ELECTRICITY RETAILERS —
DISCONNECTIONS
800. Hon PETER COLLIER to
the minister representing the Minister for Energy:
For each energy retailer in Western Australia,
I ask the following.
(1) How many disconnection warnings were issued for
each calendar month of 2020 for residential and non-residential customers?
(2) How many
disconnections occurred for each calendar month of 2020 for residential and
non-residential customers?
(3) What was the
number of applications received and hardship utility grant scheme payments made
for each calendar month of 2020?
Hon
STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I thank the honourable Leader of the
Opposition for some notice of the question. The following information has been
provided to me by the Minister for Energy.
(1)–(3) The
answers are in tabular form. I seek leave to have them incorporated into Hansard.
Leave granted.
The following
material was incorporated —
Horizon
Power
(1)
Warnings
|
Month
|
Residential
|
Non Residential
|
January 2020
|
1883
|
442
|
February 2020
|
1526
|
377
|
March 2020
|
1213
|
274
|
April 2020
|
0
|
0
|
May 2020
|
0
|
0
|
June 2020
|
0
|
0
|
July 2020
|
0
|
0
|
August 2020*
|
0
|
0
|
Total:
|
4622
|
1093
|
*
Numbers as at 18 August 2020.
(2)
Disconnections
|
Month
|
Residential Disconnections
|
Non-residential Disconnections
|
January 2020
|
256
|
36
|
February 2020
|
189
|
22
|
March 2020
|
148
|
23
|
April 2020
|
0
|
0
|
May 2020
|
0
|
0
|
June 2020
|
0
|
0
|
July 2020
|
0
|
0
|
August 2020*
|
0
|
0
|
Total:
|
593
|
81
|
Following the State Government's 31 March 2020
announcement regarding the disconnections moratorium, Horizon Power temporarily suspended disconnections for all customers and revised
its collections notifications to ensure a focus on keeping customers connected.
These changes included extended time for customers to pay their bills.
Further,
Horizon Power undertook a multi-channelled customer engagement campaign across
the regions which has been effective in communicating the Government's
and Horizon Power's various support measures and services.
In the
past month, customer calls seeking payment support measures have declined
significantly.
* Numbers as at 18 August 2020.
(3)
HUGS Applications and Payments
|
Month
|
Applications
|
Payments
|
January
2020
|
60
|
42
|
February
2020
|
45
|
48
|
March
2020
|
29
|
25
|
April
2020
|
18
|
14
|
May
2020
|
27
|
20
|
June
2020
|
30
|
21
|
July
2020
|
27
|
21
|
August
2020*
|
9
|
3
|
Total:
|
245
|
194
|
*
Numbers as at 18 August 2020.
Synergy
(1)
MONTH
|
DISCONNECTION WARNINGS ISSUED
|
RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS
|
NON-RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS
|
January
2020
|
8161
|
1230
|
February
2020
|
5611
|
971
|
March
2020
|
3481
|
898
|
April
2020
|
0
|
0
|
May
2020
|
0
|
0
|
June
2020
|
0
|
0
|
July
2020
|
0
|
2
(contestable business customer)
|
(2)
MONTH
|
DISCONNECTIONS
|
RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS
|
NON-RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS
|
January
2020
|
938
|
54
|
February
2020
|
1113
|
90
|
March
2020
|
957
|
57
|
April
2020
|
0
|
0
|
May
2020
|
0
|
0
|
June
2020
|
0
|
0
|
July
2020
|
0
|
2
(contestable business customer)
|
(3)
|
NUMBER OF HARDSHIP UTILITY GRANT SCHEME* PAYMENTS
RECEIVED BY SYNERGY FROM DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITIES
|
January
2020
|
500
|
February
2020
|
502
|
March
2020
|
466
|
April
2020
|
348
|
May
2020
|
199
|
June
2020
|
191
|
July
2020
|
346
|
*It
should be noted that the Hardship Utility Grant Scheme is administered by the
Department of Communities.