Having regard to a customer’s capacity to pay: a Federal Court Decision
On 27 June 2022, the Federal Court of Australia published reasons by the Honourable Justice Moshinsky in Australian Energy Regulator v Origin Energy Electricity Ltd (2020) FCA 802. The decision contains important clarifications of sections of the Retail Law that apply where customers in NECF jurisdictions experience financial hardship. The decision should be reviewed by all energy retailers operating in different NECF jurisdictions. Background The period from March 2019 to 6 October 2021 in the case of the respondents other than OC Energy and in the period from September 2019 to 6 October 2021 in the case of OC Energy, Origin automated aspects of its Power On Program and by use of the automated system: Proposed to increase the amount of payment plan instalments of certain hardship customers within certain…