authority publishes an annual report using data from energy retailers and distributors supplying small use customers in Western Australia.
The 2023/24 report includes information on the size of the network, customer complaints, call centre performance, reliability and streetlight repairs, as well as indicators of financial hardship like payment difficulties, access to hardship programs, and disconnections.
At the end of 2023/24, there were approximately 1.2 million small use customer accounts for electricity and 800,000 for gas. While 98.5 per cent of electricity and 97.7 per cent of gas customers did not have a bill debt, some customers are clearly experiencing cost of living pressures and seeking support to pay their electricity and gas bills. For these customers, support programs and government payments are helping, according to the data.
Over the past two years, we made changes to the customer protection codes to require electricity and gas retailers to provide all customers with access to support measures previously only available to those enrolled in a financial hardship program. That includes accessing a payment plan, or being given more time to pay a bill.
In the first full year of data since payment options in the Electricity Code were expanded, 98,186 residential customers used a bill extension and 62,426 used a payment plan, either for overdue bills or to smooth bill cycles into easier monthly payments.