The Essential Services Commission has begun civil penalty proceedings in the Supreme Court of Victoria against energy retailer ENGIE—the fifth largest energy retailer in the state.
The commission alleges that between 23 January 2024 and 14 November 2024 ENGIE broke Victorian energy laws by failing to assist customers experiencing financial difficulties; failing to provide family violence protections; failing to follow rules designed to prevent bill shock; and collecting debts from customers receiving financial difficulty assistance.
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The customers identified in court documents include pensioners, a family violence victim-survivor, a single parent, and a carer.
Each of the customers sought help from ENGIE due to financial hardship. The commission alleges that ENGIE’s failure to provide these customers with timely or adequate assistance as legally required, caused them significant harm.
The commission is seeking civil penalties and other remedies including declarations, contravention orders and adverse publicity orders.
The commission established a taskforce to investigate ENGIE after receiving a referral from the Energy and Water Ombudsman Victoria (EWOV), last year. EWOV had received an influx of complaints about ENGIE, and its data showed ENGIE had become the state’s most complained about energy retailer.
The work of the taskforce is ongoing, and the commission will consider further enforcement measures based on its findings.
Essential Services Commission chairperson and commissioner Gerard Brody said “After conducting a detailed investigation, we allege ENGIE failed to adequately assist some of its most vulnerable customers when they sought help with paying their bills.
“This is the third enforcement action the commission has taken against ENGIE in the past 18 months. We fined them $1.7 million in September 2024, $1.2 million last November, and we believe these latest allegations warrant the court’s attention.
“Energy retailers in Victoria have a responsibility to assist customers struggling to pay their bills. We consider Engie’s failures are serious, which is why we’re taking ENGIE to the Supreme Court of Victoria.
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“The commission continues to focus on ensuring consumers experiencing vulnerability are given fair access to essential services. These customers are often doing everything they can to keep their head above water, so when support fails them the effects can be outsized and ongoing.”
