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In June 2007, Energy Minister Francis Logan established an Interagency Working Group to examine and report to Government on ways in which government agencies, government-owned utilities and welfare agencies can improve the delivery and coordination of essential utilities services to the community’s most disadvantaged individuals and families.

The Working Group consists of senior representatives of the:

• Office of Energy;
• Department of Child Protection;
• Department of Housing and Works;
• Department of the Premier and Cabinet;
• Department of Treasury and Finance;
• Synergy;
• Horizon Power;
• Water Corporation; and
• Department of Water.

Public Consultation

The Working Group has released an issues paper on utility hardship for public consultation and is seeking public submissions from interested stakeholders.

Download the Issues Paper

Download a Summary of the Issues Paper

Read Minister Logan's Media Statement

(The Issues Paper can be made available in alternative formats on request to meet the needs of people with disability.)

The Paper seeks public discussion and feedback on a range of issues including:

• a best practice utility hardship policy framework for both Government and utilities;
• indicators that benchmark the performance of retailers’ hardship policies;
• whether disconnections and service restrictions should be permitted under the new policy framework;
• the processes a utility should comply with before they restrict supply to a customer;
• the level of financial counselling services to be offered to those in hardship;
• the water and energy efficiency programs needed to assist those in hardship, and how they should be targeted, funded and administered;
• funding levels, types of utilities assistance that could be offered, eligibility criteria for customers and administrative arrangements for these schemes; and
• inter-agency coordination, management and resolution of utility hardship.

All submissions will be treated as public documents and will be made available on our website (www.energy.wa.gov.au) unless otherwise agreed with the Office of Energy.

If any aspect of a submission is considered confidential, those areas should be clearly identified and the reasons for a claim of confidentiality noted in a covering letter.

Submissions are to be provided no later than 5pm on Friday, 29 February 2008.

Electronic submissions are preferred and should be emailed to: utilityhardship@energy.wa.gov.au

Alternatively, written (hard copy) submissions can be addressed to:

Office of Energy
Utility Hardship Review
Level 9, Governor Stirling Tower
197 St Georges Terrace
Perth WA 6000

Queries on the Utility Hardship Review can be directed to Mr Jeroen Gerritsen, Senior Manager, Community Branch, Office of Energy on (08) 9420 5612 or via email: ron.gerritsen@energy.wa.gov.au.

The Working Group is expected to release a report on its findings in the second quarter of 2008.