Benefit Change Notice Guidelines Issues Paper
The Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action) welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Australian Energy Regulator’s (AER) benefit change notice guidelines issues paper. As stated in previous submissions to the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) and Essential Services Commission (Victoria) (ESC), Consumer Action supports requiring retailers to notify customers when their benefits change.
It is important that the AER utilise behavioral economics insights to ensure that the notices are as effective at meeting the relevant policy objectives as possible. It is also essential that the notices are consistent across retailers and easily comparable to the Energy Made Easy (EME) website so that all households have the same opportunity to easily get the most out of EME.
We believe that these notifications will have little impact on the poor outcomes for consumers in retail markets that have been outlined in the ACCC Retail Electricity Price Inquiry preliminary report and the Independent Review of the Electricity and Gas Retail Markets in Victoria. For this reason, we will continue to advocate for stronger interventions in residential energy retail markets.
Read the full submission here [PDF]
180321 SUB - AER Benefit Change Notice Guidelines Issues Paper
