Origin Energy Electricity Ltd (Origin) has paid two infringement notices totalling $135,600 issued by the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) for alleged breaches of overcharging rules.
The AER alleges that Origin did not have adequate policies and procedures in place to detect and mitigate failures during a major IT upgrade to its customer management system.
The AER has issued infringement notices alleging that Origin failed to notify two of its customers, within 10 business days, that it had overcharged them $4,317 and $2,885, respectively, in breach of rule 31(1) of the National Energy Retail Rules (Rules).
AER Deputy Chair Justin Oliver said that the Rules provide important protections for consumers by ensuring customers are notified and reimbursed in a timely manner if overcharging occurs.
“The AER issued these infringement notices in response to Origin’s failure to act quickly to minimise consumer harm.
“We understand retailers periodically need to undertake major IT upgrades and that mistakes can and do happen, however, retailers need to have a plan and sufficient resources in place to protect their customers by ensuring they detect, remedy and self-report mistakes as soon as they can.
“With ongoing cost-of-living pressures impacting many households, the AER is firmly focussed on protecting consumers and ensuring bills accurately reflect the energy consumed,” Mr Oliver said.
The AER will continue to monitor the energy market and will proactively work to improve compliance and respond with enforcement action where justified.
Notes to Editors
Background
Between October 2020 and May 2023, Origin migrated its customers from its previous customer management system SAP to its new system, Kraken.
The alleged contraventions were identified as part of an investigation undertaken by the AER after Origin self-reported possible breaches of the overcharging obligations to the regulator.
The AER’s power to issue infringement notices
The AER can issue infringement notices when it believes on reasonable grounds that a person or business has contravened certain provisions of the National Energy Retail Rules.
The person or business can choose to comply with the infringement notice by paying the penalty specified in the notice. Alternatively, they are entitled to disregard the infringement notice and to defend any legal proceedings that are subsequently commenced by the AER in respect of the alleged breach.
The payment of an infringement notice does not constitute an admission of liability by the person or business.
National Energy Retail Rules
The National Energy Retail Rules impose legal obligations on energy retailers in respect of circumstances where a small customer has been overcharged. These obligations protect customers by ensuring that if overcharging occurs, customers are notified within 10 business days of the overcharge being identified by the retailer.