Complaint activity

Complaints received this quarter decreased by 6.4% to 4,092 (down from 4,373 last quarter), owing to decreased complaints from electricity and gas customers. We believe this was partly due to the reintroduction of a partial COVID-19 lockdown in December, combined with the holiday period. The restrictions on various credit activities by the AER in its Statement of Expectations remained in place and this perhaps explains the decline of complaints compared to last year.

Infographic showing summary of Oct-Dec 2020 complaints

Electricity: Total electricity complaints of 3,184 fell by 7.8% compared to the previous quarter. The 2,875 electricity retail complaints we received during the period represents an 8.7% decrease on last quarter’s 3,149 complaints. Network complaints increased by 6.4%, with 267 complaints compared to 251 in the previous quarter.

Gas: At 725, overall gas complaints were 1.9% lower compared to 739 complaints received last quarter. The number of gas retail complaints received during the quarter (680) increased by 1.0% compared with the previous quarter (673). The number of gas network complaints (30) decreased by 20 from the last quarter.

Water: We received 157 water complaints this quarter, just one more than last quarter.

Summary of energy and water complaints Oct-Dec 2020

The graph below shows complaints in Oct-Dec 2020 compared with Jul-Sep 2020. An accessible version of this information is provided in the table below. Graph showing complaint activity for previous two quarters (Oct-Dec 2020 and Jul-Sep 2020)

Table 1 - Complaint activity for previous two quarters (Oct-Dec 2020 and Jul-Sep 2020)

Complaint category	Oct-Dec 2020	Jul-Sep 2020
Electricity retail	2,875	3,149
Electricity network	267	251
Gas retail	680	673
Gas network	30	50
Water	157	156
Exempt energy retailers	10	21
General enquiries	47	49
Total	4,092	4,373

Tables 2 to 5 provide detailed information about the number of complaints received from October to December 2020 compared to the previous four quarters.

Table 2: Electricity complaints opened Oct to Dec 2020, including previous quarters
Case subject	Provider type	Oct-Dec 2020	Jul – Sep 2020	Apr – Jun 2020	Jan – Mar 2020	Oct – Dec 2019
Electricity	Exempt retailer	10	21	12	14	18
Electricity	Network	267	251	259	368	235
Electricity	Retailer	2,875	3,149	2,658	3,457	3,764
Electricity	Not allocated	32	33	63	101	80
Electricity	Total	3,184	3,454	2,992	3,940	4,097

Table 3: Gas complaints opened Oct to Dec 2020, including previous quarters
Case subject	Provider type	Oct - Dec 2020	Jul– Sep 2020	Apr – Jun 2020	Jan – Mar 2020	Oct – Dec 2019
Gas	Exempt retailer	0	0	0	0	1
Gas	Network	30	50	21	31	42
Gas	Retailer	680	673	520	658	755
Gas	Not allocated	15	16	10	8	12
Gas	Total	725	739	551	697	810

Table 4: Non energy/water complaints opened Oct to Dec 2020, including previous quarters
Case subject	Provider type	Oct - Dec 2020	Jul – Sep 2020	Apr – Jun 2020	Jan – Mar 2020	Oct – Dec 2019
Non-energy/non-water	Not allocated	26	24	15	22	20
Non-energy/non-water	Total	26	24	15	22	20

Table 5: Water complaints opened Oct to Dec 2020, including previous quarters
Case subject	Provider type	Oct - Dec 2020	Jul – Sep 2020	Apr – Jun 2020	Jan – Mar 2020	Oct – Dec 2019
Water	Network	47	44	74	85	65
Water	Retailer	80	92	99	129	118
Water	Not Allocated	30	20	18	24	17
Water	Total	157	156	191	238	200

Energy & Water Ombudsman NSW

Complaint activity