❓ Mr. Love questions Synergy's billing practices in cyclone-affected areas, specifically regarding estimated charges. The Minister responds by explaining the billing process, the role of Western Power, and the government's plan to accelerate the rollout of advanced meters.
AnsweredQoN 258Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
SYNERGY
— FEES AND CHARGES — CYCLONE-AFFECTED AREAS
258. Mr R.S. LOVE to the Minister for Energy:
I refer to Synergy's practice of using estimates to
charge customers in cyclone-affected areas often far in excess of actual usage.
Will the minister step in now and ensure that all customers in the affected
area are granted the $363 credit rather than just those customers who have
spoken to Synergy's representatives face to face or have registered for
assistance on the website?
— FEES AND CHARGES — CYCLONE-AFFECTED AREAS
258. Mr R.S. LOVE to the Minister for Energy:
I refer to Synergy's practice of using estimates to
charge customers in cyclone-affected areas often far in excess of actual usage.
Will the minister step in now and ensure that all customers in the affected
area are granted the $363 credit rather than just those customers who have
spoken to Synergy's representatives face to face or have registered for
assistance on the website?
AnswerView source ↗
Thank you for the
question. Synergy, of course, has deferred collections activities for those
customers directly impacted by
outages during cyclone Seroja. In addition, Synergy does not read meters; they
are read by Western Power. When Western Power does not do a meter
reading, it provides an estimate bill to Synergy, and the automated computer system generates a bill from that transaction.
Because Synergy itself does not read the bills, it does not know whether the amount being sent to it is either an estimate or an actual reading. This is
one of the reasons that we are moving to
accelerate the rollout of advanced meters with communications capability. The
government has already allocated the resources for 180 000 advanced
meters to be installed across the south west interconnected system. Of course,
Horizon Power already uses advanced meters. We have also funded—unfortunately,
it was not funded through the Economic Regulation Authority process—the
communications infrastructure to support the advanced meters. We are now
reviewing the rollout of advanced meters to try to improve this for the future.
Obviously, a lot of other benefits flow from advanced meter infrastructure,
including the detection of neutral faults, which I know my friend the member
for Willagee is very sensitive to because of the tragedy at a Department of
Communities property. One of the good things about these advanced meters is
that they detect neutral fault problems. Interestingly, the first one that was
discovered after the installation of advanced meters was in an Anglican church.
We even helped God on that issue!
question. Synergy, of course, has deferred collections activities for those
customers directly impacted by
outages during cyclone Seroja. In addition, Synergy does not read meters; they
are read by Western Power. When Western Power does not do a meter
reading, it provides an estimate bill to Synergy, and the automated computer system generates a bill from that transaction.
Because Synergy itself does not read the bills, it does not know whether the amount being sent to it is either an estimate or an actual reading. This is
one of the reasons that we are moving to
accelerate the rollout of advanced meters with communications capability. The
government has already allocated the resources for 180 000 advanced
meters to be installed across the south west interconnected system. Of course,
Horizon Power already uses advanced meters. We have also funded—unfortunately,
it was not funded through the Economic Regulation Authority process—the
communications infrastructure to support the advanced meters. We are now
reviewing the rollout of advanced meters to try to improve this for the future.
Obviously, a lot of other benefits flow from advanced meter infrastructure,
including the detection of neutral faults, which I know my friend the member
for Willagee is very sensitive to because of the tragedy at a Department of
Communities property. One of the good things about these advanced meters is
that they detect neutral fault problems. Interestingly, the first one that was
discovered after the installation of advanced meters was in an Anglican church.
We even helped God on that issue!
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.