The Antipoverty Centre, Parents for Climate, Sweltering Cities and people suffering from high energy costs have delivered a $173 million energy bill to Origin Energy headquarters, launching the Stop The Bill Shock campaign. The figure is the estimated cost for the company to wipe clean overdue amounts from its 98,000 electricity customers currently on a hardship program with the company.
We are calling on all energy companies to wipe debts and stop price gouging because of the huge increase in customers on hardship plans, which place many people in a debt trap where they are never able to repay the full amount they owe or switch to a cheaper provider.
Included below: photo of bill handover, comments from people who shared their stories at the event and spokespeople from the Antipoverty Centre, Parents for Climate and Sweltering Cities; key statistics.
The country’s largest energy companies are making eye-watering profits at the same time as the number of people on an energy hardship plan increases dramatically, exposing deeply unfair outcomes for people struggling with their bills.
In addition to calling for energy retailers to wipe debt, the Stop the Bill Shock campaign is also pushing for changes to ensure customers can switch to cheaper providers and fairer pricing. #StopTheBS
Greg from Pagewood said:
It’s always a terrible week when the Origin bill comes due. It’s this one part of your budget that is out of control.
You feel the blood pressure rise, literally, because it’s so unfair. I want them to regulate the out-of-control greed. Origin’s pricing is too unfair. The scam has gone on too long.
Izzy from Parramatta said:
You'd think with the obscene amount of fuel extracted from these soils our government would be able to build infrastructure to cope with the rampant climate crisis.
Instead, you and I are left to choose between paying rent or not dying of heatstroke.
Stop the Bill Shock coordinator and Antipoverty Centre spokesperson Jay Coonan said:
Energy companies keep getting caught out by the regulator for doing dodgy stuff. It’s time they stop their BS and stop pushing more and more of us into debt.
Energy debt is going up every year and it’s because of energy retailer greed.
Ordinary people just trying to meet their basic needs are being punished with price hikes in service of massive profits for huge companies like Origin and AGL.
Energy debt must be wiped, but this is only a first step. We need strong regulation to prevent price gouging and guarantee that customers can always switch to the cheapest plan available.
Parents for Climate Chief Executive Officer Nic Seton said:
I’m here to send a message to Origin Energy and the Australian government that enough is enough. Three in 10 families are struggling to afford energy right now.
We need to see action from these corporations that are accruing around $1 billion each in profit each while energy year consumers are being slammed with more debt.
These companies need to act like good citizens and keep Australians safe rather than milking them for all that they could possibly pay.
Sweltering Cities campaigner Sanaa Shah said:
We are here on a 30-plus degree day protesting energy debt and we know that while we're doing so there are people who are unable to afford to even turn on their cooling.
At the same time companies like Origin are making massive profits. This greed cannot continue any longer.
- Figures from Origin and AGL, the two largest energy retailers, show around 126,000 households on their books are experiencing energy hardship – a 39.9% increase from last year.1
- The two companies posted $1.18 billion and $812 million in profit respectively in the same period, an increase of 93.8% from the previous year.2
- Only 31.2% of people who are on a hardship program for energy debt repayments are successfully able to pay off their debt.3
- Every state that is monitored by the AER has seen an increase in the proportion of electricity customers on a hardship plan between July 2023 and March 2024 (figures published November 2024).4
- In New South Wales the proportion of customers on a hardship plan increased by 50% over the 9-month period.
- In Victoria, there was an increase of 20% in customers who owe more than $300, with 121,000 customers as of June 2024 compared to 101,000 the prior year.5
Advocates from the Antipoverty Centre, Parents for Climate and Sweltering Cities hand over a bill to Origin Energy representatives.
