Nathan Heberley v ActewAGL Retail & Evoenergy (Energy and Water)

Nathan Heberley lodged a complaint with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) against ActewAGL Retail and Evoenergy, both of which are utilities companies. The primary issue was a high ‘catch-up’ bill, which Heberley believed was unfair and in breach of legal and contractual obligations. The dispute was heard by the ACCC and subsequently referred to the Australian Competition Tribunal (the Tribunal).

The legal issues before the Tribunal included whether ActewAGL Retail complied with clause 5(1) of the Utilities (Consumer Protection Code) Determination 2020 by failing to email Heberley regarding his meter being inaccessible, and whether Evoenergy complied with rule 31 of the National Energy Retail Rules and its contractual obligations by not informing Heberley that the credit for waived gas usage costs was partly an overcharge. The Tribunal needed to determine if the actions of the utilities companies were unfair and non-compliant with the relevant regulations and contractual obligations.

The Tribunal found that ActewAGL Retail failed to email Heberley about his meter being inaccessible, which was contrary to clause 5(1) of the Utilities (Consumer Protection Code) Determination 2020. Furthermore, Evoenergy did not inform Heberley that the credit for waived gas usage costs was partly an overcharge, which was not compliant with rule 31 of the National Energy Retail Rules or its contractual obligations. These findings led the Tribunal to adjourn the matter for a further hearing to determine what orders should be made in light of these findings.

The Tribunal made several orders, including adjourning the matter for a further hearing on 23 September 2022 at 11am to determine what orders should be made. Heberley was required to file and serve any further submissions or evidence relevant to the hearing by 5pm on Friday, 12 August 2022. ActewAGL Retail and Evoenergy were to file and serve any further submissions or evidence relevant to the hearing by 5pm on Friday, 9 September 2022. These orders aimed to ensure that the parties had an opportunity to present their cases and evidence in a structured manner before the Tribunal made its final determination.