The Queensland Competition Authority (QCA) has released a report about the Guaranteed Service Level (GSL) scheme payments that Energex and Ergon Energy made in 2018–19.
The GSL scheme requires Energex and Ergon Energy to make payments to residential and small business customers when certain standards of service are not met. GSL payments relate to electricity supply interruptions, wrongful disconnection, the timeliness of connections and reconnections, failure to give sufficient notice of planned interruptions, and failure to attend an appointment on time. Payments of $114 per customer for a supply interruption—often triggered by severe weather events such as summer storms—typically make up a high proportion of GSL payments.
In 2018–19, Energex made 30,150 GSL payments totalling $3.44 million, and Ergon Energy made 11,000 payments for $1.16 million. Most of the payments were for interrupted supply because of power outages caused by severe weather events.
The QCA Chair, Professor Flavio Menezes, said that “GSL payments are an acknowledgement that residential and small business customers are inconvenienced when Energex or Ergon Energy do not meet the service standards outlined in the scheme.
“The QCA encourages Energex and Ergon Energy to continue to strive to meet the standards, and understands that power outages in severe weather do not mean the businesses are providing poor service to customers.
“The QCA’s report brings together the data provided by the businesses in their quarterly reports last year, and tracks the payments for each GSL for the six years up to 2018–19,” said Professor Menezes.
The QCA will continue to publish Energex’s and Ergon Energy’s quarterly reports on GSL payments throughout 2019–20.
The 2018–19 annual report is available on the QCA website.
Media enquiries: Cole Lawson Communications, 07 3221 2220 or 0411 135 005.
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