Our work to support Victorians experiencing family violence has resulted in numerous developments in the energy and water sectors. View all resources here and learn more about our work in this area.| www.esc.vic.gov.au
We acknowledge all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and pay our respects to Elders past and present.| www.esc.vic.gov.au
The Essential Services Commission has punished two businesses it alleges claimed Victorian energy efficiency certificates for work that didn’t take place.|
The Essential Services Commission has updated the Better practice in responding to family violence handbook, which serves as a practical guide to help energy and water businesses assess and strengthen their response to family violence. The handbook has been updated to reflect deepening understanding about family violence risk in essential services, including the importance of taking a Safety by Design approach.| www.esc.vic.gov.au
Maximum fares for unbooked taxis will increase following an annual fare adjustment. This increase will help keep taxis on the road by ensuring fares reflect the cost of doing business.|
The Essential Services Commission has partnered with Women’s Health in the North (WHIN) to deliver the Power Up Victoria project, to support migrant and refugee women who have faced barriers accessing and participating in the energy market.|
The Essential Services Commission is reviewing the Victorian energy rules, to improve how energy businesses register energy customers who rely on life support equipment.|
GB Environmental Pty Ltd (Greenbank Environmental) has had restrictions placed on its Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) accreditation for three months, for breaching the VEU program rules.|
Energy retailer CovaU Pty Ltd (trading as CovaU) has been fined $341,724 for alleged unlawful cold-call telemarketing that aimed to win back former customers. The Essential Services Commission alleges that between February 2023 and March 2024, CovaU contracted a third party to cold-call former customers and offer short-term discounts to entice them back, otherwise known as ‘win-back’ offers.|
The Essential Services Commission has confirmed the maximum prices Victoria’s 18 water businesses can charge their customers for specific services in 2025–26. The average annual water bill for owner-occupier households will increase by around $32 in Melbourne and by around $33 in regional Victoria (compared to 2024–25).|
Energy retailer Pacific Blue Retail Pty Ltd (Pacific Blue), which trades as Tango Energy and Pacific Blue Retail, has paid $961,550 for allegedly breaching Victorian energy rules related to guaranteed service level payments.|
The Essential Services Commission has released its 2025 Local Government Outcomes Report, which shows most local councils remain in good financial health and ratepayers continue to benefit from council rate caps.|
The Essential Services Commission has released its final decision on the Victorian Default Offer to apply from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026.|
The Essential Services Commission has today welcomed the release of a discussion paper designed to help the energy and water sectors identify risks and prevent harm for customers experiencing family violence. In 2024, the commission formed a partnership with leaders in family violence and economic abuse prevention to promote the design of safer systems and processes for energy and water businesses that support customers experiencing family violence.|
The Essential Services Commission is proposing new rules to require energy retailers to move certain customers onto cheaper plans. The commission estimates these rules would have saved customers an average of around $225 on electricity and $182 on their gas each year.|
Astra Green Solutions Pty Ltd (trading as Astra Green) has been penalised $69,231 for breaching a ban on cold-call telemarketing in the Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) program.|
Australia’s largest energy retailer, Origin Energy, has been ordered to pay $17,605,000 by the Supreme Court of Victoria after admitting to breaches of Victoria’s energy rules that affected 668,750 customers. This is the largest financial penalty for breaches of Victoria’s energy rules in the state’s history. Between them, Origin Energy Electricity Limited and Origin Energy (Vic) Pty Limited admitted to:|
The Essential Services Commission has released its draft decision on the 2025-26 Victorian Default Offer for public consultation.|
The Essential Services Commission has banned accredited business Carers Club Australia Pty Ltd (trading as Care for Environment) from the Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) program for alleged rule breaches. The VEU is an energy efficiency program, designed to help Victorians cut their energy bills and lower greenhouse gas emissions. Accredited businesses undertake energy efficiency upgrades that entitle them to create certificates, which they can then sell.|
Energy retailer AGL Sales Pty Ltd has paid $924,600 in penalties for raising prices for 15,845 residential and small business customers, allegedly in breach of Victoria’s energy rules.|
Origin Energy companies have paid penalty notices totalling $1,597,668 for alleged breaches of family violence provisions in Victoria’s energy rules.|
The commission has released its draft decision on the minimum amount electricity retailers must pay solar customers for the electricity they export into the grid.|
Key findings from the Water Performance Report 2023-24 show higher water bills across Victoria, increased water usage, and more opportunities for water businesses to support customers seeking financial hardship support.|
The Supreme Court of Victoria has ordered energy retailers Sumo Power Pty Ltd and Sumo Gas Pty Ltd (together, Sumo) to pay penalties totalling $10 million for unlawful door-to-door marketing and failures related to its best offer messaging.|
The commission released its annual Council Rate Cap Compliance Report, showing each of Victoria’s 79 local councils kept their rate increases within the 2.75 per cent cap for 2024–25 set by the Minister for Local Government.|
The Essential Services Commission released a request for comment paper, seeking input from industry, community groups, consumers and other interested parties on its approach to setting Victoria's default electricity price for 2025–26.|
Victorian energy retailers have surrendered over 6.2 million energy efficiency certificates to offset emissions generated by their energy sales in 2023. Most energy retailers must acquire and surrender certificates created for energy efficient upgrades under the Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) program to offset emissions generated by their energy sales. Each certificate represents one tonne of greenhouse gas emissions saved.|
The Essential Services Commission’s annual report for 2023–24 reflects a year of regulatory outcomes that have supported Victorians to access essential transport, local council, water and energy services, with a focus on protecting consumers experiencing vulnerability.|
The commission has today published its sixth annual water outcomes report, showing water businesses are providing good assistance to customers who are struggling to pay their bills, alongside a high number of deferred or delayed capital works projects.|
The Essential Services Commission has commenced public consultation on proposed consumer reforms to help Victorian households access cheaper energy deals and increase support for consumers experiencing payment difficulty.|
Energy retailers IPower Pty Limited and IPower 2 Pty Limited (trading in partnership as Engie, and formerly known as Simply Energy), have paid penalties totalling $1,676,104 for alleged breaches of Victorian energy rules related to family violence provisions and performance reporting.|
The Essential Services Commission is inviting public submissions about Transmission Company Victoria’s (TCV) application for an electricity transmission licence in Victoria.|
The Essential Services Commission has accepted a court enforceable undertaking from Greater Western Water, after Greater Western Water admitted it failed to meet its obligations to support customers affected by family violence in 2023.|
Energy retailer M2 Energy Pty Ltd (trading as Dodo Power & Gas) has paid penalties totalling $825,472 for allegedly breaching Victorian energy rules related to guaranteed service level payments and self-reporting.|
The Essential Services Commission has approved a 5.5 per cent increase to the maximum fare payable when a taxi is hailed from the street or at a taxi rank.|
The Essential Services Commission has confirmed the prices to apply in 2024–25 for Victoria’s 16 water businesses.|
Take simple steps to help avoid bill shock through the winter months including checking your meter reading and comparing energy plans.|
The commission has approved new prices for Goulburn-Murray Water’s customers over the 4-year period commencing 1 July 2024.|
The commission has approved new prices for Greater Western Water’s customers over the 4-year period commencing 1 July 2024.|
The Essential Services Commission has released its draft decision on the 2024 taxi review, recommending an increase to maximum fares payable when a taxi is hailed from the street or at a taxi rank.|
The Essential Services Commission is seeking feedback on its review of the Energy Retail Code of Practice which places enforceable obligations on retailers selling energy to Victorian consumers.|
The penalties follow a court enforceable undertaking that was accepted by the commission last month for the same conduct.|
The Essential Services Commission has released its final decision on the Victorian Default Offer, locking in lower electricity prices for consumers and small businesses.|
The guides, featuring the principles of Safety by Design, will help businesses identify risks and harms in their systems and processes.|
The new code will provide a fair and clear framework for gas network customers as Victoria transitions to net-zero emissions.|
ReAmped Energy has acknowledged that between 1 August 2022 and 30 June 2023, it did not meet its best offer obligations.|
The Essential Services Commission has accepted a court enforceable undertaking from AusNet for failing to provide adequate power outage information to its customers after the February 2024 Victorian storms.|
Published quarterly, the Victorian Energy Market Report aims to help customers understand how the energy retail market works and what they need to do to get the best out of it.|
Greater Western Water’s proposal for the four years from 1 July 2024 leads to a decrease in a typical annual customer bill for most customers.|
Goulburn-Murray Water has proposed lower prices for key services including gravity irrigation, with an extensive engagement program informing the services to be delivered.|
Victorian regulators and agencies have joined forces to improve compliance of heat pump hot water system installations across the state, in line with industry and safety standards.|
The Essential Services Commission has released its draft decision on the 2024-25 Victorian Default Offer for public consultation.|
Penalties paid after the Essential Services Commission gathered evidence that Blue NRG allegedly failed to credit guaranteed service level payments of 427 customers.|
The Essential Services Commission alleges that between Feb 2022 and Aug 2023, Sumo failed to meet its obligations under the energy rules in relation to best offer.|
The Essential Services Commission has released its final decision on the minimum electricity feed-in tariffs to apply from 1 July 2024 until 30 June 2025. The flat minimum feed-in tariff for the 2024–25 financial year is 3.3 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh), while time-varying minimum feed-in tariffs range from 2.1 to 8.4 cents per kWh.|
Origin has paid $295,872 in penalties for 8 alleged contraventions of Victoria’s energy laws. Origin allegedly referred 6 customers affected by family violence to a debt recovery agency without considering the potential impact of debt recovery on those customers.|
The Essential Services Commission has commenced civil penalty proceedings in the Supreme Court of Victoria against energy retailers Origin Energy Electricity Limited and Origin Energy (Vic) Pty Limited (together, Origin).|
The Essential Services Commission has commenced civil penalty proceedings against energy retailer Origin for alleged multiple failures to meet obligations under the life support and payment difficulty frameworks.|
The Essential Services Commission has commenced civil penalty proceedings in the Supreme Court of Victoria against Sumo for allegedly engaging in unlawful door-to-door marketing of energy contracts.|
Victoria’s independent economic regulator has released a new report showing that water businesses are performing well and have maintained a strong focus on supporting their customers and community.|
CitiPower had allegedly breached Victoria’s energy laws that require distributors to provide customers with written notice before a planned power interruption.|
The Essential Services Commission has published new rules that electricity transmission companies must follow when accessing private land in Victoria.|
A new report from the Essential Services Commission has found all 79 Victorian councils kept their rates at or below the level set by the cap amount for 2023-24.|
The Essential Services Commission is seeking feedback on its draft decision on the minimum feed-in tariffs that energy companies will pay Victorian solar customers from 1 July 2024.|
The Essential Services Commission has today released its draft decision on the Gas Distribution Code of Practice, which will provide a fairer and clearer framework for gas network customers.|
Victoria’s independent economic regulator today released a request for comment paper, seeking feedback and input from stakeholders to inform its approach to setting electricity default offer prices for 2024-25.|
The Essential Services Commission has released a consultation paper to commence its 2024 taxi fare review.|
AGL Sales Pty Ltd (AGL) has paid a total of $799,656 in penalties after allegedly failing to calculate its ‘deemed best offer check’ in line with the prescribed formula for 22 customers over the period March to June 2022. An energy retailer’s ‘deemed best offer’ is typically their cheapest generally available offer. It does not include one-off gifts or sign-up credits and is based on customer energy usage over the past year.|
The Essential Services Commission is seeking stakeholder feedback on how much Goulburn-Murray Water is proposing to charge its customers for water services over the next 4 years, as part of the commission’s 2024 water price review.|
The Essential Services Commission is seeking stakeholder feedback on how much Greater Western Water is proposing to charge its customers for water services over the next 4 years, as part of the commission’s 2024 water price review.|
Red Energy Pty Ltd (Red Energy) has paid $254,436 in penalties for allegedly communicating incorrect best offer information to 30,982 customers, including customers who were on concessions and payment assistance, over a two-week period in 2022. Red Energy also allegedly failed to provide 15 customers with any best offer information on their bills within prescribed timeframes, over a period of three years (2019-2022).|
AGL Sales Pty Ltd (AGL) has paid $73,968 in penalties for allegedly wrongfully disconnecting a customer for non-payment of electricity bills after it failed to apply an approved government bill relief credit to the customer’s arrears.|
A record number of Victorian households accessed tailored payment assistance in 2022-23 according to the latest Victorian Energy Market Report, published today by the Essential Services Commission.|
Victorian households could have saved an estimated $191 million on electricity bills and $89 million on gas bills last financial year if they had been on their retailer’s best offer, according to data from the Essential Services Commission’s latest Victorian Energy Market Report.|
The Essential Services Commission has appointed Baethan Mullen as Executive Director – Victorian Energy Upgrades following a competitive recruitment search.|
Supporting Victorians experiencing vulnerability to have equitable access to energy, water, transport and other critical services remains a key focus for the Essential Services Commission amid growing cost-of-living pressures for consumers.|
The latest Victorian Energy Upgrades Performance Report shows over 530,000 Victorian households and businesses benefitted from energy efficient upgrades through the program in 2022, which is expected to save over 7.8 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.|
The Essential Services Commission has appointed Sarah Sheppard as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) following a competitive executive recruitment search.|
Maximum fares for unbooked taxis fares will increase 4.1 per cent from 1 October 2023 following an annual fare adjustment.|
Victoria’s energy regulator has accepted a court enforceable undertaking from retailer 1st Energy Pty Limited (1st Energy) following allegations that it failed to comply with a state-wide ban on door-to-door energy sales that came into effect in December 2021.|
Former gas retailer Weston Energy Pty Ltd (Weston Energy) has paid a penalty of $53,600 after allegedly failing to surrender enough Victorian energy efficiency certificates to offset its legislative liability under the Victorian Energy Upgrades program in 2022.|
Energy businesses that fall short of their obligations to Victorian energy consumers can expect tough action from the regulator, warned Commissioner Sitesh Bhojani as the Essential Services Commission announced its energy compliance and enforcement priorities for 2023-24.|
The Essential Services Commission scrutinised how the family violence provisions in the Water Industry Standards are being implemented by water businesses, and what this means for customers who are affected by family violence.|
An investigation by the Essential Services Commission has uncovered evidence of poor quality of heat pump water heater installations.|
The Essential Services Commission has released its annual tariff approvals for four of Victoria’s water businesses for 2023–24, which came into effect on 1 July.|
The Essential Services Commission has published its latest Victorian Energy Market Report for January to March 2023.|
The Essential Services Commission has released its final decision on GWMWater’s five-year pricing plan, with typical bills in 2023-24 set to decrease by $7.|
The Essential Services Commission has released its final decision on Barwon Water’s five-year pricing plan, with typical bills in 2023-24 set to increase by $65.|
The Essential Services Commission has released its final decision on Lower Murray Water’s five-year pricing plan, with typical bills in 2023-24 set to increase by $78.|
The Essential Services Commission has released its final decision on Goulburn Valley Water’s five-year pricing plan, with typical bills in 2023-24 set to increase by $68.|
The Essential Services Commission has released its final decision on South East Water’s five-year pricing plan, with typical bills in 2023-24 set to increase by $23.|
The Essential Services Commission has released its final decision on Gippsland Water’s five-year pricing plan, with typical bills in 2023-24 set to increase by $51.|
The Essential Services Commission has released its final decision on East Gippsland Water’s five-year pricing plan, with typical bills in 2023-24 set to increase by $93.|
The Essential Services Commission has released its final decision on Coliban Water’s five-year pricing plan, with typical bills in 2023-24 set to increase by $109.|
The Essential Services Commission has completed its review of pricing proposals from 14 of Victoria’s water businesses for the next five years.|
The Essential Services Commission has released its final decision on South Gippsland Water’s five-year pricing plan, with typical bills in 2023-24 set to increase by $111.|
The Essential Services Commission has released its final decision on Southern Rural Water’s five-year pricing plan. Under the approved price plan, more than 86 per cent of Southern Rural Water’s customers will see price increases capped at inflation.|
The Essential Services Commission has released its final decision on Wannon Water’s five-year pricing plan, with typical bills in 2023-24 set to increase by $88.|
The Essential Services Commission has released its final decision on Central Highlands Water’s five-year pricing plan, with typical bills in 2023-24 set to increase by $67.|
The Essential Services Commission has released its final decision on Westernport Water’s five-year pricing plan, with typical bills in 2023-24 set to increase by $90.|