EWOV Annual Report 2021

EWOVAnnual Report 2021

ENERGY AND WATER OMBUDSMAN (VIC TORIA) 1

EW

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– W

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EWOV who we are – what we do

2021 Annual Report

AN INDUSTRY-BASED OMBUDSMAN SCHEME , ENERGY AND WATER OMBUDSMAN (VIC TORIA) (EWOV) PROVIDES EFFICIENT, EFFEC TIVE , FAIR , AND INDEPENDENT DISPUTE RESOLUTION SERVICES TO VIC TORIA' S ENERGY AND WATER CUSTOMERS AND COMPANIES.

Set up in late 1995 as Australia's first electricity

ombudsman scheme, EWOV has since expanded

to include natural gas (1999), water (2001), liquefied

petroleum gas (LPG) (2005) and embedded networks

(2018). To 30 June 2021, we had dealt with

735,067 cases.

EWOV uses alternative dispute resolution (ADR)

processes to reach fair and reasonable, and

sustainable, outcomes. In doing this, we take account

of the circumstances of the complaint, good industry

practice and the law. For us to deal with a complaint,

the company must be a member of EWOV Limited,

the property must be in Victoria, and the customer

should have tried at least once to resolve the complaint

themselves by contacting the company directly.

EWOV also plays an important role in helping

prevent complaints. Our reporting of complaint data

and the customer experience of the energy and

water industries enables companies, regulators and

government to make customer service and policy

improvements. By identifying and reporting systemic

issues, we enable action to be taken so that more

customers aren't affected.

EWOV's operation is underpinned by the

EWOV Charter, the EWOV Limited Constitution,

licence conditions for the electricity and gas

industries, the General Exemption Order 2017 for

embedded networks, relevant water legislation, the

liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) industry code and the

Benchmarks for Industry-Based Customer Dispute

Resolution (CDR Benchmarks).

OUR VISION A FAIR AND ACCESSIBLE ENERGY AND WATER M ARKET FOR ALL VIC TORIANS

OUR PURPOSE TO INDEPENDENTLY AND EFFICIENTLY RESOLVE ENERGY AND WATER DISPUTES IN VIC TORIA AND REDUCE THEIR OCCURRENCE

OUR PRINCIPLES ACCESSIBLE , FAIR , INDEPENDENT, EFFICIENT, EFFEC TIVE , ACCOUNTABLE

Cynthia Gebert Energy and Water Ombudsman (Victoria)

IN THIS YE AR' S REPORT

EWOV – WHO WE ARE – WHAT WE DO 1

2020-21 SNAPSHOTS 2

ABOUT THE BOARD 4

FROM THE OMBUDSMAN 6

OBJECTIVES & STRATEGIC PRIORITIES 9

CASES RECEIVED & WHO LODGED THEM 20

DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROCESSES & OUTCOMES 22

ISSUES & TRENDS 28

BILLING 30

CREDIT 34

PROVISION 38

SUPPLY 39

LAND 40

MARKETING 42

TRANSFER 43

CUSTOMER SERVICE 44

PRIVACY 45

SOLAR 46

EMBEDDED NETWORK 49

SYSTEMIC ISSUES 50

ELECTRICITY 52

GAS 54

WATER 56

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 58

MORE ON OUR WEBSITE

See www.ewov.com.au for information

on the cases we received in 2020-21 for

individual energy and water companies,

together with data visualisations and detailed

graphical representations.

OUR REPORTING RESPONSIBILITIES

This Annual Report is prepared and distributed in

accordance with the Ombudsman's responsibilities

under the EWOV Charter and the Benchmarks

for Industry-Based Customer Dispute Resolution

(CDR Benchmarks).

DATA NOTE

The data in this report covers the year

1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021, run at 5 July 2021.

Percentages are rounded to the nearest whole

number, so may not always add to 100%.

EWOV acknowledges the Traditional Owners of country on which we operate throughout

Victoria and recognises their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. We pay respects to Elders past, present and emerging.

EWOV embraces the diversity of our Victorian communities. Every person,

regardless of their race, religion, age, physical attributes or sexual orientation is entitled to be treated with dignity and respect. We oppose all forms of discrimination.

2020-21 Snapshots

2 2021 ANNUAL REPORT ENERGY AND WATER OMBUDSMAN (VIC TORIA) 3

C A SES BY ISSUE

$1,657,047PROVIDE D FOR CUS TOME RS THROUG H EWOV ’ S DISPUTE RE SOLUTION PRO CE SSE S

624SCHEME PARTICIPANT S UP FROM 516 THE PRE VIOUS YE AR

26SYS TEMIC ISSUE S IDE NTIFIE D AND CLOSE D ALL OF THEM ABOUT E NE RGY

BY C A SE T YPE

1,334ENQUIRIES ↑25%

18,208COMPL AINTS ↓20%

MISSING THE MARK AND VOICES , T WO MAJOR RESE ARCH REPORTS HIGHLIGHTING THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

DECEMBER 2020

Missing the Mark

EWOV insights on the impact of the Payment Difficulty

Framework (PDF) – 1 January 2019 to 1 October 2020 MethodologyFrom June 2020 until February 2021 the ANU researchers spoke to 92 householders, businesses and industry experts about their experiences with new energy products and services.

Research methods included semi-structured interviews and technology tours; focus groups; content analysis of a popular online user forum and a secondary analysis of user data.

Victorian Energy and Water Ombudsman’s Investigation of Consumer Experiences (VOICES)

EWOVVOICES Report Summary

In early 2020 the Energy and Water Ombudsman Victoria (EWOV) and the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) jointly commissioned social research by the Australian National University’s (ANU) Battery, Storage and Grid Integration Program (BSGIP) to investigate the qualitative consumer experience of new energy products and services in Victoria.

At EWOV, we were motivated to deepen our understanding of the issues customers face with new energy products and services (such as home batteries, electric vehicles, home energy management systems, microgrids and virtual power plants), to prepare for the coming energy system transition and to understand our role in it.

19,542RECEIVED

↓18%

C A SES RECEIVED

2017-1834,524

2016-17 32,002

2018-1931,180

2019-2023,786

2020-2119,542

3DUAL FUEL ↓73%

167OTHER INDUSTRIES ↑27%

11,801ELECTRICIT Y ↓17%

6,046GAS ↓23%

1,525WATER ↓1%

BY INDUS TRY

20

20

-2

1 S

NA

PS

HO

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49% 9,571

4% 706

15% 3,025

4% 694

11% 2,154

3% 669

6% 1,242

1% 154

6% 1,225

1% 102

Credit

Customer Service

Provision

Land

Transfer

Marketing

Supply

Privacy

Billing

General Enquiry


About the Board

GOVERNANCE S TATEMENT

Energy and Water Ombudsman (Victoria) Limited

is a company limited by guarantee and not having

share capital. The objective of the company is

to independently and efficiently resolve disputes

between customers and energy and water

service providers in Victoria, with the further aim

of reducing the occurrence of disputes. To fulfill

this objective, EWOV Limited has set up a dispute

resolution scheme called Energy and Water

Ombudsman (Victoria) (EWOV) and appointed an

Ombudsman who has authority under the EWOV

Charter to receive, investigate and facilitate the

resolution of complaints. The 'members' of EWOV

Limited, some of which trade under multiple

business names, are the 'scheme participants' of

the EWOV dispute resolution scheme.

The EWOV Limited Board is responsible for the

business affairs and property of the company,

including corporate governance, the setting of

budgets, risk management, strategic planning and

ensuring the Ombudsman's independence.

The day-to-day operation of the EWOV dispute

resolution scheme is the responsibility of the

Ombudsman. The roles of the Board and the

Ombudsman are complementary, with the

Ombudsman attending Board meetings.

From the Chairman

THE 2020-21 YEAR WAS EXTRAORDINARILY DIFFICULT.

IT WAS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO GATHER IN PERSON

AND SO MUCH HAD TO BE ACHIEVED REMOTELY.

I congratulate the Ombudsman on her strong

and effective leadership, which navigated EWOV

through the uncertainties and helped the team

maintain a first-class dispute resolution service.

There is no denying that COVID-19 has changed

the landscape for us all. The economic and social

impacts of the pandemic are still being revealed,

and EWOV must be prepared to respond to any

increase in complaints. The efforts of industry over

the past 12 months to try new ways of working

with customers are commended, and we hope and

expect to see a continuation of this. In many ways,

it is the efforts of energy and water companies that

will keep the number of complaints down.

Each year, the Board sets several strategic priorities

for the EWOV scheme in the context of its purpose

'to independently and efficiently resolve energy

and water disputes in Victoria and reduce their

occurrence'. Predicated on a balanced approach,

these agreed strategic priorities recognise EWOV's

role in resolving individual complaints, as well as

its role in contributing to industry improvement,

and policy and regulatory dialogue, to reduce the

occurrence of complaints. The Ombudsman has

presented a well-prepared plan and budget that

will guide EWOV through the coming 2021-22 year,

ensuring it maintains its effectiveness and efficiency

and delivers on The EWOV Promise. You will find

more about this important undertaking in the

Ombudsman's summary of the year.

The Board also recognises how important it is that

EWOV is well-placed to deal with industries and

business models that are changing rapidly. This will

demand process, system, and jurisdiction change.

We fully endorse the work the Ombudsman is

doing to ensure that, in the future, EWOV remains

fit for purpose.

We saw some changes within the Board during the

year. In August 2020, water industry director Peter

Quinn was reappointed for a further two years

and, in April 2021, Joanne Pafumi joined us as an

electricity industry director replacing Andrew Davis.

Farewelling Peter Gartlan at year's end, I expressed

the Board's appreciation for his many years of

service conducted in a collegiate, perceptive,

constructively assertive, and articulate manner.

For my part, I was delighted to accept

reappointment as EWOV Limited Chairman for

a further 3-year term.

Thank you to my fellow Directors for their

contributions to open and robust discussions on

important matters. They all bring great knowledge

and experience to the table, and a maturity that

allows meaningful, and not partisan, discussion

of all issues. That is a great accolade to them,

and I thank them for another splendid year.

Paul Sheahan AM Chairman, EWOV Limited

Directors

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Paul Sheahan AM Chairman appointed November 2014

Gerard Brody Consumer Action Law Centre Consumer Director, appointed August 2014

Gavin Dufty St Vincent de Paul Society Consumer Director, appointed August 2013

Jonathan Briskin Origin Energy Industry Director, appointed August 2014

Eugenio (Gino) Fragapane AGL Energy Industry Director, appointed August 2015

Andrew Davis Jemena Industry Director, October 2019 to December 2020

Ronda Held Consumer Director, appointed July 2016

Joanne Pafumi Powercor/CitiPower/United Energy Industry Director appointed April 2021

Peter Quinn Industry Director, appointed August 2018

Peter Gartlan Consumer Director, July 2012 – June 2021


From the Ombudsman

MEETING E X TR AORDINARY TIMES WITH E XCEP TIONAL PERFORM ANCE

Among the positive characteristics that come to mind

when I look back on how EWOV managed the 2020-21

'new normal', resilience shines most brightly.

Personally and organisationally, we rose to the

challenge of coping with the difficulties delivered

by COVID-19, staying on track and springing back in

good shape. We had to meet extraordinary times with

exceptional performance. And we did.

As individuals, we became more flexible in dealing with

many aspects of our lives. We built on and fostered

positive, supportive relationships. We encouraged each

other to reach out for help when we needed to. We

drew on our strengths to continue to bring the highest

possible standards to our work.

As the EWOV team, we pushed forward. The

essentiality of energy and water services meant we

needed to find ways to ensure EWOV's accessibility.

As we reorganised for a hybrid work environment, we

looked for opportunities to put our collective strengths

to good use. We built on the things we learnt through

lockdown, especially how to make use of technology

and digital solutions. We continued to challenge

ourselves about how we do what we do, and what

that should look like going forward. We encouraged

all team members to think about how we could best

balance the needs of individuals with the needs of the

organisation. We maintained our communications

and collaboration with the wide range of stakeholders

who were relying on us to deliver high quality dispute

resolution services.

Yes, the past year was extraordinary. It tested our

resilience, and at times our patience and good humour.

But it also gave us opportunities to take stock, to

think differently, and to challenge how we do things

— setting us up to make our service delivery to the

Victorian community even better.

" We continued to challenge ourselves about how we do what we do, and what that should look like going forward."

" The EWOV Promise is now the framework through which we're looking at everything we do."

COMMIT TING TO AN OVER ARCHING PROMISE

That brings me to The EWOV Promise:

• We will find you.

• We will explain it for you.

• We will work with you.

This three-part promise captures what EWOV's

key stakeholders — energy and water customers,

energy and water companies, regulators,

government, and the community — should rightly

expect when engaging with us. It goes to ensuring

that we're listening, that we're maximising the value

of our case data, and that we're adapting our ways

of working. We're delivering on it by building our

capabilities in five key areas — communications,

information exchange, knowledge, data as a

service, and accessibility.

The EWOV Promise delivers on a recommendation

from the 2020 Independent Review — that EWOV

establish a customer experience model. It's also

helping us deliver on the new strategic priority

the EWOV Limited Board added to our annual

planning in 2019-20. That priority, 'Future scope

and capability', places a clear obligation on us to

think critically about how to ensure EWOV remains

effective and relevant, in the face of a changing

operating environment and shifting expectations

of an ombudsman scheme.

The challenges of the past year led energy and water

companies to rethink their approaches too. We believe

they did a particularly good job of improving their

systems and moving quickly to address the smaller

issues. For the most part, they also demonstrated high

levels of compassion for the difficult circumstances in

which so many of their customers found themselves.

EWOV's credit issues category is about unpaid bills,

payment difficulties, and the action taken by energy

and water companies to collect arrears. In 2020-21,

35% fewer credit cases were lodged with us, and

compared with credit cases four years ago they were

down 63%. The falls were across all industry sectors.

For the companies, the challenge is to work out

how to maintain a more compassionate approach,

and to embed that approach in their business culture

and practices. At the heart of this is making sure

company credit policies and practices go beyond

box-ticking to genuinely deliver improved outcomes

for individual customers.

TAKING A DIFFERENT APPROACH WITHIN INDUS TRY

Related to this, in December 2020, we published

Missing the Mark, a major piece of research on the

Payment Difficulty Framework (PDF) introduced by

the Essential Services Commission in January 2019.

The research report provides EWOV's insights on

the impact of the PDF — where it's been working

and where (and how) it hasn't. Essentially, we found

that while regulatory requirements around payment

difficulty have undergone a step-change, the culture

of some companies in the retail energy sector hasn't.

Despite disconnection rates dropping dramatically,

too many vulnerable customers are still missing

out on their PDF entitlements. We think it's time

to take another look at the PDF — its design and

implementation, and compliance with it — and this

should include an audit of PDF outcomes for

individual customers. There's more about

Missing the Mark on page 33.

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" For the companies, the challenge is to work out how to maintain a more compassionate approach, and to embed that approach in their business culture and practices."

Summarised below, The EWOV Promise is now the

framework through which we're looking at everything

we do. It's challenging us to examine our approach

to EWOV's role — to ensure that our effort is focused

where it's most valuable and that what we do and how

we do it reflects current stakeholder expectations.

We will find you

• We will make sure we are accessible,

that people are aware of us (discoverable)

and that the service we provide is easy to use.

• We will meet people on their terms with

language they use.

• We will broaden our reach and be there if

someone seeks us out.

We will explain it for you

• We will offer independent advice and guidance.

• We will help all parties understand their rights

and responsibilities.

• We will empower people through our explanations

and help them better understand their situation

and solutions available.

• We will be mindful of how we offer our explanations

and ensure it is in a way that suits our stakeholders.

We will work with you

• We will provide fairness and independence

through all aspects of our work.

• We will be easy to use and tailor our services,

where possible, to meet stakeholder needs.

• We will be known for our efficient and timely

dispute resolution services.

8 2021 ANNUAL REPORT

Objectives and strategic priorities

IN 2020-21, THE SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM FOCUSED

ON SEVEN STRATEGIC PRIORITIES UNDERPINNED BY

OBJECTIVES THAT REFLECT A BALANCED APPROACH

TO EWOV'S ROLE.

OPER ATING MODEL TO PROVIDE EFFICIENT, EFFEC TIVE , FAIR , AND INDEPENDENT DISPUTE RESOLUTION SERVICES TO ENERGY AND WATER CUS TOMERS AND COMPANIES

INDUS TRY REL ATIONSHIPS TO FOS TER EFFEC TIVE , COLL ABOR ATIVE REL ATIONSHIPS AND DRIVE CONTINUED CUS TOMER SERVICE IMPROVEMENT BY COMPANIES

CUS TOMER AND COMMUNIT Y ENG AG EMENT TO ENSURE THE ACCESSIBILIT Y AND AWARENESS OF EWOV

POLICY AND INFLUENCE TO BE A RESPEC TED PROVIDER OF HIG H QUALIT Y, INDEPENDENT INFORM ATION , ANALYSIS AND ADVICE ABOUT THE CUS TOMER E XPERIENCE OF THE ENERGY AND WATER INDUS TRIES

FUTURE SCOPE AND C APABILIT Y TO ENSURE EWOV REM AINS RELE VANT AND EFFEC TIVE IN A CHANG ING ENVIRONMENT

SYS TEMS AND DATA ANALYSIS TO DELIVER ROBUS T AND C APABLE INFORM ATION TECHNOLOGY AND DATA SOLUTIONS TO SUPPORT EWOV ' S GOAL S

HUM AN C APABILIT Y TO FOS TER AN AG ILE , HIG H-PERFORMING WORKFORCE

" Despite the uncertainties presented by COVID-19, our case handling performance remained strong, and we met our accessibility and efficiency goals."

USING WHAT WE ' VE LE ARNT TO MOVE AHE AD

Tough times notwithstanding, it's been an energising

and productive period for EWOV, with the opportunity

for everyone on the team to contribute to delivering on

The EWOV Promise.

Moving ahead, we'll be working equally hard to

make sure that — in the face of changing customer

expectations, new industry business models, and

emerging technologies — we can continue to

deliver EWOV's dispute resolution services in the

comprehensive way that's expected of us.

There will of course be more challenges as we move

from the 'new normal' to the 'next normal', but the

rewards from the effort we're putting into future-

proofing EWOV will be great for those who rely on our

services, and for us too.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to EWOV

throughout the year — in particular the EWOV team,

who responded and adapted to every challenge

thrown their way.

Cynthia Gebert Energy and Water Ombudsman (Victoria)

PROG RESSING S TR ATEG IC PRIORITIES

Alongside our development of The EWOV Promise,

we worked to deliver on strategic priorities in seven

aspects of EWOV's work — operating model, industry

relationships, customer and community engagement,

policy and influence, future scope and capability,

systems and data analysis, and human capability.

Despite the uncertainties presented by COVID-19, our

case handling performance remained strong, and we

met our accessibility and efficiency goals. Positively,

measures of customer satisfaction and the customer

experience of interacting with us continued to improve.

We explored different ways of engaging with

the energy and water companies, and working

collaboratively to reduce the occurrence

of complaints.

Our work on the dispute resolution front line gave

us unique insights on how customers were coping

in the COVID-19 environment. We shared these

insights on the customer experience, and our

tracking of complaint issues and trends, with

government and regulators through regular data

briefings, and in other forums.

We completed a second major report, VOICES

(Victorian Energy and Water Ombudsman's

Investigation of Consumer Experiences). This report

investigates the consumer experience of new energy

products and services — such as solar, home batteries,

electric vehicles, home energy management

systems, microgrids and virtual power plants.

There's more about VOICES on page 47.

Despite the challenges the year threw up, we finished

2020-21 well positioned to understand and respond to

the needs of all of EWOV's stakeholders. Our progress

against key performance indicators is summarised on

pages 9 to 19.


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Operating model

OUR PERFORM ANCE

We performed strongly against case handling

timeframe measures:

• Accessible and efficient service to customers

contacting us on the 1800 number

> Calls answered in 30 seconds: KPI = 80%.

Result = 87%.

• Timely and sustainable resolution of

straightforward cases

> Stage 1 Investigations closed within 28 days:

KPI = >90%. Result = 92%.

> Stage 1 Investigations not reopened:

KPI = 90%. Result = 99%.

• Effective and efficient Investigations

(Stage 1 and Stage 2+)

> Average days to close: KPI = 46 days.

Result = 46 days.

> Closed within 180 days: KPI = >98%.

Result = 97%.

> Not reopened: KPI = 97%. Result = 99%.

We improved the effectiveness of our early

resolution processes through more use of case

clarification meetings with the companies. We also

trained all of our Conciliators in how to facilitate

two-way conciliation conferences, reducing the

need for us to shuttle information between customers

and companies.

New reporting helped us understand which

companies escalate issues and why they do that.

Through streamlining our 'fair and reasonable

assessment' process, we reduced the number of

aged cases (over 180 days) and cases approaching

that point.

We published new and updated 'good industry

practice' documents to help companies resolve similar

complaints. These also helped our staff assess new

complaints and manage customer expectations

early on.

We published our revised Internal Complaints Handling

Policy and Internal Review Process.

In support of 'We will find you' under The EWOV

Promise, we improved accessibility through:

• reducing the information customers must provide

to get our help

• better Interactive Voice Response (IVR) and

web chat functionality to accommodate

after-hours messages

• incorporating a call back option into our new

website (www.ewov.com.au)

• introducing an easier to use, streamlined web

complaint form

• a follow-up SMS after an Unassisted Referral — to

ensure customers are aware of their right to return

to EWOV and can easily escalate to an Assisted

Referral

• two-way SMS — where customers can update us

on their Assisted Referral and move through to an

Investigation

• a direct phone number for contact by companies.

Supporting 'no wrong door' and seamless referral,

we led work on 'warm referral' where an issue needs

to be handled by another body/office. Customers can

now also give us permission to send their complaint

across to the other body/office directly (and vice versa),

so they don't have to repeat it. This ensures complaints

get to the right place and builds customer trust in

the extended complaints/support network.

We incurred a total cost of $9.4m, which was $1.9m

(17%) below budget.

S TR ATEG IC PRIORITIES Improve ability to identify and respond to fluctuations in case volumes

Embed a continuous improvement culture and approach to all EWOV processes

Strong and effective financial management that balances efficient and fair operations

SUCCESS MEASURES Meet or exceed key performance indicators by 30 June 2021

Meet cost per case outlined in the 2020-21 budget

S TR ATEG IC PRIORITIES Actively seek and act on feedback

Share our knowledge and insights

Collaborate to drive customer service improvements and reduce complaints

SUCCESS MEASURES Sustained levels of satisfaction relative to 2019-20

Ongoing engagement with EWOV's communications relative to 2019-20

OUR PERFORM ANCE

WE MET REGULARLY

WITH COMPANIES ABOUT

CASE HANDLING ISSUES,

PARTICULARLY THE

IMPACT OF COVID-19

ON VOLUMES AND

OPERATIONS. These meetings also provided an opportunity for

the companies to provide feedback about our

performance.

We continued to deliver training online. This included

our existing six-hour training delivered via a series

of two-hour modules, and 'right first time' training

to improve the quality of company responses to

customers and to us. We also tailored some training

to individual companies.

For embedded network entities, we provided tailored

information on the embedded network review process,

explained our processes, and highlighted case

trends related to family violence and fair and

reasonable outcomes.

We introduced EWOV Member News to provide

more timely and relevant information. It's performed

well, with an average open rate of 30% and a 7.3%

click-through rate. Content has included tips on how

to reduce complaints, good industry practice around

the Payment Difficulty Framework, addressing system-

driven complaints and feedback from our community

outreach and engagement.

We refined and standardised the induction process

for new scheme participants.

We made the 'member portal' a one-stop shop for

EWOV data and information — more readable content,

a news feed to keep companies up-to-date, and moves

to improve data presentation for greater usability.

We changed our approach to how we carry out

EWOV's systemic issues function — more actively

identifying trends in our data and engaging on these

with companies and other stakeholders.

In May 2021, we introduced a new systemic issues

report, Detect. The first edition highlighted systemic

issues related to customer access to entitlements

(concessions, grants) and provision of information to

customers about their right to complain to EWOV.

In October 2020, we hosted a vulnerability forum

for energy companies — at which community

representatives presented — to raise awareness of

the barriers customers may face in accessing support.

A follow-up workshop was held in June 2021.

In our annual survey of the companies that are

EWOV scheme participants, we maintained similar

ratings of our performance against the Benchmarks

for Industry-Based Customer Dispute Resolution

(CDR Benchmarks).

Industry relationships

S TR ATEG IC PRIORITIES Improve ability to identify and respond to fluctuations in case volumes

Embed a continuous improvement culture and approach to all EWOV processes

Strong and effective financial management that balances efficient and fair operations

SUCCESS MEASURES Meet or exceed key performance indicators by 30 June 2021

Meet cost per case outlined in the 2020-21 budget

1 2 2021 ANNUAL REPORT ENERGY AND WATER OMBUDSMAN (VIC TORIA) 1 3

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Customer and community engagement

OUR PERFORM ANCE

Given COVID-19 restrictions, we adopted a strategic

approach to our outreach and engagement, reaching

over 1,500 people directly. Where possible, we

continued to align outreach and engagement activities

with the key priority areas previously identified

— Wyndham catchment, Gippsland region and

Dandenong/Casey.

A positive outcome of the necessary shift to

online was that we reached even more community

organisations across Victoria — groups in locations

affected by bushfire and COVID-19, those

representing the culturally and linguistically diverse,

financial counsellors, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait

Islander peoples.

In addition to five in-person outreach events, we ran

27 information sessions with the Ombudsman —

including ten virtual 'learning at lunch' sessions for

local councils and water companies, taking advantage

of their local community knowledge and networks to

increase awareness of EWOV.

All of this enabled us to gather insights on the energy

and water experiences of a very diverse range of

customers, which we shared with companies,

regulators and government.

As well as running a Community Stakeholder

Roundtable, we continued to look for new ways to

communicate with the Victorian community.

PHOTOS

1 IN MARCH, EWOV PARTNERED WITH 15 AGENCIES TO DELIVER

THE WYNDHAM BRING YOUR BILLS ADVICE DAY AS A LAW

WEEK INTIATIVE.

2 HUME CITY COUNCIL, BRING YOUR BILLS DAY AT

BROADMEADOWS, MARCH 2021.

3 THE FINANCIAL COUNSELLING VICTORIA COVID-19 INDUSTRY

SUMMIT, APRIL 2021. OUR OMBUDSMAN, CYNTHIA GEBERT,

JOINED AN INDUSTRY OMBUDSMAN PANEL ALONGSIDE JUDI

JONES, TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY OMBUDSMAN,

AND DAVID LOCKE, CHIEF OMBUDSMAN AUSTRALIAN

FINANCIAL COMPLAINTS AUTHORITY.

STRATEGIC PRIORITIES Engage with all customer groups, especially vulnerable and disadvantaged customers

Actively seek and act on feedback

Share our knowledge and insights

SUCCESS MEASURES Maintaining positive community agency participation for improved understanding of EWOV's role and process

Sustained high levels of customer satisfaction and positive community agency feedback

We supplemented outreach and engagement activities

with emails and publications specifically for the

community sector. This included a targeted mailout of

over 6,000 posters and flyers to community agencies,

primary and secondary schools, and maternal child

health centres.

Sponsored posts on Facebook helped us reach over

440,000 Facebook users with educational content

on the role of an ombudsman, high bills (linked to

working from home) and concessions. We also ran

geographically targeted posts during crises, such as

the lockdown of housing towers in Melbourne and the

June storms. On average, we beat key benchmarks for

cost per 1,000 impressions and for click-through rate.

We're exploring how to improve our reach on other

platforms, including Twitter and LinkedIn.

In February 2021, we launched the new EWOV website

(www.ewov.com.au) with content that's easier to find

and use. This delivered immediate benefits, especially

around our new online complaint form — it's now

more accessible to a diverse range of potential users,

has a clear progress tracker to help users track where

they are in the complaint form process, is faster to

complete, and we now have the capacity to analyse

the complaint form 'funnel'.

Customer surveying showed that we improved on

most key customer engagement measures:

• satisfaction overall = 80% good or excellent (up 2%)

• satisfaction with Enquiry/Unassisted Referral =

72% (down 3%)

• satisfaction with Assisted Referral = 82% (up 2%)

• satisfaction with Investigation = 76% (up 2%)

• net promotor score = 58 (up from 51)

• effort required by customer (less or as expected) =

75% (up 2%)

• assistance tailored to the needs of the customer

(met expectations) = 80% (up 3%)

• staff performance (positive rating for listening,

helpfulness, understanding, independence) =

91% (up 2%).

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1 4 2021 ANNUAL REPORT ENERGY AND WATER OMBUDSMAN (VIC TORIA) 1 5

Policy and influence

Future scope and capability

OUR PERFORM ANCE

We kept government, regulators and policy makers

informed — to maximise the effectiveness of our

casework, reduce the occurrence of complaints,

and influence the policy environment for energy

and water dispute resolution.

We published weekly briefings for the Minister

for Energy, Environment and Solar Homes, the

Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning,

the Australian Energy Regulator, the Essential Services

Commission, the Department of Families, Fairness and

Housing, and Consumer Affairs Victoria to ensure that

our complaint handling experience, data and stories

were considered in policy decisions.

We contributed to the Essential Services Commission's

industry and consumer roundtables about the impact

of COVID-19.

We met regularly with Consumer Affairs Victoria and

the Department of Environment, Land, Water and

Planning on operational and policy issues — helping

to develop adequate consumer dispute resolution

options for customers purchasing non-traditional

energy products and services.

We took opportunities to discuss appropriate

future consumer protections with the Department

of Environment, Land, Water and Planning

(VOICES research report co-funder), Solar Victoria,

Australian National University, and the Essential

Services Commission.

We published 'Missing the Mark ' — a detailed analysis

of the Payment Difficulty Framework (PDF) based

on case studies — to shed light on the practical

customer experience of the PDF, ahead of its review

by the Essential Services Commission.

We made six formal submissions to the consultation

processes of the Essential Services Commission,

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission,

Department of Environment, Land, Water and

Planning, and on National Consumer Credit Reform

as related to energy.

We collaborated with Energy & Water Ombudsman South

Australia, Energy & Water Ombudsman Queensland and

Energy & Water Ombudsman NSW on two submissions

to consultations run by the Australian Energy Market

Commission and the Energy Security Board.

We provided seven tailored responses to data requests

from regulators, government departments, customer

advocacy groups and the media.

We reviewed EWOV's stakeholder publications for

purpose, effectiveness and audience — making

changes to publication schedules to avoid crossover of

content and to put the right amount of content out at

the right time (based on statistics of readership/use).

We introduced Reflect, a quarterly publication

that replaced the public and industry versions of

Res Online. In line with its title, Reflect looks back

at the past quarter — through data visualisations,

analysis of case issues and trends, case studies,

updates on systemic issues, summaries of recent

public submissions, and updates on our outreach

activities. It also directs readers to the EWOV Data

Hub —the ‘always on' data area on our website.

Reflect emails performed well, with an average

open rate of 30% and an 8% click-through rate.

We introduced EWOV News, an email newsletter giving

short news and updates to around 1,500 subscribers

(government, regulators, community organisations and

media contacts). EWOV News complements Reflect —

but differs in that all the content is inside the email and

it is present-focused, rather than backwards-looking.

EWOV News has performed well, with an average open

rate of 26% and a 4.3% average click-through rate.

OUR PERFORM ANCE

We continued to engage on the practicalities of a

solar retail jurisdiction for EWOV — and share our

out-of-jurisdiction solar data with key stakeholders and

in our publications. Our goal continued to be to inform

a staged approach to expanding EWOV's jurisdiction

in the face of an emerging consumer protection gap.

This built on two other major pieces of work. The

first was the 'What will energy consumers expect of

an energy and water ombudsman in 2020, 2025 and

2030?' research report commissioned by the Australia

& New Zealand Energy and Water Ombudsman

Network (ANZEWON) in 2019-20. The second was

EWOV's own research report 'Charging Ahead – New

energy technology and future of energy complaints in

Victoria', released in June 2020, in which we started to

map out the types of complaints we may receive for

new and emerging energy technologies.

Our recent VOICES report presented the results of

extensive research with households, businesses and

industry experts on their attitudes to, expectations

of, concerns about, and experiences of new energy

products and services. We commissioned this research

jointly with the Victorian Department of Environment,

Land, Water and Planning. It was conducted by the

Australian National University's Battery Storage Grid

and Integration Program. Important to EWOV's role

going forward, it shows that complaints about new

energy products and services will cover a wide range

of issues:

• the quality of technology and providers (and the

relationship to warranties)

• the complexity of technology, business models and

the grid connection process

• the quality and accessibility of information

• relationships between consumers and different

business types (outside of typical energy providers)

• geographic location (regional areas often receive

limited or poor service options)

• unfair sales practices

• cultural challenges (householder values and

aspirations vs industry assumptions)

• conservatism, risk aversion and communication

failures (largely around product offerings).

We worked closely with our counterparts in

ANZEWON to develop consistency in the principles

that should guide expanded jurisdictions. Strong

progress was made on a nationally consistent

approach to issues related to embedded networks.

We collaborated within ANZEWON on submissions

to regulatory processes to ensure a clear, consistent

voice was brought to issues, such as billing and

energy security.

STRATEGIC PRIORITIES Share our knowledge and experience

Foster strong relationships with regulators and policy makers

Broadly scan the external environment for influences on EWOV and identify strategic responses

SUCCESS MEASURES Stakeholders value EWOV information

and contributions to policy issues

Ongoing and sustained engagement with EWOV's publications and positive community agency feedback

STRATEGIC PRIORITIES Proactively influence the dispute resolution

environment in a changing energy and water market

Work with key stakeholders to create a robust consumer protection framework

Develop an organisation with ready-to-adapt governance, funding, operating model

SUCCESS MEASURES EWOV has the information required to

make decisions about its role in 5-10 years

EWOV has the capability to meet its purpose

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Systems and data analysis

OUR PERFORM ANCE

WE ENSURED

EWOV'S SYSTEM

SECURITY THROUGH A

COMPREHENSIVE SUITE

OF MONITORING

TOOLS, SUPPORTED BY

ROBUST PROCESSES

INCLUDING MULTI-FACTOR

AUTHENTICATION.

We maintained a minimum 99.5% functioning of key

business systems during our operating hours.

We developed a data governance framework that

details how our data is captured, stored, archived,

transformed, and classified.

Improvements to our complaint and content

management systems increased our case handling

efficiency, and improved engagement with companies

via the 'member portal'.

We developed a cloud migration strategy to ensure

we're able to respond to an environment where

software providers are more likely to invest in new

features/upgrades/updates for their cloud-based

solutions only, and sunset on-site applications.

We're implementing the necessary infrastructure-

related precursors.

We continued to expand our predictive analytics and

modelling to support the efficiency and effectiveness

of our systems and operations, by:

• extending the capability of Python as an Extract

Transfer Load (ETL) tool — starting with the

integration of data from a third-party speech

analytics service into our on-premises database

environment — enabling a quicker turnaround in

data analysis and opportunity to add another layer

of information to existing case data

• using topic modelling to generate key themes in

any unstructured text data across our database and

systems — providing the ability to uncover outliers

that might have been lost in text data, while also

focusing in on disparate querying

• using the Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated

Moving Average (SARIMA) forecast methodology —

a moving average calculation of historical data that

takes seasonality into consideration, allows trends

to be included in the calculation, and is able to be

fine-tuned on the period of historic data which has

most impact on the predictions

• building two machine-learning models to help

us project weekly caseloads — by predicting the

likelihood of an Assisted Referral progressing to an

Investigation and the time lapse between those

two stages

• automation of legacy processes as a prerequisite

to expanding our data and analytics capabilities —

including completion of a full assessment of all of

the remaining manual processes.

STRATEGIC PRIORITIES Robust and capable information and communications technology

SUCCESS MEASURES Key business systems are functioning 99.5% of the time during EWOV's operating hours

Timely and effective analysis of complaint trends

1 8 2021 ANNUAL REPORT ENERGY AND WATER OMBUDSMAN (VIC TORIA) 19

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Human capability

ORG ANISATIONAL S TRUC TURE

OUR PERFORM ANCE

WE HAD AN 86%

PARTICIPATION RATE

IN OUR ANNUAL STAFF

ENGAGEMENT SURVEY,

BUT A DROP IN OUR

ENGAGEMENT RESULTS

FROM 81% IN 2020 TO

66% IN 2021.

This engagement deterioration wasn't evident in our

pulse survey results and, in part, is likely to reflect the

effect of the extended lockdown on overall wellbeing.

Our pulse surveys, undertaken regularly throughout

the year, provided useful data about how staff were

responding to the changing ways of working — for

example, we saw an immediate lift in the sense of

connection and collaboration once we moved to a

hybrid work environment.

On this basis, we moved to 'in the moment' frequent,

short pulse checks, which allow for quick, relevant

responses from managers to trends throughout

the year.

Our wellbeing program was largely delivered virtually.

It was released quarterly with the flexibility to shift

and adapt. Positively, 87% of staff who responded

to our pulse survey felt supported with access to

wellbeing information, and 70% felt EWOV provided

clear communication about their wellbeing options.

We closely monitored connection to colleagues as an

indicator of wellbeing. Our return to office plan was

guided by wellbeing considerations, and we saw a

16% lift once staff came back.

Our leadership development program was a finalist in

the Australian HR Awards 2021. We supplemented it

with coaching, designed to help leaders put theory into

practice. We also offered a formal workplace coaching

certification for all participants. Following the program,

four staff were promoted, or took on additional

responsibilities within their roles. Seven staff pursued

external coaching accreditation, an important step to

embedding a coaching culture at EWOV. We also used

Gallup's Clifton Strengths questionnaires across the

office, identifying the top five strengths for all staff and

providing a foundation for ongoing strengths-based

coaching and development.

Our capability program focused on developing

skills in critical thinking, continuous improvement,

communication and negotiation. Thematic reviews

and case audits identified individual and organisational

capability needs that we also built into the program.

We developed EVOLVE, a program for staff who

have shown excellence in their role and an interest

in shaping the future of EWOV. EVOLVE provides

participants with an opportunity to grow professionally

through mentoring by the Senior Leadership Team.

Remote working for much of the year meant that

our staff intranet became an increasingly important

internal communications tool. We developed a

regular cycle of content to connect people and share

information. This was revised and refreshed once

hybrid work arrangements commenced. Improved

inter-team collaboration on content has supported

ongoing readership.

STRATEGIC PRIORITIES Our people – their safety, development

and processes

Strong governance processes

SUCCESS MEASURES Sustained staff engagement survey results

Sustained employee performance

OMBUDSMAN

HEAD OF TECHNOLOGY,

ANALYTICS AND BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT

FINANCE MANAGER/COMPANY

SECRETARY

HEAD OF PEOPLE AND

CULTURE

Insights and Improvement

Manager

Service Desk Officer

Systems Administrator

Systemic Issues and

Policy Specialist

Digital Communications

Officer

Accountant

Finance Officer

Member Liaison Officer

Strategic Communications

Officer

Capability Manager

People and Culture

Advisor

Capability Advisors

HEAD OF OPERATIONS AND

EXPERIENCE

Service Officers

Team Managers

Team Leads

Conciliators

WDP Conciliator

Senior Admin Support

Officer

EA/Admin and Facilities Coordinator

Admin Support Officer

Technical Specialist

Senior Policy and Stakeholder

Engagement Officer

IT Infrastructure and Security

Manager

Design and Communications

Officer

Senior Community

Outreach and Engagement

Officer

HEAD OF COMMUNICATIONS

AND POLICY

Principal Investigator

Analytics Manager

Data Scientist


Cases received and who lodged them

19,542 TOTAL CASES 18% FROM 2019-20

ELECTRICITY

60%

GAS

31%

WATER

8%

<1% dual fuel

<1% other industries

Note: Percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number, so may not always total to 100%.

337(2%) OF RE SIDE NTIAL CUS TOME RS IDE NTIFIE D A S ABORIG INAL OR TORRE S S TR AIT ISL ANDE R CUS TOME RS

HOUSEHOLD

32% 5,554

25% 4,336

22% 3,906

18% 3,166

4% 634

2-person households

1-person households

Didn’t disclose

Residence unoccupied

3-person or larger households

72%

METROPOLITAN MELBOURNE

C A SES LOC ATION

22%

REGIONAL / RUR AL VICTORIA

7% of customers didn't give us their address or were from outside Victoria. 84% 4,501 tenants said they were

private rental

16% 869 tenants said they were Office of Housing rental

OWNING VS RENTING

9,601

55%

Homeowners

5,370

31%

Tenants

Note: 52% (9,114) didn’t hold a concession card and 10% (1,833) didn’t disclose.

CONCESSIONS

11% 1,966

9% 1,540

6% 1,100

2% 348

4% 620

<1% 50

4%

2% 395

630

Disability Pension

Job Seeker

Carer Payment

Low Income Support

Youth Allowance

Parenting Payment

Other

Age Pension

THE CUS TOMERS

CUSTOMER TYPE HOW THEY CONTACTED US

90% Residential (17,596)

10% Business (1,873)

<1% Government/

Not-for-profit (73)

59% Phone

28% Online form

7% Email

6% Webchat

6,649(38%) OF RE SIDE NTIAL CUS TOME RS IDE NTIFIE D A S CONCE SSION C ARD HOLDE RS


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Assisted Referral WHAT HAPPENS AT A SSIS TED REFERR AL?

Where a customer has contacted the company at

least once and the complaint remains unresolved,

we register the complaint as an Assisted Referral. We

arrange for a designated higher-level person within

the company to contact the customer. We make this

referral after providing the customer with information

about their rights and responsibilities. We tell them

they can return to EWOV if the Assisted Referral doesn't

resolve the complaint for them. We send them a

reminder SMS at the four-week mark, asking them to

contact us if the complaint isn't resolved.

The company has three business days to contact

the customer. It has a total of 15 business days to

resolve the complaint. These timeframes are for the

company to investigate the complaint and undertake

any necessary actions. An Assisted Referral is deemed

to have failed if a customer comes back to EWOV —

due to no contact by the company, contact outside the

required timeframes, or following a final offer or offer

of resolution.

COMPL AINT S WE REG IS TERED AND CLOSED AT A SSIS TED REFERR AL

In 2020-21, 12,390 complaints were registered at

Assisted Referral:

Dispute resolution processes and outcomesOUR AIM IS TO HANDLE COMPL AINTS EFFICIENTLY, EFFEC TIVELY, FAIRLY, AND INDEPENDENTLY.

Note: Percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number, so may not always add to 100%.


We finalised 10,128 complaints at this level, when the

customer's complaint was resolved by the company,

or the customer didn't return to us.

Where the customer returned to EWOV still

dissatisfied with how the company responded to

their complaint, we opened an Investigation.

18% of Assisted Referrals progressed to Investigation,

with 30 days the average time between the Assisted

Referral and the Investigation.

7,333

Electricity

4,146

909

2

Gas

Water

Dual Fuel

EnquiryWHAT IS AN ENQUIRY ?

An enquiry is a request of us for general information.

Where we can, we provide the information ourselves.

Where we can't, we provide the customer with contact

information for the most appropriate other office.

HOW WE RESPONDED TO ENQUIRIES

We referred 534 enquiries (40%) to a regulator –

many of these enquiries were solar enquiries referred

to Consumer Affairs Victoria.

We gave 166 customers (13%) information and

referred to their energy or water company.

We referred 165 customers (12%) to

another ombudsman.

We helped 290 people (22%) with general information.

We referred 21 people (2%) to government or a

member of parliament.

We referred 92 people (7%) to another body.

In 56 cases (4%) there was insufficient information

to progress the enquiry.

ENQUIRIES EWOV REG IS TERED IN 2020 -21 ( 1,334)

Electricity67%

Gas12%

Other industry13%

Water8%

Enquiries7%

Assisted Referrals63%

Investigations17%

Unassisted Referrals13%

How we approach dispute resolutionWe actively work with customers and companies

to reach a fair and reasonable outcome as quickly

as possible. We look to uncover the facts to help

the customer and their company better understand

the issues, and each other's point of view. We work

towards agreement on a resolution and what needs to

be done to achieve it. This outcome may be achieved

directly between the customer and the company,

or it may be conciliated by us.

The term case covers all customer contacts

with EWOV — registered as either an 'enquiry' or

a 'complaint'.

• An enquiry is a request for information.

• A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction

about a policy, a practice, or the customer service

performance of an energy or water company or an

embedded network entity that's an EWOV scheme

participant — where a response or resolution is

explicitly or implicitly expected.

When a customer contacts us, we consider:

• whether we have jurisdiction under the

EWOV Charter to deal with the issue

• whether the contact is an enquiry or a complaint

• how many times the customer has contacted

the company, how they did that, and with whom

they spoke.

C A SES BY S TAG ES IN 2020 -21 ( 19,542)

Unassisted Referral WHAT HAPPENS AT UNA SSIS TED REFERR AL?

Before EWOV can register a complaint, the customer

must have given the company the opportunity

to address the problem. We generally refer these

customers back to the company's call centre.

Some customers also contact us seeking information

to help them decide whether and how to progress

a complaint.

COMPL AINT S WE REG IS TERED AND CLOSED AT UNA SSIS TED REFERR AL


Unassisted Referral:

1,598

678

Electricity

293

Gas

Water

2,517 complaints were closed at Unassisted Referral:

53% Customers referred to the company's call centre

24% Customers provided with general information

16% Complaints closed due to insufficient information to take it further

7% Customers referred to a regulator

<1% Withdrawn by the customer

Unassisted Referral WHAT HAPPENS AT UNA SSIS TED REFERR AL?

Before EWOV can register a complaint, the customer

must have given the company the opportunity

to address the problem. We generally refer these

customers back to the company's call centre.

Some customers also contact us seeking information

to help them decide whether and how to progress

a complaint.

COMPL AINT S WE REG IS TERED AND CLOSED AT UNA SSIS TED REFERR AL


Unassisted Referral:

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24 2021 ANNUAL REPORT ENERGY AND WATER OMBUDSMAN (VIC TORIA) 2 5

InvestigationS TAG E 1 INVES TIG ATIONS

A Stage 1 Investigation is one that we think can be

resolved within 28 business days and two responses,

because it doesn't require detailed information, action

or analysis by us, the company or the customer.

To provide faster information flows, we may gather

a company's Stage 1 complaints into a 'batch' and

schedule a meeting to go through each complaint.

If the complaint isn't resolved promptly, or if the

complaint needs to be tested against our fair and

reasonable framework, it's upgraded.

We closed 1,261 Investigations at Stage 1:

• 1,199 (95%) conciliated

• 44 (3%) procedural closure –

customer disengaged from our process

• 9 (1%) withdrawn by the customer

• 5 (<1%) found to be better dealt with by another body

• 3 (<1%) found to be out of jurisdiction

• 1 (<1%) fair and reasonable assessment –

fair offer made to the customer.

S TAG E 2 INVES TIG ATIONS

A Stage 2 Investigation requires more detailed

information, action or analysis by us, the company,

or the customer. The company has 10 business

days to provide us with a response, which we review

and discuss with the customer. We then work with

the customer and the company to reach a 'fair and

reasonable' outcome for both parties.

We upgraded 87 Investigations to Stage 2:

• 52 electricity Investigations

• 27 gas Investigations

• 8 water Investigations.

We closed 1,747 Investigations at Stage 2:

• 1,374 (79%) conciliated



• 24 (1%) withdrawn by the customer

• 23 (1%) found to be out of jurisdiction

• 26 (1%) fair and reasonable assessment –

fair offer made to the customer

• 5 (<1%) found to be better dealt with by another body.

INVESTIGATION STAGES AND UPGRADES

An Investigation may resolve at Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage

3 or Final Stage depending on its complexity and

whether the matter has been upgraded in line with

EWOV's Complaint Upgrade Policy.

EWOV upgrades complaints to help ensure that

companies provide timely, accurate and appropriate

responses to assist resolution. Other reasons for

upgrades include a company suggestion for resolution

that's inappropriate or inadequate; and where the

company (or a relevant third party) disconnects or

restricts supply, pursues debt collection activity, or

contacts the customer about the issue during the

Investigation. An EWOV Team Manager or the Head

of Operations and Experience may also exercise their

discretion to upgrade a complaint. Complaint upgrades

incur additional costs for companies.

BINDING DECISION

Sometimes a complaint goes through EWOV's

Investigation process without resolution. At this point,

the Ombudsman may decide to close the complaint if

it's assessed that further investigation isn't warranted.

Or the Ombudsman may make a Binding Decision.

A Binding Decision is binding on the company if the

customer accepts it. It's not binding on the customer,

who can choose to pursue the complaint in another

forum, such as a court.

OPENING AN INVES TIG ATION

Where a customer returns to EWOV because an

Assisted Referral to a higher-level contact hasn't

resolved their complaint for them, we review the

complaint again for jurisdiction before we open an

Investigation. Sometimes we bypass Assisted Referral

and move directly to Investigation. We do this where

we assess a complaint as being complex and unlikely

to be resolved by referral; where the customer's

circumstances reflect EWOV's Vulnerable and

Disadvantaged Customer Policy and Procedure;

and/or where an energy or water company

requests an Investigation.

In 2020-21, we opened 3,249 Investigations:

Electricity1,971

Gas1,064

Dual fuel1

Water213

S TAG E 3 INVES TIG ATIONS

We upgraded 283 Investigations to Stage 3:



• 24 water Investigations

• 1 dual fuel Investigation.

We closed 241 Investigations at Stage 3:

• 169 (70%) conciliated

• 48 (20%) procedural closure – customer

disengaged from our process




• 2 (1%) withdrawn by customer

• 1 (<1%) found to be better dealt

with by another body.

FINAL S TAG E INVES TIG ATIONS

Once a complaint is upgraded to Final Stage,

we begin the Binding Decision process. We aim to

finalise a complaint at Final Stage within 90 days —

by negotiating an outcome, closing the complaint

on the basis that a fair and reasonable offer has been

made by the company, or referring the matter to

the Ombudsman for a Decision.

We upgraded 67 Investigations to Final Stage:



• 9 water Investigations.

We closed 67 Investigations at Final Stage:

• 47 (70%) conciliated






• 2 (3%) found to be better dealt with by

another body.

SET TING E XPEC TATIONS

At the start of an Investigation, our Conciliators explain

what EWOV can and can't do, and make the customer

aware of our 'fair and reasonable' expectations.

$1,657,047 was provided by companies to customers as a result of EWOV Investigations.

MONETARY OUTCOMES FROM EWOV INVES TIG ATIONS

From EWOV Investigations, $1,657,047 was provided

by companies to customers:

OTHER OUTCOMES FROM EWOV INVES TIG ATIONS

1,125 written apologies were provided to customers.

We finalised 159 Wrongful Disconnection Payment

(WDP) assessments. From these, 62 payments were

made, ranging from $13 to $23,534.

Billing adjustments

$583,125

$9,451

$609,124

$428,227

$27,120

Recognition of customer service issues

Debt reductions/waivers

Guaranteed service level payments

Waived fees


Investigation timeframes

BY S TAG ES

50%

45%

40%

35%

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%

<1 1-2 2-3 3-6 6-9 9-12 12+MONTHS

Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Final Stage Total

BY INDUS TRY

50%

45%

40%

35%

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%

<1 1-2 2-3 3-6 6-9 9-12 12+MONTHS

Electricity Gas Water Dual Fuel Total

28 2021 ANNUAL REPORT ENERGY AND WATER OMBUDSMAN (VIC TORIA) 2 9

ISS

UE

S&

TR

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Issues & trends

EWOV USES TEN HIG H-LE VEL C ATEGORIES TO G ROUP COMPL AINT ISSUES

The ten issues categories we use are briefly described below. Our reporting is on the basis of 'one case – one

issue', that being the main issue the customer raises when they contact us. Having listened to a complaint, we may

register other issues too. For example, a customer complains about a high bill, which has led them to have payment

difficulties. We may also re-categorise the initial main issue, as more information comes to light through the dispute

resolution process about the actual nature of the complaint.

TOP 5 LIS T S FOR 2020 -21

OVERALL

• Billing: high

• Billing: error

• Provision: existing connection

• Credit: debt collection/credit default listing

• Credit: payment difficulties

ELECTRICITY

• Billing: high

• Billing: error

• Provision: existing connection

• Billing: tariff


GAS

• Billing: high

• Billing: error

• Credit: payment difficulties


• Billing: Estimation

WATER

• Billing: high

• Billing: fees & charges

• Land: property damage

• Land: network assets

• Billing: error

Billing

Generating bills, sending bills, payment processes

Credit

Unpaid bills and the action taken by energy and

water companies to collect arrears

Customer service

The level of service received or not received

Land

How company activities or network assets affect

a customer's property

Marketing How electricity and gas retailers go about gaining

new customers

Privacy How a customer's personal information is

handled

Provision Connection of a property to an energy or water

network

Supply

Physical delivery of the electricity, gas or water

service

Transfer

Switching an electricity or gas account to another

energy retailer

General enquiry

Cases that don't fit under another category TR ACKING COMMON SUB-ISSUES OVER ALL OVER 5 YE ARS

5K

4K

3K

2K

1K

0

High bill Billing error Debt collection/credit default listing Billing: tariff Energy disconnection/water restriction

FY2017 FY2018 FY2019 FY2020 FY2021

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BILLING GENERATING BILLS, SENDING BILLS, PAYMENT PROCESSES

COMMON SUB-ISSUES HIGH, ERROR, TARIFF, ESTIMATION

CASE STUDY High bills tracked back to gas leak RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMER | PAYMENT DIFFICULTIES | NO COMMUNICATION OF SUSPECTED LEAK

An elderly pensioner who lived alone, Lee

owed just over $10,000 for gas. In early 2020,

concerned about high bills, Lee engaged a

plumber to check the gas line and meter at their

property. The plumber found that tree branches

had caused a major leak in the fitting line. The

leak was repaired, and Lee's gas ducted heater

was cleaned and serviced. Lee wanted the gas

retailer to cover the cost of the plumber. The

retailer rejected the claim.

At Assisted Referral, the retailer offered to

reduce Lee's arrears by just over $2,000 to

$8,000. Lee wasn't satisfied that the retailer had

investigated the high billing properly. Saying

$8,000 was still unaffordable, Lee sought a

$6,000 arrears reduction and an independent

assessment by EWOV.

We opened an Investigation. Following checks

with both the local gas distributor and gas

retailer, we found that Lee's bills were correct

based on meter data, but were high due to

a leak. The leak was on Lee's side. We also

found that the local distributor had alerted

Lee's retailer to higher than usual gas use at the

property in early 2019, but the retailer hadn't

acted on that advice to tell Lee something may

be wrong.

On billing to late December 2020, Lee owed

$10,058.18 for gas. The retailer offered a credit

of $3,582.60. This was the difference between

Lee's 2019 billing and 2020 billing, after the leak

was repaired. This left Lee owing $6,475.58.

Lee and the retailer agreed on a payment

arrangement for the arrears, in line with the

requirements in the Energy Retail Code.

This included:

• referral of Lee to the retailer's hardship team

• a six-month hold on the arrears

• an affordable payment plan

• advice about entitlements under the

Payment Difficulty Framework

• information about available government

assistance, e.g. a Utility Relief Grant

and concessions

• practical assistance to lower the

home's gas costs

• ongoing support and updates.

Lee would need to be contactable, participate

in the hardship program, and make the agreed

payments by the due dates. The complaint

was closed. 2020/14995

9,571BILLING CASES ↓15%

2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21

5 YE AR HIS TORY

9,571

13,163 13,342 13,699

11 ,255

TOP SUB-ISSUES

2,303

1,820

936

1,096

710

Error

Concession

Tariff

Backbill

High

TRENDS IN BILLING C A SES

EWOV received 9,571 billing cases in 2020-21:

• 57% electricity – most commonly about high bills,

billing errors, tariffs

• 35% gas – most commonly about high bills,

billing errors, estimation

• 8% water – most commonly about high bills,

fees & charges, billing errors.

Against 2019-20, billing cases were down 15%

(and down 27% from four years ago):

• Electricity billing cases were down 16%

• Gas billing cases were down 17%

• Water billing cases were up 3%.

We identified 13 billing issues as systemic.

Some of them are listed below:

• Customers not informed about a network

tariff change SI/2020/2

• Customers wrongly informed meter readings

would be estimated SI/2020/26

• Dashboard overestimating predicted bills SI/2020/36

• Appliance usage information incorrect SI/2020/45

• Refund rejections and delays SI/2021/9

For more information on systemic issues

see pages 50 and 51.

Billing


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Assessing the effectiveness of the Payment Difficulty Framework, two years on

MISSING THE M ARK: AN EWOV RESE ARCH REPORT

We've been monitoring the effectiveness of the

PDF through EWOV cases since it was introduced.

In December 2020 — in anticipation of the

Essential Services Commission's review of the PDF,

scheduled for early 2021 — we analysed a sample

of 90 PDF-relevant EWOV cases. From this analysis,

we published our assessment of the effectiveness

of the PDF in a report called Missing the Mark. We

concluded that — despite the regulatory changes to

the requirements around payment difficulty — too

many vulnerable customers were still missing out

on PDF entitlements.

We recommended that consideration be given to:

• improving the communication of PDF

entitlements through more direct and personal

means such as SMS or phone calls — rather than

through generic and multi-purpose notices,

such as bills and reminder notices

• improving the PDF training of all staff — to avoid

that knowledge becoming 'siloed' within retailer

hardship teams

• appointing dedicated staff to provide culturally

safe assistance to customers from cultural

groups that are currently poorly served by

the PDF — e.g. customers who identify as an

Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person

• whether the entitlement to tailored assistance

for customers who can afford their ongoing

usage (i.e. TA1) is currently too broad —

and whether the PDF would be more effective

for those in genuine payment difficulty if it

was narrowed

• further policy measures for those who can't

afford their energy even after PDF entitlements

have been fully and properly applied — a small,

but important cohort of customers

• clarifying that while debt waivers are positive,

they shouldn't be applied in lieu of PDF

entitlements — only in addition to them.

TR ACKING BILLING AND CREDIT C A SES FOR PDF-REL ATED ISSUES

Analysing cases where customers were eligible for

assistance under the PDF, we found some issues

came up commonly — the billing issues of high

bills, concessions and backbilling, and the credit

issues of payment difficulties, disconnection,

and debt collection/credit default listing.

PDF-related billing issues by industry:

• In 39% of EWOV's 5,481 electricity billing cases,

the main issue was one of the top three PDF-

related billing issues — 1,158 cases about

high bills, 570 cases about the application

of concessions to bills, and 396 cases about

backbilling.

• In 44% of EWOV's 3,319 gas billing cases, the

main issue was one of the top three PDF-related

billing issues — 831 cases about high bills,

337 cases about the application of concessions

to bills, and 276 cases about backbilling.

PDF-related credit issues by industry:

• Of EWOV's 1,832 electricity credit cases,

761 were about debt collection/credit default

listing, 662 about payment difficulties,

409 about disconnections.

• Of EWOV's 1,070 gas credit cases,

416 were about payment difficulties,

394 about debt collection/credit default

listing, 252 about disconnection.

In late 2020, we reviewed and simplified our PDF

data collection processes — for better tracking of

the entitlements customers have been given by

their retailers at the time they come to EWOV, and

then what we do through our dispute resolution

processes to address entitlements shortfalls.

This will inform our future reporting on PDF-related

cases and issues.

The Payment Difficulty Framework (PDF) was introduced in Victoria in January 2019 through Part 3 of the

Energy Retail Code – Assistance for residential customers facing payment difficulties. It requires energy retailers

to take a more proactive and tailored approach to customers struggling to meet their energy costs. An entitlements-

based framework, the PDF protects customers by enshrining their rights to certain kinds of assistance —

and creating a regulatory breach if those rights aren't provided by the retailer.

CASE STUDY High bills found to be linked to actual usage RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMER | METER CONFUSION | COVID-19 PREVENTED SITE VISIT

Max had lived at the 80-year-old property for

14 years and knew it had two meters, but said

only one of the meters worked. Max told us

the home's electricity usage was high, and that

they had tried unsuccessfully to address this

to reduce their bills. When, in early 2020, the

second meter started working, Max queried

this with the electricity retailer. Max said the

retailer agreed to send its own electrician (at

its cost) to check the second meter. It told

Max the billing for the home would be on hold

until this was done. In August 2020, the retailer

sent Max an email confirming that the account

was still on hold. In December 2020, a retailer

representative came to the home, but couldn't

enter due to COVID-19 restrictions. Max said

they were told the representative would

return once restrictions were eased. The next

Max heard was that they would now have to

arrange and pay for an electrician to check

the second meter. Max was worried that the

home's most recent electricity bill showed

usage three times higher than for an average

five-person household.

When an Assisted Referral didn't resolve the

complaint for Max, we opened an Investigation.

Max paid $500 towards the arrears that had built

up on the account. Our Investigation confirmed

that Max had been billed on actual meter

readings for two meters (peak and off-peak). We

matched the meter numbers to Max's address.

Our review of the rates on which Max was

charged, showed that the billing was in line with

the contract for the property. We confirmed

that the meter testing the retailer eventually

completed as part of its investigation into Max's

bills showed both meters were working to

Australian Standards.

By early January 2021, Max owed $2,428.88

for billing to October 2020. To assist with

resolution, the retailer offered a $1,381.48 credit

for the pay-on-time discounts Max had missed.

This reduced the arrears to $1,047.40. It offered

Max a payment plan, or an extension if needed.

Max accepted the outcome of our independent

Investigation, electing to pay the $1,047.40

in one payment. The complaint was closed.

2020/16120

Max made the payment and confirmed this to

EWOV in mid-January 2021. In early February

2021, Max came back to us, saying the

$1,381.48 credit still hadn't been applied. The

retailer cited agent error and incorrect process

and promised it would be sorted out in five days.

In mid-February, Max returned to EWOV again

seeking help to get the credit applied.

In March 2021, when the credit was still

outstanding, Max lodged a second complaint

about the retailer's customer service.

Responding to our Investigation of this

complaint, the retailer said the delay was due to

an invoicing issue. It apologised to Max, offering

a further customer service credit of $300

and setting a date by which he would receive

the revised bill, with all credits applied. Max

accepted this offer, and the second complaint


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3 4 2021 ANNUAL REPORT ENERGY AND WATER OMBUDSMAN (VIC TORIA) 35 ENERGY AND WATER OMBUDSMAN (VIC TORIA) 35

CreditCREDIT UNPAID BILLS AND THE ACTION TAKEN BY ENERGY AND WATER COMPANIES TO COLLECT ARREARS

COMMON SUB-ISSUES DEBT COLLECTION/CREDIT DEFAULT LISTING, PAYMENT DIFFICULTIES, DISCONNECTION

CASE STUDY Recognition of severe financial hardship RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMER | TENANT | CONCESSIONS NOT APPLIED

Charlie, a tenant in government housing and

unemployed due to COVID-19, was carrying

arrears on both accounts (electricity and gas),

was having trouble paying for current usage,

and hadn't paid an energy bill since August

2019. Charlie was also having trouble getting

concessions applied to both accounts, and

had asked for (but not received) the form for

a Utility Relief Grant. Charlie was frustrated at

having to push so hard to get the energy retailer

to understand their severe financial hardship.

Due to Charlie's vulnerable circumstances,

we exercised our discretion to bypass Assisted

Referral and open an Investigation.

Charlie agreed to pay $100 a fortnight while

we investigated the complaint. We found that

Charlie's concessions couldn't be applied

because of a mismatch between the name on

the accounts and on Charlie's concession card.

Once the corrections were made, 12 months

of backdated concessions were applied, and

Charlie was assured of receiving concessions

going forward. With discounts applied, Charlie's

electricity account was reduced from $1,767.11

to $433.53. Similarly, Charlie's gas account was

reduced from $2,066.40 billed to $1,604.89.

The retailer moved Charlie to its best offer,

and onto a payment plan in line with

requirements outlined under the

Payment Difficulty Framework in the

Energy Retail Code. That agreement included

a payment plan where the arrears would be on

hold for at least six months, while Charlie and

the retailer worked together to try to reduce the

property's energy usage. Charlie would need to

stick to the agreed payments and work with

the retailer to achieve a sustainable outcome.

The retailer sent Charlie the application forms

for a Utility Relief Grant. The complaints were

closed. 2020/9850 & 2020/9853

3,025 CREDIT CASES ↓35%

5 YE AR HIS TORY

2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21

3,025

8,245 8,121

6,109

4,633

TRENDS IN CREDIT C A SES

EWOV received 3,025 credit cases in 2020-21:

• 61% electricity

• 35% gas

• 4% water.

In electricity and water, the top two credit sub-issues

were debt collection/credit default listing and payment

difficulties, in that order. In gas, it was payment difficulties

followed by debt collection/credit default listing.

Against 2019-20, credit cases were down 35%


• Electricity credit cases were down 33%

• Gas credit cases were down 37%

• Water credit cases were down 44%.

We identified six credit issues as systemic:

• Disconnection notices missing information

about reconnection SI/2019/16

• Customer referred to financial counselling

without other assistance SI/2020/18

• Non-compliant disconnection notices SI/2019/2

• Payment plan letters missing pay-by dates SI/2020/20

• Forms showing incorrect concession eligibility

dates SI/2021/24

• Misplaced concession paperwork SI/2021/36



TOP SUB-ISSUES

1,120

676

1,221

8

Payment difficulties

Deliveries Stopped

Energy disconnection/water restriction

Debt collection/credit default l isting

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159WDP ASSESSMENTS

Electricit y109

G as50

EWOV ' S ROLE IN A SSESSING ' WRONG FUL DISCONNEC TION '

A Wrongful Disconnection Payment (WDP) is

payable to a customer if an energy retailer hasn't

complied with the terms and conditions of its contract

with the customer, and the requirements of the

Energy Retail Code, before disconnecting electricity

or gas supply. The payment is currently $500 a day

(or part thereof), capped at $3,500 if the customer

doesn't contact the retailer within 14 days. Where we

investigate a customer complaint about an actual

disconnection, we make a separate assessment of

whether a WDP is payable. Where the retailer and

EWOV can't agree on an outcome, we request a formal

decision from the Essential Services Commission. In

2020-21, we finalised 159 WDP assessments, 109 (69%)

electricity and 50 (31%) gas. From these, 92 WDPs were

paid, including 30 paid with no admission of breach by

the retailer. One assessment was referred to the

Essential Services Commission for decision.

OUTCOMES OF WDP A SSESSMENT S CLOSED

39

23

WDP payable

30

12

WDP not payable

29

1

WDP paid - no admission of breach by retailer

6

13

WDP not applicable

5

0

Case not with disconnecting retailer

0

1

Referred to ESC for decision

CASE STUDY Debt waiver vs payment plan LARGE BUSINESS CUSTOMER | DEBT COLLECTION DURING COVID-19 LOCKDOWN

Affected by the COVID-19 lockdown, Hayden

contacted their business' energy retailer asking

that the electricity and gas accounts be put on

hold. This was agreed. Hayden said that, even

though their business suffered a 40% loss of

income, it continued to make weekly electricity

payments of $500 and gas payments of $250 to

help manage its arrears. Even so, the business

was emailed and called by debt collectors

acting for the retailer. Hayden considered this

to be unnecessary harassment, causing stress

and anxiety, because the retailer knew the

business was suffering financially. Hayden said

the business had been a customer of the retailer

for over ten years, and in recent years its energy

accounts had been in credit. Asked by Hayden

about an electricity contract review and rates

reduction, the retailer said the best it could do

was to put the account on hold. Having then

been contacted by debt collectors, Hayden

doubted this had happened.

At the Assisted Referral stage, the retailer offered

an electricity network tariff change, which it

calculated would save the business around

$715 a year. When Hayden returned to EWOV

still dissatisfied with the retailer's response,

we opened an Investigation. In response, the

retailer said its own investigation had concluded

that Hayden wasn't interested in a payment

plan — just a three months' billing waiver on the

basis of customer loyalty. The retailer said it was

unable to offer that.

The complaint was resolved when Hayden

accepted a three-month payment plan of

$200 a week towards the business' electricity

arrears of just over $15,000, and agreed that all

future bills would be paid in full by the due date.

It was agreed that the payment plan could be

re-negotiated at the end of the three months.

The complaint was closed. 2020/10960

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CASE STUDY The real reason for connection delays BUSINESS CUSTOMER | EXISTING METER, BUT SUPPLY DISCONNECTED | COMPLIANCE WITH REGULATIONS

The property from which Ash was planning

to run a business already had an electricity

meter. After providing the certificate of

compliance requested by the local electricity

distributor, Ash was told that the property's

meter board needed to be relocated by

a Registered Electrical Contractor (REC).

Ash engaged an REC, but the connection

didn't progress. With the power still not on,

Ash contacted EWOV. When an Assisted

Referral didn't resolve the complaint, we

opened an Investigation. Responding to our

Investigation, the distributor attributed the

connection delay to things that Ash's REC

didn't address properly. We reviewed the

service orders received and rejected by the

distributor for the property. We also sought

technical advice. This concluded that several

things contributed to the delay, including lack

of access and incorrect paperwork, but the

main reason was a non-compliant point of

attachment. If the property's electricity hadn't

been disconnected a few years earlier, this

wouldn't have been a problem. Because it

had been disconnected, the work had to be

treated as a new connection in line with the

current Victoria Service & Installations Rules.

Our Investigation found that Ash's REC

had missed critical steps and paperwork.

Ash accepted EWOV's independent advice.


Provision 1,225SUPPLY CASES ↑3%

2,154PROVISION CASES ↓20%

CASE STUDY Disputed notice of water interruption RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMER | REGIONAL LOCATION | SUDDENLY WITHOUT WATER

Finding no water coming from their

property's aqueduct feed, Jesse rang the

local water corporation. The corporation's

response was that notice of the planned

maintenance had been sent to all affected

residents. Jesse said they didn't receive any

notice, and enquiries of others in the local

community showed the same. Four adults

and one child lived at Jesse's place. During

the outage, they couldn't flush the toilet,

wash, or shower. The water corporation

told Jesse the water would be restored the

next day. Jesse said, that in the meantime it

was necessary to make a 40-minute round

trip to the nearest supermarket to buy water

for washing and cooking. Jesse said they

usually received a text message warning of

maintenance to the aqueduct. This gave

them time to prepare and fill the spare supply

tank (which required a water tanker delivery

costing around $700). Jesse pointed to an

agreement that residents must be made

aware of supply restrictions or interruptions.

Because the family was without water, we

exercised EWOV's discretion to bypass

Assisted Referral and open an Investigation.

Responding to our Investigation, the water

corporation said it always gave residents

notice and had done so in this case.

However, it couldn't provide the evidence we

requested that the notice had actually been

sent. Jesse accepted a customer service

payment of $50 and the water corporation's

undertaking that in future they would be

given seven days' notice of any planned

supply interruptions. The complaint was

closed. 2020/12066

SupplyPROVISION CONNECTION OF A PROPERTY TO AN ENERGY OR WATER NETWORK

COMMON SUB-ISSUES EXISTING CONNECTION, NEW CONNECTION

SUPPLY PHYSICAL DELIVERY OF THE ELECTRICITY, GAS OR WATER SERVICE

COMMON SUB-ISSUES UNPLANNED OUTAGE, PLANNED OUTAGE, QUALITY, VARIATION

TRENDS IN SUPPLY C A SES

EWOV received 1,225 supply cases in 2020-21:

• 72% electricity – most commonly about

unplanned outage, planned outage, variation

• 16% gas – most commonly about quality

• 11% water – most commonly about quality.

Against 2019-20, supply cases were up 3%

(and up 8% from four years ago):

• Electricity supply cases were up 9%

• Gas supply cases were down 4%

• Water supply cases were down 13%.

We identified two supply issues as systemic:

• Planned outage notice left to owners'

corporation SI/2020/2

• Water in distributor's gas lines SI/2020/31



2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21

5 YE AR HIS TORY

5 YE AR HIS TORY

1 ,1851 ,2781 ,257

1 ,1371 ,225

2,154

3,691

5,187

3,976

2,693

TRENDS IN PROVISION C A SES

EWOV received 2,154 provision cases in 2020-21:

• 67% electricity

• 26% gas

• 6% water.

In all three industries, provision at an existing

connection was the most common sub-issue.

Against 2019-20, provision cases were down 20%


• Electricity provision cases were down 19%

• Gas provision cases were down 27%

• Water provision cases were up 14%.

TOP SUB-ISSUES

585

158

1,411

New Connection

Disconnection/Restriction

Existing Connection

474

283

225

TOP SUB-ISSUES

187

Off Supply - Planned

Quality

Variation

Off Supply - Unplanned

41

Sewer/Stormwater Overflow/Blockage


LA

ND


CASE STUDY Pruning in question after fallen line electrifies fences RURAL CUSTOMER | TIME TAKEN TO RESPOND | VEGETATION MANAGEMENT

During a late afternoon storm, a branch fell

onto a powerline on Lou's property causing

the line to fall across their wire fence. The

Country Fire Authority (CFA) arrived quickly,

telling Lou two fences were electrified. They

were told to stay clear, preferably inside, until

the local electricity distributor came. The

distributor arrived 16 hours later. Lou was

upset that the repair took so long given the

dangerous situation. Lou also raised concerns

that the distributor wasn't doing enough to

keep the trees pruned. Assessing that the

complaint was unlikely to resolve through an

Assisted Referral, the distributor requested an

EWOV Investigation. It told us that a severe

weather front crossing Victoria had led to

more faults in one day than it usually receives

in a month, many of them high priority.

Around 59,000 customers were affected.

The distributor said that when the CFA rang

to report wires down, live wires weren't

mentioned, so the work was assessed as

lower priority. On top of that, problems it had

with its Outage Management System meant

staff had to use a contingency application to

report faults. On vegetation management,

it said its responsibilities were to ensure

adequate clearance from powerlines.

Ongoing maintenance of a tree or further

clearing outside the minimum clearance was

the responsibility of the tree owner, in this

case the Council. It apologised for the delay

in addressing the situation at the properties.

Lou accepted the distributor's response to

our Investigation. The complaint was closed.

2021/607

LandLAND HOW COMPANY ACTIVITIES OR NETWORK ASSETS AFFECT A CUSTOMER'S PROPERTY

COMMON SUB-ISSUES NETWORK ASSETS, PROPERTY DAMAGE, VEGETATION MANAGEMENT

TRENDS IN L AND C A SES

EWOV received 669 land cases in 2020-21:

• 47% electricity, most commonly about

network assets, vegetation management

• 14% gas, most commonly about network

assets, property damage

• 38% water, most commonly about property

damage, network assets.

Against 2019-20, land cases were up 3%

(and up 12% from four years ago):

• Electricity land cases were up 4%

• Gas land cases were down 18%

• Water land cases were up 12%.

669L AND CASES ↑3%

2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21

598 619

706

648669

5 YE AR HIS TORY


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CASE STUDY Apology sought after marketing email RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMER | RECENT DEATH IN FAMILY | QUESTIONS CAUSED DISTRESS

Chris was upset at receiving marketing

emails asking how much electricity their

home was using and whether that was

less than used the year before. The emails

went on to ask other questions, including

whether there were fewer people living in the

house. Because Chris' partner had passed

away earlier in the year, this question was

particularly distressing. Chris rang the retailer,

but said it had shown little care and didn't

take the concerns seriously. Chris wanted the

retailer to change its marketing strategy to

be more thoughtful. Chris returned to EWOV

when an Assisted Referral didn't resolve the

complaint. The retailer's response had been

that there was no guarantee it would change

its marketing strategy, but it could remove

Chris from receiving the marketing. Chris

believed this was because it didn't really want

to change the offending question. Following

EWOV's opening of an Investigation, the

retailer apologised to Chris for the distress

caused. It advised that the issues Chris raised

had now been escalated for review, and

action if that was possible. In the meantime,

Chris wouldn't receive any more marketing

material. 2020/18320

Marketing 154MARKETING CASES ↓41%

2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21

154

525573 576

261

5 YE AR HIS TORY

TRENDS IN M ARKETING C A SES

EWOV received 154 marketing cases in 2020-21:

• 80% electricity

• 19% gas.

In both industries, misleading marketing was

the most common sub-issue.

Against 2019-20, marketing cases were down 41%


• Electricity marketing cases were down 39%

• Gas marketing cases were down 48%.

We identified two marketing issues as systemic:

• Fraudulent door-to-door sales SI/2020/34

• Inappropriate material SI/2021/26



TOP SUB-ISSUES

90

30

13

21

Other

Information

Pressure Sales

Misleading

1,242TR ANSFER CASES ↓30%

CASE STUDY Chasing answers after surprise disconnection TENANT | TRANSFER IN ERROR | BOUNCED BETWEEN RETAILERS

In late August 2020, the electricity at Alex's

unit was disconnected after a real estate

agent that managed two units in the block

requested a retailer switch for another unit.

Alex said that after no bills arrived, they'd

called their retailer. They were told their

electricity account was now held by a

different retailer. Calling the second retailer,

Alex was told it had no record of them. Alex

went back to the original retailer. It agreed to

fix things. Soon afterwards, Alex's electricity

was cut off. The local electricity distributor

told Alex the second retailer had ordered

the disconnection. Alex rang the second

retailer again, and was again told it had no

record of them. Alex went back to their

original retailer seeking urgent reconnection.

While the electricity was off, Alex's fridge

stopped working and contents were lost.

On top of this, the real estate agent which

had requested the retailer switch presented

them with an electricity bill of almost $450

for the other unit. When an Assisted Referral

didn't resolve the complaint, we opened an

Investigation. The retailer recognised that

it hadn't taken appropriate steps to reverse

the incorrect switch. It provided a customer

service payment of $100 and waived all billing

for the period it wrongly held Alex's account.

It also agreed it hadn't followed the law when

it disconnected Alex's electricity. Because the

power was off for 7 hours and 39 minutes,

Alex would receive a cheque for a Wrongful

Disconnection Payment of $159.37.


TransferMARKETING HOW ELECTRICITY AND GAS RETAILERS GO ABOUT GAINING NEW CUSTOMERS

COMMON SUB-ISSUES MISLEADING, PRESSURE SALES, INFORMATION

TRANSFER SWITCHING AN ELECTRICITY OR GAS ACCOUNT TO ANOTHER ENERGY RETAILER

COMMON SUB-ISSUES ERROR, CONTRACT TERMS, DELAY, WITHOUT CONSENT

2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21

3,802

1 ,242

3,2833,089

1 ,784

5 YE AR HIS TORY

TRENDS IN TR ANSFER C A SES

EWOV received 1,242 transfer cases in 2020-21:

• 60% electricity, most commonly about error,

contract terms, delay

• 40% gas, most commonly about error, delay.

Against 2019-20, transfer cases were down 30%


• Electricity transfer cases were down 30%

• Gas transfer cases were also down 30%.

We identified one transfer issue as systemic:

• The matter of explicit informed consent SI/2019/29



TOP SUB-ISSUES

399

254

182

221

133

Delay

Without Consent

Contract Terms

Objection

In Error

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CY


CASE STUDY Unclear solar upgrade fees RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMER | WORDING OF CUSTOMER CORRESPONDENCE

Bailey complained that an electricity retailer

had provided misleading and inaccurate

information about solar connection and

associated charges when it told them

they'd be billed for solar connection meter

upgrade changes only if the local distributor

charged the retailer. When an Assisted

Referral didn't resolve the complaint, we

opened an Investigation. Our Investigation

confirmed that meter fees are normal for

a solar upgrade. The retailer corrected the

information it provided, advising that only

existing customers aren't charged. The

retailer apologised to Bailey, saying they

should have been told there was a fee

and, depending on what work had to be

done, the fee could vary. Bailey believed

the retailer should change the wording on

its customer correspondence, to be clear

about the charges. The retailer undertook

to take Bailey's feedback about clearer

customer communication back to the teams

concerned. In recognition of Bailey's poor

customer experience, the retailer waived the

remote upgrade fee and an administration

fee (a total of $83.12) and provided a $100

customer service payment. The $183.12

credit was applied to Bailey's next bill.


Customer service Privacy

694CUSTOMER SERVICE CASES ↓8%

CASE STUDY Account access after relationship split RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMER | DETAILS RELEASED WITHOUT CONSENT

Several years earlier the home's water

account was put into Leslie's name. After the

July 2020 bill was paid, a reminder notice

arrived for another one. It was for Leslie's

address, but had a different account number.

It turned out that Leslie's ex-husband had

rung the water corporation about receiving

bills, and this had been addressed by setting

up another account for Leslie. At Assisted

Referral, the water corporation found that

the account ownership changes hadn't been

completed properly. It said it had apologised

and assured Leslie the problem was fixed.

Leslie returned to EWOV still dissatisfied,

and saying that referral of the account to

debt collection had caused a further privacy

breach and was wrong because the bill had

been paid in full. Leslie maintained none

of this would have happened if the water

corporation hadn't changed the account

number without telling her. As compensation,

Leslie wanted the water corporation to

make a charity donation. Responding to our

Investigation of the complaint, the water

corporation admitted that the removal of

Leslie's ex-husband from the account wasn't

completed properly. With this now fixed,

it suggested Leslie change the password.

After discussion with us, and its own internal

review of similar complaints, the water

corporation offered a customer service

payment of $500. It confirmed the issues

had been addressed with management, and

that staff had been retrained to help prevent

a similar error. It paid the $500 to Leslie's

nominated charity. 2020/13815

CUSTOMER SERVICE THE LEVEL OF SERVICE RECEIVED OR NOT RECEIVED

COMMON SUB-ISSUES POOR SERVICE, FAILURE TO RESPOND, INCORRECT ADVICE OR INFORMATION

PRIVACY HOW A CUSTOMER'S PERSONAL INFORMATION IS HANDLED

COMMON SUB-ISSUES DETAILS RELEASED, DISCLOSURE REFUSED BY COMPANY, DETAILS OBTAINED WITHOUT CONSENT

102PRIVACY CASES ↓16%

2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21

5 YE AR HIS TORY

694

278

522

746 752

5 YE AR HIS TORY

102

77

95

129122

TRENDS IN PRIVACY C A SES

EWOV received 102 privacy cases in 2020-21:

• 63% electricity – most commonly about details

released, details obtained without consent

• 24% gas – most commonly about disclosure

refused by company

• 12% water – most commonly about details released.

Against 2019-20, privacy cases were down 16%

(but up 32% from four years ago):

• Electricity privacy cases were down 12%

• Gas privacy cases were down 23%

• Water privacy cases were down 29%.

TRENDS IN CUS TOMER SERVICE C A SES

EWOV received 694 customer service cases in 2020-21:

• 65% electricity – most commonly about poor

service, failure to respond

• 24% gas – most commonly about poor service

• 8% water – most commonly about failure to

respond, poor service.

Against 2019-20, customer service cases were

down 8% (but up 150% from four years ago):

• Electricity customer service cases were down 12%

• Gas customer service cases were down 6%

• Water customer service cases were up 37%.

We identified two customer service issues as systemic:

• Ombudsman information on website

SI/2021/22 & SI/2021/23

For more information on systemic issues see

pages 50 and 51.

116

Failure to Consult/Inform

TOP SUB-ISSUES

296

163

119

Failure to Respond

Incorrect Advice/Information

Poor Service

16

Obtained Without Consent

12

Other

TOP SUB-ISSUES

35

23

16

Disclosure Refused by Provider

Details Requested by Provider

Details Released


SO

LA

R

SO

LA

R

46 2021 ANNUAL REPORT* Providing access to free and effective energy dispute resolution services such as EWOV would help meet these policy objectives.

Listening to and learning from the VOICES

The energy system is in transition. Australians

are adopting new energy products and services

more quickly than anticipated — rooftop solar, and

increasingly home batteries, electric vehicles, home

energy management systems, microgrids and virtual

power plants. This means the issues customers are

raising with EWOV are changing.

Building our knowledge of new energy technologies

will mean we're better able to help the customers

who contact us. It will also help us prepare for,

and understand EWOV's role in, the energy system

transition. To this end, in early 2020, we joined with the

Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning

to commission a social research project on household

motivations and experiences with new energy products

and services.

The research was undertaken by the Australian National

University’s Battery, Storage and Grid Integration

Program. From June 2020 to February 2021, the ANU

researchers spoke to 92 householders, businesses and

industry experts — using semi-structured interviews

and technology tours, focus groups, content analysis of

a popular online user forum, and a secondary analysis

of user data.

The result was a report we've called VOICES (Victorian

Energy and Water Ombudsman’s Investigation of

Consumer Experiences). It's available on our website.

So, what did the researchers find out from the

households which took part in the research project?

On motivations, attitudes and expectations

• There was a high degree of householder 'transition

awareness' — knowledge of, and motivation to

support, the energy transition. All households taking

part in the research project were motivated by

pro-environmental attitudes to some extent. Other

key motivations included financial expectations,

a desire for greater self-sufficiency and resilience,

community-mindedness, enthusiasm for

technology, and comfort. These motivations,

attitudes and expectations were held in varying

combinations and interacted in complex, and

sometimes conflicting, ways.

On information sources and preferences

• When it came to information, householders felt

there was a lack of leadership from government

and industry, and said that some technology

providers failed to provide them with adequate

information. Many indicated that they'd turned

to community groups and peers for experiential

information, and they valued this highly.

On experiences with installation and use

• It was clear that providers — retailers, installers and

dealers — play a central role in determining whether

householder experiences with new energy products

and services are positive. Good providers take the

time to understand the household's needs, and help

them navigate complex technological choices.

Post-installation roles, such as handover and after-

sales support, were also considered critical.

Views on emerging business models and reforms

• Householders raised a range of concerns around

new energy technology — generally driven by a

feeling that the motivations of the energy sector

aren't in line with their own. These concerns

include data privacy. Householders also want

to control aspects of their energy use and the

technologies they adopt — expressing scepticism

about whether third-party automation and control

is in their best interests.

IMPLIC ATIONS AND POSSIBLE RESPONSES

Regardless of their degree of environmental concern,

householders want an energy system that:

• is affordable, both financially and environmentally

• allows them to achieve their particular priorities

— e.g. comfort, convenience, self-sufficiency,

entertainment, community care

• is fair, and doesn't penalise those who are unable

to, or unwilling to, engage.

Currently, the energy sector isn't providing people

with a system that reflects those values:

• Information is complex and confusing.

• Managing new energy technology for a positive

outcome is hard work, and beyond the capacity of

many Australians, including vulnerable groups —

quality, complexity, accessibility, timeframes and

culture are key risk areas, which will affect more

people over time if not addressed.

To address these failings, policy responses should seek to:

• increase consumer protections for existing

technology users*

• expand access to cheap, clean electricity —

including for vulnerable groups — in a way that

doesn't increase their risk and avoids unwelcome

‘responsibilisation’ of householders.

• build trust and confidence in the energy sector.*

AUSTR ALIANS ARE ADOP TING NEW ENERGY PRODUC TS AND SERVICES MORE QUICKLY THAN ANTICIPATED.

CASE STUDY Responsibility for solar connection delay BUSINESS CUSTOMER | LARGE SOLAR SYSTEM | FEED-IN CREDITS

Even though the solar system for Andy's

business was installed in December 2019,

nine months later it still wasn't connected

to the grid. Andy believed the business was

owed feed-in credits for solar generation of

about 27,000 kWh. When an Assisted Referral

didn't resolve the complaint, we opened

an Investigation. Our Investigation found

that the connection delay was largely due

to incorrect or incomplete paperwork from

Andy's electrical contractor, and that Andy's

missing solar export credits were offset by

the early activation of the solar array. So, even

though the solar system wasn't connected to

the grid, Andy's business had benefitted from

solar generation since late 2019. Despite not

being found responsible for the delay,

the distributor offered Andy a customer

service payment of $1,200, which we

assessed to be a fair offer. Andy accepted

this. The complaint was closed. 2020/11592

SOLAR RELATING TO SOLAR INSTALLATION BY A COMPANY THAT IS AN EWOV SCHEME PARTICIPANT

COMMON SUB-ISSUES TARIFF, PROVISION AT AN EXISTING CONNECTION, HIGH BILL

TRENDS IN SOL AR C A SES

In 2020-21 we registered 1,296 solar cases,

down 12% from 1,467 cases in 2019-20.

We were able to assist with 981 of these cases,

which fell within EWOV's jurisdiction because the

complaint was about a company which is an EWOV

scheme participant. Billing and provision were the

most common issues.

315 cases fell outside EWOV's jurisdiction, most of

these related to solar installers. We referred these

customers to Consumer Affairs Victoria.

We registered 514 in-jurisdiction solar billing cases.

309 (60%) were about tariffs. 74 (14%) were

about high bills.

We registered 313 in-jurisdiction solar provision

cases. 281 (90%) were about provision at an

existing connection.

2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21

1,296

315

981

1 ,8001 ,685

1 ,949

1 ,467380

484

573

364

1 ,4201 ,201

1 ,3761 ,103

5 YE AR HIS TORY

Out of jurisdiction In jurisdiction

1,296SOL AR CASES ↓12%

Solar


EM

BE

DD

ED

NE

TW

OR

K

CASE STUDY Paying more than the Victorian Default Offer disconnectionRESIDENTIAL CUSTOMER | APARTMENT BLOCK | EMBEDDED ELECTRICITY NETWORK Ray recently found out they'd been charged

more than the Victorian Default Offer

(VDO) since moving into their apartment in

May 2020. Ray said the electricity retailer's

explanation was that this was because the

property's body corporate agreed to a rate

when the building was built. Ray believed their

apartment had been used for short-term rental

before they moved in. Following an Assisted

Referral, Ray returned to EWOV saying the

electricity retailer had refused to reduce their

rates to comply with the VDO. Responding

to EWOV's Investigation of the complaint,

the electricity retailer said its review of the

complaint showed that Ray's apartment was

actually being billed on an embedded network

business tariff. The retailer acknowledged

that since September 2020, customers in

residential embedded networks can't be billed

on rates higher than the VDO rates. But it

said that in this case Ray's billing was wrong

because the billing was on business rates, not

residential rates. The retailer cancelled and

reissued Ray's May 2020 to October 2020

electricity bills on its residential rates, which

were slightly less than the VDO maximum.

This left Ray owing $93.67. It also provided

a customer service credit of $150. Ray was

satisfied with this outcome. The complaint


Embedded network EMBEDDED NETWORK A PRIVATE ELECTRICITY NETWORK THAT IS, OR IS PART OF, AN EWOV SCHEME PARTICIPANT

COMMON SUB-ISSUES HIGH BILL, BILLING ERROR, BILLING DELAY, ELECTRICITY DISCONNECTION

Embedded networks are private electricity networks

supplying homes or businesses within specific

self-contained sites — such as caravan parks, retirement

villages, apartment blocks and shopping centres.

EWOV has been dealing with embedded network

complaints since July 2018, under the Victorian

Government's General Exemption Order.

Electricity customers in embedded networks are partly

covered by the existing energy consumer protections.

Early in 2021, we contributed our embedded network

case handling experience to the Victorian Government's

Embedded Networks Review. We also raised concerns

about gaps in the regulatory framework which need

to be addressed to ensure customers in embedded

networks can access safe and reliable energy services,

and bring their complaints to EWOV.

TRENDS IN EMBEDDED NET WORK C A SES

In 2020-21, EWOV received 563 embedded network

cases, down two cases from 565 in 2019-20.

144 cases were registered as Enquiries.

419 cases were registered as Complaints:

• 99 Unassisted Referrals

• 250 Assisted Referrals

• 70 Investigations.

563EMBEDDED

NET WORK CASES

↓2

CREDIT

28

17

13

Debt collection/credit default listing

Payment difficulties

Disconnection

BILLING

86

56

50

Error

Delay

High


Systemic issues OUR SYS TEMIC ISSUES DEFINITION

EWOV defines a systemic issue as an issue,

problem or change in company policy or practice that

affects, or has the potential to affect, a number

of customers. Some affected customers contact

EWOV, and some don't.

OUR SYS TEMIC ISSUES ROLE

Identification of systemic issues — through EWOV's

casework, customer surveys and data analysis —

gives us the opportunity to work with the company

concerned, to bring about a timely and efficient

solution and reduce the potential for more customers

to be affected.

Our systemic issues identification and reporting

responsibilities are underpinned by the EWOV Charter

and the EWOV Limited Constitution, regulatory

memoranda of understanding and reporting protocols,

and the Benchmarks for Industry-Based Customer

Dispute Resolution. These responsibilities differ slightly

between energy and water.

CUS TOMER REFERRED TO FINANCIAL COUNSELLING WITHOUT OTHER A SSIS TANCE

An energy retailer was referring customers with

payment difficulties to financial counselling,

without providing them with assistance. Under

clause 91 of the Energy Retail Code, a retailer must

not impose any condition on payment difficulties

assistance. We referred this issue to the Essential

Services Commission. SI/2020/18

CUSTOMERS WRONGLY INFORMED METER READINGS WOULD BE ESTIMATED

An energy retailer had been telling customers their

meter readings would be estimated because meters

weren't being read due to COVID-19. Customers could

provide a self-read if they wished. The retailer told us

it had received conflicting information about meter

readings, so thought it best to warn customers. Once it

became clear that distributors were still reading meters,

it stopped doing this. SI/2020/26

APPLIANCE USAG E INFORM ATION INCORREC T

An energy retailer published a tool on its website where

usage information could be broken down by appliance.

EWOV's technical consultant reviewed the tool after

we received complaints, and formed the view that the

information was incorrect. The retailer removed the

tool from its website and contacted affected customers

to explain the tool was intended as a guide only.

SI/2020/45

DA SHBOARD OVERES TIM ATING PREDIC TED BILL S

A customer account dashboard, created by an energy

retailer to predict the cost of upcoming bills, was

shown to be overestimating the bills by three to four

times for the customers who complained to us. We

investigated and found that the dashboard wasn't

suitable for customers who received a large solar

rebate. The company disabled the dashboard while

they worked to improve it. SI/2020/36

FR AUDULENT DOOR-TO -DOOR SALES

We identified fraudulent activity related to door-to-

door sales by a representative of one energy retailer.

The retailer reported the individual to police and

cancelled the affected sales. We determined that the

customer identification process used by the retailer

was suitable, but was open to fraudulent abuse. We

referred the issue to the Essential Services Commission

in December 2020. In July 2021, it fined the retailer $2.5

million for not obtaining proper consent when signing up

customers. SI/2020/34

In energy, where we believe a potential systemic issue

exists and it hasn't been appropriately remediated by

the energy company — or we haven't been able to

obtain a formal response from the scheme participant

— or a compliance breach is discovered, we refer the

case to the Essential Services Commission for further

investigation and subsequent action.

In water, we identify, investigate, and seek redress for

all affected customers and report the outcomes to the

Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning.

Our public reporting of systemic issues brings a greater

level of transparency to industry practices — helping

to drive customer service improvements and prevent

more complaints.

In May 2021, we launched Detect, our new systemic

issues publication. The first edition highlighted two

issues — access for customers to Utility Relief Grants

and promotion to customers of EWOV's services.

We strongly suggested that companies assess whether

they were meeting their regulatory obligations to

customers in these important areas.

BILLING

• Problems with bulk billing of hot water customers

SI/2019/5

• Payment reminder notices non-compliant SI/2019/27

• Customers not informed about a network tariff

change SI/2020/2

• Wording of reminder notices SI/2020/4

• Confusing wording about charges for a retirement

community SI/2020/17

• Customers wrongly informed meter readings

would be estimated SI/2020/26

• Confusing language in contract renewal letters

SI/2020/35

• Dashboard overestimating predicted bills SI/2020/36

• Unread meters lead to billing delays SI/2020/37

• Appliance usage information incorrect SI/2020/45

• No hour of power SI/2020/47

• Refund rejections and delays SI/2021/9

• Retailer obligations that bills can be verified easily

SI/2021/28

CREDIT

• Disconnection notices missing information about

reconnection SI/2019/16

• Customer referred to financial counselling

without other assistance SI/2020/18

• Non-compliant disconnection notices SI/2019/2

• Payment plan letters missing pay-by dates SI/2020/20

• Forms showing incorrect concession eligibility

dates SI/2021/24

• Misplaced concession paperwork SI/2021/36

M ARKE TING

• Fraudulent door-to-door sales SI/2020/34

• Inappropriate material SI/2021/26

SUPPLY

• Planned outage notice left to owners' corporation

SI/2020/2

• Water in distributor's gas lines SI/2020/31

TR ANSFER

• The matter of explicit informed consent SI/2019/29

CUS TOMER SERVICE

• Ombudsman information on website SI/2021/22 &

SI/2021/23

NON-COMPLIANT DISCONNECTION NOTICES

An energy retailer was issuing disconnection notices

that we believed to be non-compliant, because they

didn't outline reconnection procedures, a breach of the

Energy Retail Code. The retailer amended its notices,

but said it didn't believe it had breached the Code.

We sought the Essential Services Commission's advice

and it requested that we close our Investigation so that

it could do its own. The Essential Services Commission

found that the retailer had breached the Code. It sent

the retailer a formal warning. SI/2019/2

NOTICE OF PL ANNED OUTAG E LEF T TO OWNERS ' CORPOR ATION

An electricity distributor didn't notify apartment

residents in a mixed-use building of a planned outage,

instead relying on the owners' corporation to notify the

residents. The owners' corporation placed a notice in

the lift and distributed leaflets, but these didn't include

a 24-hour contact number for the distributor. As a

result of our Investigation, the distributor amended its

process to ensure that the notification processes in

the Energy Distribution Code would be followed in the

future, regardless of the entities involved. SI/2020/42

REFUND REJEC TIONS AND DEL AYS

Insufficient funds in a retailer's refund account led

to refund rejections, affecting 170 customers in

November and December 2020. The retailer's payment

provider then didn't update the refund status. The

retailer's IT team addressed the issue with the provider

and improved the refund process. At the time we

closed the systemic issue, most affected customers

had received their refunds. SI/2021/9

CUS TOMERS NOT INFORMED ABOUT A NET WORK TARIFF CHANG E

An electricity retailer failed to inform customers that

their network tariff had changed to a cost-reflective

tariff from 1 January 2017. It was also reversing and

reissuing bills without telling customers why. Due

to contract renewal, a product change or a meter

change, some customers received a new contract pack

that included demand pricing. For these customers,

the retailer agreed to credit any demand charges

billed up to the date they received the demand pricing

information. Where customers were never notified, the

retailer re-billed them without any demand charges

and put them back onto their original non-demand

tariff. SI/2020/2

IN 2020 -21 , WE IDENTIFIED AND CLOSED 26 SYS TEMIC ISSUES , ALL IN ENERGY.

SY

ST

EM

IC I

SS

UE

S


EL

EC

TR

ICIT

Y


THE C A SE TRENDS

11,801CASES RECEIVED ↓17%

899ENQUIRIES RECEIVED ↑20%

10,902COMPL AINTS RECEIVED ↓19%

THE CUS TOMERS

In Victoria there are just over 2.93 million residential and

small business electricity customers1, most of whom

have been able to choose their electricity retailer since

early 2002. They can't choose their electricity distributor,

because each of the five distributors owns and operates

the 'poles and wires' network in a specific part of the

state. Some customers (e.g. customers in caravan parks,

retirement villages, retail complexes) buy their electricity

through an embedded network entity.

THE COMPANIES

At 30 June 2021, EWOV Limited had 60 electricity

members2 under licence:

• 52 Retailers

• 5 Distributors

• 3 Transmission companies

A further 511 electricity embedded network entities

were members under the General Exemption Order.

1 Essential Services Commission 2020, Victorian Energy Market Report: 2019-20

2 Some EWOV Limited members trade under multiple 'brands'. There's a full list on our website: www.ewov.com.au

5-YE AR HIS TORY OF C A SE NUMBERS

C A SES BY S TAG ES

Enquiries899

Unassisted Referrals1,598

Assisted Referrals7,333

Investigations1,971

C A SES BY CUS TOMER T YPE

Business1,321

Residential 10,431

Not-for-profit/ government

49

46%

Billing 5,481

High 1,158Error 1,050Tarif f 962Concession 570Backbill 396Fees and Charges 360Refund/Credit 347Delay 236Estimation 133Other 89Format 87Meter 76Bulk Hot Water 17

16%

Credit 1,832

Debt collection/ credit default l isting 761Payment Dif f iculties 662Disconnection 409

Provision 1,448

Existing Connection 995New Connection 347Disconnection 106

General Enquiry 454

Electricity 454

Transfer 742

In Error 219Contract Terms 164Delay 124Without Consent 116Objection 83Cooling Off Rights 36

Supply 886

Off Supply - Unplanned 420Off Supply - Planned 258Variation 199Quality 9

8% 6% 4%

3%4%

Land 317

Network Assets 138Vegetation Management 100Property Damage 50Street Lighting 16Other 7Easement 6

Customer service 454

Poor Service 185Failure to Respond 113Incorrect Advice/ Failure to Consult/Inform 81Information 75

Privacy 64

Details Released 20Details Obtained Without Consent 14Disclosure Refused by Provider 12Details Requested by Provider 11Other 7

Marketing 123

Misleading 71Other 21Pressure sales 20Information 11

1% 1%

12%

THE M AIN ISSUES Electricity

15,000

20,000

10,000

0

5,000

8,852

Retail

2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21

Note: There were also 3 transmission cases and 831 (7%) non-company specific electricity cases.

2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21

3,000

4,000

5,000

2,000

0

1,000

2,115

Distribution

2018-19 2019-20 2020-21

300

400

600

200

0

100

563

Embedded Network

500


GA

S


55%

Billing 3,319

18% 9%

Credit 1,070

Payment Dif f iculties 416Debt collection/Credit default listing 394Disconnection 252Deliveries Stopped 8

Provision 570

Existing connection 340New connection 185Disconnection 45

Customer service 169

Poor Service 87Incorrect Advice/Information 31Failure to Respond 27Failure to Consult/Inform 24

Supply 202

Quality 122Off Supply - Unplanned 40Variation 25Off Supply - Planned 15

Transfer 500

In Error 180Delay 130Without Consent 66Contract Terms 57Objection 50Cooling Off Rights 17

8% 3% 3%

1%2% >1%

General Enquiry 67

Gas 67

Land 95

Property Damage 50Network Assets 44Easement 1

Privacy 24

Disclosure Refused by Provider 10Details Released 5Details Requested by Provider 5Obtained without Consent 2Other 2

Marketing 30

Misleading 19Other 8Information 2Pressure Sales 1

>1%

THE C A SE TRENDS

6,046 CASES RECEIVED ↓23%



THE CUS TOMERS

There are just over 2.11 million residential and small

business gas customers in Victoria3, who have been

able to choose their natural gas retailer since 2002.

They can't choose their distributor, because each

of the natural gas distributors owns and operates

a network of pipes in a specific part of the state.

Customers using LPG at home, or in their business,

can choose from LPG retailers or resellers operating

in their area.

THE COMPANIES

At 30 June 2021, EWOV Limited had 34 gas members4:

• 25 Natural gas retailers under licence

• 5 Natural gas distributors under licence

• 4 Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) retailers

under the LPG Industry Code.

Note: There were also 127 (2%) non-company specific gas and LPG cases.

C A SES BY S TAG ES

Enquiries158

Unassisted Referrals678

Assisted Referrals4,146

Investigations1,064


Business324

Residential 5,712


10

2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21

600

800

1,000

1,200

400

0

200

568

Distribution

3 Essential Services Commission 2020, Victorian Energy Market Report: 2019-20

4 Some EWOV Limited members trade under multiple 'brands'. There's a full list on our website: www.ewov.com.au

High 831Error 688Estimation 365Concession 337Backbill 276Fees and Charges 161Refund/Credit 159Tarif f 130Bulk Hot Water 95Delay 82Meter 82Format 57Other 56


2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

4.000

0

2.000

5,303

Retail - Natural Gas

2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21

60

80

100

40

0

20

48

Retail - LPG

THE M AIN ISSUES Gas


WA

TE

R


50%

Billing 760

High 311Fees and Charges 164Error 79Backbill 38Format 29Concession 28Delay 26Refund/Credit 25Estimation 20Meter 18Other 18Tarif f 4

17% 9%

Land 255

Property Damage 116Network Assets 96Easement 31Other 12

Provision 135

Existing Connection 75New Connection 53Restriction 7

9%

Credit 120

Debt collection/credit default listing 63Payment Dif f iculties 42Restriction 15

8%

Customer service 56

Failure to Respond 19Poor Service 16Incorrect Advice/Information 12Failure to Consult/Inform 9

4%

Privacy 12

Details Released 10Disclosure Refused by Provider 1Other 1

General Enquiry 50

Water 49Non Water 1

3% 1%

THE C A SE TRENDS

1,525 CASES RECEIVED ↓1%



C A SES BY S TAG ES

Enquiries110

Unassisted Referrals293

Assisted Referrals909

Investigations213


Business218

Residential 1,295


12

THE CUS TOMERS

Victoria's water customers now number over

2.865 million (more than 2.635 million5 residential

and over 230,574 non-residential). These customers

are provided with water supply, sewage and trade

waste disposal and treatment, water delivery for

irrigation and domestic and stock purposes, drainage,

and salinity mitigation services.

THE COMPANIES

At 30 June 2021, EWOV Limited had 19 water

members6, all State-owned water corporations

constituted under the Water Industry Act 1989:

• 3 metropolitan retailers

• 1 metropolitan wholesaler

• 11 regional urban water corporations

• 2 rural water corporations

• 2 rural urban corporations.


Note: There were also 87 (6%) non-company specific water cases.

2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21

1,500

2,000

1,000

0

500

1,010

45

Metropolitan retail Metropolitan wholesale

2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21

300

400

500

200

0

100

284

Regional Urban Rural and Rural Urban

99

Supply 137

Quality 56Sewer - Stormwater Overflow 41Water Licensing 15Off Supply - Unplanned 14Off Supply - Planned 10Variation 1

5 Essential Services Commission 2020, Water Performance Report 2019–20: Performance of Victorian urban water and sewerage businesses, 9 December

6 Listed on our website: www.ewov.com.au

THE M AIN ISSUES Water


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5 8 2021 ANNUAL REPORT

INCOME S TATEMENT

FOR THE YE AR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021

BAL ANCE SHEET


2021 2020

$ $

Revenue 9,849,188 8,630,390

Employee benefits expense (6,493,032) (7,036,748)

Depreciation and amortisation expense (1,107,025) (1,097,014)

Finance lease interest (204,317) (220,499)

Occupancy (253,227) (403,112)

Administration expenses (816,286) (783,557)

Consultancy expenses (118,065) (286,274)

Research & Communication expenses (139,068) (137,115)

Training and development (106,675) (141,844)

Bad debts provision (67,615) (2,232)

Profit/(Loss) before income tax expense 543,878 (1,478,005)

Income tax expense - -

Profit/(Loss) for the year 543,878 (1,478,005)

Other Comprehensive Profit/(Loss) - -

Total Comprehensive Profit/(Loss) 543,878 (1,478,005)

Financial statements

2021 2020

$ $

Current Assets

Cash and cash equivalents 4,005,730 3,843,183

Financial asset - term deposits 3,275,803 3,259,316

Trade debtors and other assets 184,910 180,352

Total Current Assets 7,466,443 7,282,851

Non-Current Assets

Plant and equipment 1,919,503 2,247,039

Intangibles 202,368 199,264

Right of Use Asset 4,047,968 4,726,190

Total Non-Current Assets 6,169,839 7,172,493

Total Assets 13,636,282 14,455,344

Current Liabilities

Trade and other payables 528,236 1,146,967

Provisions 1,022,658 1,092,862

Lease liability 780,529 722,350

Total Current Liabilities 2,331,423 2,962,179

Non-Current Liabilities

Provisions 754,537 756,578

Lease liability 4,880,482 5,610,625

Total Non- Current Liabilities 5,635,019 6,367,203

Total Liabilities 7,966,442 9,329,382

Net Assets 5,669,840 5,125,962

Members’ Equity

Retained surplus 5,669,840 5,125,962

Total Members’ Equity 5,669,840 5,125,962


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6 0 2021 ANNUAL REPORT

2021 2020

$ $

Cash Flows from Operating Activities

Levy receipts from Members (inclusive of goods and services tax) 10,188,694 8,129,405

Payments to suppliers and employees (inclusive of goods and services tax) (9,095,863) (8,738,718)

Interest received and other income 76,831 197,941

Interest paid (204,371) (220,499)

Net cash provided by/ (used in) 965,291 (631,871)

Cash Flows from Investing Activities

(Payments to) acquire / Proceeds from financial assets (16,487) (77,161)

Payments for plant and equipment and intangibles (104,371) (874,708)

Proceeds from lease incentives - 1,402,643

Net cash from / (used in) investing activities (120,858) 450,774

Cash Flows from Financing Activities

Repayment of lease liabilities (589,412) (589,412)

Net cash used in financing activities (681,886) (589,412)

Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents 162,547 (770,509)

Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the Financial Year 3,843,183 4,613,692

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the Financial Year 4,005,730 3,843,183

C A SHFLOW S TATEMENT


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EWOV Annual Report 2021