Customers

Average level of debt of customers on Staying Connected

The number of customers on the Staying Connected program reduced in FY22, through a combination of improved customer support measures, improvements in debt performance and government support. This was largely driven by delivery of $26 million of debt relief to assist customers who were participating in the Staying Connected program. This allowed customers to focus on managing the affordability of their ongoing energy costs rather than debt and enabled them to graduate off the program. As a result, the profile of customers remaining on the program shifted to primarily those with long-term payment difficulties who are continuing to pay below the cost of their ongoing consumption, contributing to accumulation of debt. This has resulted in the average debt per Staying Connected customer increasing by 7% in FY22 to $2,973.