❓ Hon ED DERMER questions the Minister for Energy regarding a significant increase in disputes involving Synergy referred to the Energy Ombudsman, seeking explanations and actions taken to address the issue. The Minister attributes the increase to the implementation of a new billing system and claims the problems have been largely rectified.
AnsweredQoN 259Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
SYNERGY —
ENERGY OMBUDSMAN
259. Hon ED DERMER to the Minister for Energy:
My question is a question without
notice. I refer to the 591 per cent increase in disputes involving Synergy that
have been raised with the energy ombudsman between the 2008–2009
financial year and the 2010–11 financial year.
(1) Given that a
referral to the energy ombudsman would be a last resort for many people, why
has the minister allowed the number of disputes to increase so dramatically?
(2) Has the
minister formally investigated what it is about Synergy's mode of doing
business that has generated such a rise in disputes; and, if not, why not?
(3) If yes to (2), what form did the
minister's investigation take?
(4) What specific
actions did the minister take to reduce disputes when he discovered that the
numbers had increased so sharply?
The PRESIDENT : Members will be aware that answers have to
be concise and relevant. There is no question about the relevancy in terms of
the broad issues involving energy, but there is a bit of an issue with
conciseness in terms of the minister covering ground that has previously been
covered today and in question time yesterday. I am sure the minister will take
account of that.
ENERGY OMBUDSMAN
259. Hon ED DERMER to the Minister for Energy:
My question is a question without
notice. I refer to the 591 per cent increase in disputes involving Synergy that
have been raised with the energy ombudsman between the 2008–2009
financial year and the 2010–11 financial year.
(1) Given that a
referral to the energy ombudsman would be a last resort for many people, why
has the minister allowed the number of disputes to increase so dramatically?
(2) Has the
minister formally investigated what it is about Synergy's mode of doing
business that has generated such a rise in disputes; and, if not, why not?
(3) If yes to (2), what form did the
minister's investigation take?
(4) What specific
actions did the minister take to reduce disputes when he discovered that the
numbers had increased so sharply?
The PRESIDENT : Members will be aware that answers have to
be concise and relevant. There is no question about the relevancy in terms of
the broad issues involving energy, but there is a bit of an issue with
conciseness in terms of the minister covering ground that has previously been
covered today and in question time yesterday. I am sure the minister will take
account of that.
AnswerView source ↗
Thank you, Mr President. You have pre-empted exactly my
response. I thank the honourable member for the question.
(1)–(4)
I could just say ditto. I do not mean to be disrespectful, but I do feel I have
covered this quite significantly. As I said, inevitably, with the
implementation of the billing system, there are going to be issues and there
are going to be disputes between Synergy and the customer, and there has been
an increase in complaints to the ombudsman, exactly the same as there has been
an increase in problems with individual bills. As I have said, when there are
one million customers, inevitably there will be problems when there is a new
billing system and with the implementation of that billing system, and this is
a direct result of those problems.
As I stated in an earlier
response, members will find that most of those problems have now been rectified
and the billing system is operating in a fairly seamless fashion.
response. I thank the honourable member for the question.
(1)–(4)
I could just say ditto. I do not mean to be disrespectful, but I do feel I have
covered this quite significantly. As I said, inevitably, with the
implementation of the billing system, there are going to be issues and there
are going to be disputes between Synergy and the customer, and there has been
an increase in complaints to the ombudsman, exactly the same as there has been
an increase in problems with individual bills. As I have said, when there are
one million customers, inevitably there will be problems when there is a new
billing system and with the implementation of that billing system, and this is
a direct result of those problems.
As I stated in an earlier
response, members will find that most of those problems have now been rectified
and the billing system is operating in a fairly seamless fashion.
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