By Luke Voogt
Geelong households face more power bill shocks after a man on Centrelink payments revealed a new 46 per cent price hike this week.
Sumo Power increased Robert Kucharski’s electricity charges from 27.4 to 40 cents per kilowatt hour in the space of a month.
“This is has been very, very hard,” said the 53-year-old Polish expat, battling on Centrelink with several medical conditions.
“I have 12 tablets a day, I pay rent and I pay bills.”
Mr Kucharski was shocked to discover the rise when he opened his bill in December.
The company failed to notify him of the charges in advance, he said.
“It’s absolutely disgusting – I did not get any information about this.”
And Mr Kucharski will have to pay an extra $5 each bill after the company introduced fees for mailing and paying via Australia post.
“It’s a big overcharge,” he said. “I’ll be changing my company.”
The company offers email as a cost-free option for sending out bills. But Mr Kucharski said injuries prevented him from using email.
He was walking a friend’s dog in January 2013 when two other dogs attacked him, Mr Kucharski said.
The incident left him with spinal injuries and numb on one side of his body, he said.
“I have trouble moving.”
The former mechanic said he also suffered from asthma and had a heart attack in October last year.
Other energy companies have introduced similar fees but most have exceptions for concession card holders, pensioners and people in hardship programs.
But Mr Kucharski said he was not on a disability pension.
“Three times my doctor has sent Centrelink an application for disability but always they respond with something different.”
A Sumo energy spokesperson blamed the closure of Hazelwood Power Station for the price rise.
“Unfortunately, like other electricity providers, Sumo has seen wholesale power prices rise following the closure,” they said.
“We have been forced to pass on those higher costs to customers.”
Sumo took care in being transparent and notifying customers about its fees and charges, the spokesperson said.
“The Australia Post fee is a fee charged to Sumo by Australia Post – Sumo does not recover the full cost of this service.”
Mr Kucharski’s story comes after Australian Industry Group’s national policy advisor Tennant Reed warned that power prices could threaten up to 2500 Geelong’s manufacturing jobs.
He told the Indy last November that if prices continued to rise at current rates it would be “life or death“ for energy-intensive manufacturers.
Mr Reed said the closure of power plants such as Hazelwood and the reliance on gas-fuelled electricity had led to the increase.
A lack of export controls and State Government policy had in turn led to an increase in gas prices.
Mr Reed backed the state opposition’s position of lifting Victoria’s moratorium on exploring onshore gas.
He encouraged State Government to explore importing gas and reconsider its position on unconventional extraction methods such as fracking.
