Following yesterday’s announcement of law firm Piper Alderman launching a class action against CS Energy and Stanwell on behalf of Queensland residents and businesses, the two companies have refuted the claims of price gouging.
CS Energy says it will defend any class action lodged by a law firm and funded by overseas corporate backers.
“We totally reject these false claims about us,” the company said in a statement.
“Queenslanders should question who will benefit from a claim like this–is it Queenslanders or an overseas litigation funder whose main interest is making a return on their investment in class actions?
“As a Queensland-based and publicly owned Queensland business, the proposed class action is pursuing the revenues that we return to the state which are used to fund important services for all Queenslanders.
“There is strict oversight of the National Electricity Market by the Australian Energy Regulator.
“Previous investigations found price changes were due to a wide range of influencing factors, including extreme weather fluctuations.
“Queenslanders have enjoyed the lowest average wholesale electricity prices in the National Electricity Market for the past three years.”
Stanwell echoed this sentiment about the class action, stating that while they haven’t seen the claim, Stanwell strongly refutes any allegation of misuse of market power.
“Stanwell has always acted in the best interests of its customers and complied with the rules of the National Electricity Market,” it said in a statement.
“We have always been totally transparent in our trading activities in the wholesale electricity market and have acted in accordance with market rules and our values.”
More news to come on the class action.