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EnergyAustralia

For failing to disclose how much energy bills would increase.

energy australia
CHOICE staff
CHOICE staff
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OK, so we've all heard about imminent electricity price increases. 

But we reckon it's a basic right for all consumers to be informed when prices are going up before they go up, and by how much.

For EnergyAustralia, however, it seems that the right time to tell people is after the prices have gone up and it's too late to do anything about it – that is, when the bill comes. 

Their advice about price rises came on what appeared to be the back of an ad flyer for solar panels. 

Don't want solar panels? 

Then you probably chucked the flyer straight in the recycling bin, without looking at the other side.

To make matters worse, all the flyer said was that prices were going up. 

EnergyAustralia couldn't – or wouldn't – tell you how much because it was all too complicated for something on the back of a flyer, and depends on all sorts of factors, apparently. 

AGL, on the other hand, somehow did manage to tell people in advance that prices were rising and what the old and new prices were, as well as giving an estimated weekly increase based on a typical household.

And to cap it off, there's no other information regarding price rises on the official EnergyAustralia bill either – unless you noticed that two different rates were applied (a result of the price rise taking place part-way through your billing period).

What a shocking – and shonky – state of affairs.