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(released Thursday 30 November 2006)
In 2005/06, EWOV received 17,763 cases - 13,529 complaints and 4,234 enquiries.
Cases were down 7% from 19,157 in 2004/05.
We referred 8,182 complaints to energy and water providers
to enable an opportunity for direct resolution between the customer and the provider.
We received 5,347 complaints for full investigation and finalised investigation of 5,333 complaints.
By industry:
- 12,636 electricity cases, down 6% from 13,489
- 3,528 gas cases, down 9% from 3,883
- 296 dual fuel cases, down 44% from 529
- 1,303 water cases, up 4% from 1,256
2005/06 was EWOV’s tenth year of full operation.
It was May 1996 when the then Electricity Industry Ombudsman (Victoria) (EIOV) opened its doors to full service. Discussions among regulators, consumers and the electricity industry had commenced in early 1995. By June 1995, the local electricity businesses had announced an industry-based Ombudsman scheme. The company was registered in August 1995, the same month that the EIOV Board and Council each met for the first time. The Ombudsman, Fiona McLeod commenced in October 1995. EIOV opened to limited service in February 1996 and full service three months later.
In the ten years since, the scheme has taken on three more industries (natural gas, water and liquefied petroleum gas [LPG]), streamlined its corporate structure, successfully faced a Supreme Court jurisdictional challenge, and responded to over 97,000 cases.
"It's been quite a journey — and an immensely satisfying one," says the Ombudsman, Fiona McLeod. "We've worked hard to independently investigate and resolve cases in a fair and reasonable manner. At the same time, we've contributed significantly to regulatory, government and industry policy development, and to customer service improvements in the energy and water industries."
A special feature in this year's Annual Report tracks EWOV's key milestones and some of the external events which have had an impact on our work.
The report also includes maps showing how many energy and water cases EWOV received from residential customers in each Shire and Council area across Victoria.
Download a full copy of EWOV's 2006 Annual Report (2.5MB)
Download EWOV's media release
Download a section of EWOV's 2006 Annual Report:
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Download a pdf copy of the
2006 Annual Report
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