Customer payments for energy outages

Information about customer payments for energy outages.

Prolonged power outage payment

The Victorian Government is providing a Prolonged Power Outage Payment (PPOP) of $1,680 per week, per household, for up to three weeks to support eligible households affected by the 29 October storm. This payment will help families buy the basics, find alternative accommodation and get through this difficult period.

You are eligible for this payment if:

you have a residential electricity account and fall within AusNet Services's or United Energy’s distribution area, and
were without power as of 12.01 am Friday 5 November, due to the 29 October 2021 storm.

The payment will be administered by AusNet Services and United Energy and is co-funded under the Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements.

More information can be found at energy.vic.gov.au.

Compensation claims

Customers can also lodge a compensation claim for damaged property or food spoilage resulting from an unplanned power outage or power surge. These claim forms can be found on the distributors’ websites:

Customers may need to provide proof of loss or damage, such as technical reports, photos, or receipts. The information distributors need to assess claims will vary depending on the nature of the claim. Refer to the distributors’ websites for more information.

Customers may also be able to make a claim with their home and contents insurer. Customers can consult the product disclosure statement or contact their insurer for more information.

Guaranteed service level payments

We also separately administer a general payment scheme to recognise customers’ experience of unplanned power outages that could occur during the year – this is known as the guaranteed service level scheme.

Customers who experience many or long unplanned power outages during a year may be entitled to a payment. These payments are calculated each year and are usually applied automatically as a credit to your energy bill.

However, there can be circumstances where payments may not be payable. These circumstances are set out in the Electricity Distribution Code and relate to where outages may be caused by events outside a distributor’s control.

Electricity outages

Payments range from $40 to $380 depending on a range of factors with the amounts set in the Electricity Distribution Code (section 6.3).

The code specifies minimum guaranteed service levels.
You may not be entitled to a payment if an outage is the result of an event outside the control of your electricity distributor.
You may be entitled to multiple payments but only one in each category.
Payments are usually applied automatically as a credit to your power bill.

The following payments apply to outages occurring from 1 July 2021.

Minimum amount payable	Reason for payment
Multiple outages	Hours of unplanned, sustained outages
$130	More than 18 hours per year
$190	More than 30 hours per year
$380	More than 60 hours per year
Multiple outages	Number of unplanned, sustained outages
$130	More than eight per year
$190	More than 12 per year
$380	More than 20 per year
Momentary outages	Less than one minute each
$40	More than 24 per year
$50	More than 36 per year
Major event day payments	Hours of unplanned, sustained outages
$90	More than 12 hours, on a major event day
Late or missed appointments
$35	More than 15 minutes late for an agreed appointment window
Delay to new connections
$80 per day to maximum $400	Where a new electricity supply is not connected on the agreed date

^{*A sustained outage = at least one minute, a momentary outage = less than one minute.

**Calculated based on calendar year.

***See the Electricity Distribution Code for a full list of payments and exclusions under guaranteed service levels.}

Gas outages

Maximum amount payable	Reason for payment
Late or missed appointments
$50	Per appointment missed. This is based on eligibility criteria: If you need (or request) to be there, your distributor will give you a two-hour window for your appointment. If they do not come in that time, you will get a payment. If you are not needed, or do not request to be there, you will get a payment if your distributor does not come on the agreed appointment day. If a distributor reschedules an appointment, it is counted as a missed appointment and the payment applies.
Delay to new connections
$80 per day to maximum $240	If you do not get connected within one day of the agreed date, you will get a payment.
Multiple outages
$150	Five outages within a year.
$150	Additional five outages (a total of 10 outages) in the same year, you will receive an additional $150.
Duration of outages
$150	Single outage – without gas for 12 hours.
$150	Additional six hours without supply (total of 18 hours), you will receive an additional $150.

^{**Calculated based on calendar year.}

Gas-specific exclusions:

Appointments - a payment does not apply if the customer requests an appointment to be rescheduled.
Delay to new connections – the only exclusion is if the distributor is unable to access the meter. For example, if a distributor arrives and cannot access the property due to a locked gate.

See the Gas Distribution System Code for a full list of payments and exclusions.

Guaranteed service level payments may not be required if outages are outside a distributor's control

Service level payments may not be payable if the unplanned outages are found to be caused by events outside a distributor’s control.

This may include supply interruptions due to transmission faults.

What to do if your electricity or gas is out

If your electricity or gas is out and you have not heard from your distributor, give them a call or visit their website.

You can find out who your distributor is on the Victorian Government’s ‘energy’ website or look at your most recent electricity or gas bill.