EnergyAustralia has been fined $14 million by the Federal Court for misleading hundreds of thousands of consumers about electricity prices.
The energy retailer admitted to breaching consumer law and the Electricity Retail Code by not stating the lowest possible price and misrepresenting what an average customer would expect to pay under its electricity offer in communications sent over roughly three months in mid-2022.EnergyAustralia also admitted that it didn't properly disclose price differences in 27 online offers published around the same time, that were viewed more than 200,000 times.
"EnergyAustralia breached laws which were designed to help consumers to compare electricity offers and identify the best deal by increasing transparency," ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said. "Some consumers may also have been misled by EnergyAustralia's statements into thinking that a price change was less than it actually was, causing them to stay with their existing plan when in fact a different plan may have represented a better deal."EnergyAustralia's offers and messages were published when power prices were surging, and the consumer watchdog said retailer's conduct was a timely reminder for households to shop around.
"This enforcement action is a reminder that the ACCC is closely monitoring the electricity market, conducting regular compliance checks and ready to take strong action when appropriate.""We acknowledge this $14 million penalty reflects the seriousness of the failure in our duty to provide clear and accurate information to customers," managing director Mark Collette said."Once we became aware of the issue, we took immediate action.
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