MORE than 1.1 million Australians were late paying their utility bills in the past three months as soaring electricity prices put pressure on household budgets.  

The figures come from a survey by credit information agency Veda Advantage and show the number of customers who missed a payment in any given quarter has risen by 40 per cent in the past 12 months.

Average arrears on utility bills have hit a record $500, said credit and collections agency Dun & Bradstreet.

The figures have been described as bordering on a national crisis, and are likely to get worse. Pricing regulator IPART has already said that NSW customers will be slugged with an 18 per cent price rise from July 1.  

"It's a really worrying situation because there is clearly a growing group of people having difficulty with utility bills as the costs continue to rise and it doesn't look as though things are going to get any easier," said Chris Gration of Veda.  


Ausgrid chairman John Conde offered no comfort to customers hoping his company would take action to ease bills, saying the company had introduced payment plans for struggling householders.

Clare Petre, the Energy and Water Ombudsman, said there was an ever-increasing number of complaints.  

"The 'usage' element of the bill is the smallest, with the bulk taken up by the fixed network charges, so it doesn't matter what the customer does to limit their usage, their bills are still unaffordable -- this is my biggest concern," she said.  

Katherine Lane of the Consumer Credit Legal Centre said the State Government must legislate so households that cannot afford their bills are not unjustly cut off.

Why am I not surprised?

adelcrow wrote on May 3^rd, 2011 at 7:16pm:



Can't cut MINE any further without cutting it OFF.

Kat wrote on May 3^rd, 2011 at 7:36pm:




And neither can the old age pensioners and many other recipients of benefits of one type or another. They rely totally on the pittance they get from the government. A lot have cut back on one or two meals a day.

Is it getting closer to rebellion time?

adelcrow wrote on May 3^rd, 2011 at 7:16pm:


My last water bill was about $175.

$145 of it was different charges not related to use.

My actual use was a whopping $30.

Bit hard to cut your bill on an essiental service like that.

<<its dreadful really so much of a pensioners money goes on utilities I will be interested to see if swan will be doing anything for us in the budget..seeing as how he is taking care of teenagers.now>>
.......................................................................

hi cods.....getting cold down your way? it's a bit fresh here this morning, lovin' it.

Teenagers are the tax payers of the future. Aged pensioners are a drain on the budget, so don't expect too much. It's about impressing those that count, stuff the non productive in our society. Sounds a bit like something our dear andrei would say lol