Debt forgiveness urgently needed as poor people suffer from high energy costs

The Antipoverty Centre is calling for immediate intervention from energy companies and government in response to today’s annual electricity and gas markets report published by the Australian Energy Regulator.

Major energy companies like Origin and AGL, who have been found to have stolen from welfare recipients via Centrepay, must use their profits to wipe debt. The government must step in with strong regulation to prevent more exploitation and spiralling debt.

The Antipoverty Centre is currently seeking input from people struggling with housing and energy bills for an upcoming report. You can contribute via: bit.ly/HousingQuality

Quotes attributable to Antipoverty Centre spokesperson and JobSeeker Jay Coonan

Urgent action is needed to provide immediate relief for the tens of thousands of people in poverty who are struggling with huge energy debt that they cannot pay down.

Energy companies are banking billions in profit while welfare recipients are saddled with debt. Many people on Centrelink payments who received the government’s so-called energy relief payment told us they received tariff hikes shortly after the payment was announced last year, locking in higher prices. This comes off the back of the biggest players stealing from welfare recipients through Centrepay.

Heatwaves are the most deadly natural disaster on this continent. The true cost of growing energy debt as we head into summer is more sickness, more hospitalisation and more deaths.

Energy companies need to use their eye-watering profits to extend debt forgiveness programs for people on low incomes, and government needs to step in and regulate to ensure they pass on savings they are seeing thanks to increasing renewable energy in the grid.

Media contact: email media at antipovertycentre.org or call/message 0413 261 362 via Signal

Key statistics

According to the last Australian Energy Regulator annual markets report:

• There were 95,634 people with an electricity debt on a hardship program (an increase of 30% on the previous year), with the average debt for this cohort being $1,762.
• 55.9% of people on a hardship program with an energy debt are on a Centrelink payment or have a Low Income Healthcare Card.
• 30,251 people on a hardship plan were excluded from their plan because they were unable to keep up repayments, which may result in electricity disconnection and/or referral to a debt collector.
• Only 35.2% of people on a hardship plan have lower electricity costs in each billing period than the amount they repay as part of their plan. This is an increase of 6.4% on the previous year.