Nearly 30,000 Tasmanian households are being kept in limbo by the Liberal Government as Aurora prepares to release its plans for Aurora Pay As You Go (APAYG).
There are 29,612 residential customers who use APAYG, 54 per cent of which are concession customers.
“Energy Minister Matthew Groom needs to come clean on the Liberal Government’s intentions for Aurora’s Pay As You Go program and the 30,000 Tasmanian households who use the service,” Labor Leader Bryan Green said today.
In GBE scrutiny today, Aurora CEO Rebecca Kardos said the retailer was “100 per cent committed” to APAYG into the future. Ms Kardos acknowledged that as part of this, a new generation of infrastructure would need to be installed.
Labor’s figures put the cost of removing the old meters and associated infrastructure at $8 million, with no figures on replacement meters.
“Matthew Groom must reveal who is going to wear the cost of this work,” Mr Green said.
“Will it be the individual APAYG customers, many of whom are already doing it tough?
“Will it be mums and dads through higher power prices?
“Matthew Groom has himself run out of credits on this issue and needs to tell these customers what his intentions are.”
Aurora is conducting a review of APAYG with review outcomes to be published on the Aurora website by “late 2015”, although no clear date was given in GBE scrutiny today.
In the meantime no new APAYG meters are being installed apart from in “exceptional circumstances” and the 29,612 users of the service remain in limbo.
“Like tens of thousands of Tasmanian electricity users, Labor will keenly await the publication of this review,” Mr Green said.
“It’s time for the Government to come clean and end the uncertainty.”
Bryan Green MP Labor Leader
