The nature of the contravention order/obligations: Sumo Power and Sumo Gas, on 5,941 occasions, during the period 13 January 2022 to 12 August 2022, called on a domestic customer at the customer’s ordinary place of residence for the purpose of negotiating supply and sale contracts for electricity and gas. In each case, the conduct contravened conditions of their respective retail licences, imposed under section 40EB(1) of the Electricity Industry Act 2000 and section 48DB(1) of the Gas Industry Act 2001 respectively.
Sumo Power on two occasions, and Sumo Gas on one occasion, on 14 December 2021 and 10 February 2022, entered customers into contracts for electricity and gas without obtaining the relevant customer’s “explicit informed consent”, contravening cl 16(4) or 57(1) of the Energy Retail Code.
During the period from 3 March to 15 July 2022, Sumo Power and Sumo Gas contravened cl 109(1) of the Energy Retail Code of Practice, on 47,943 occasions in respect of 37,302 electricity customers and 25,763 occasions in respect of 23,325 gas customers, by purporting to carry out deemed best offer checks where those checks were undertaken incorrectly.
During the period 1 April 2022 to 31 August 2023, Sumo Power and Sumo Gas contravened cl 110(1)(a) and (b) of the Energy Retail Code of Practice, on 34,886 occasions, in respect of 21,165 electricity customers and 35 occasions in respect of 35 gas customers, by failing to provide the customers at least one deemed best offer message on a bill or bill summary within a period of three months for electricity customers and four months for gas customers.
In its orders, the court also made declarations that Sumo Power and Sumo Gas, during the period between 10 and 28 February 2022 on 10,628 occasions collectively, contravened cl 70Q(1) of the Energy Retail Code, when it failed to undertake best offer message calculations correctly.
Amount of civil penalty orders: $10,000,000 ($7,000,000 for S ECI 2023 05897 and $3,000,000 for S ECI 2024 00858)
Other orders: Adverse publicity orders under s 54F of the ESC Act, Order for the implementation of a quality assurance system under s 54G of the ESC Act, Injunction under s 54ZH of the ESC Act.
Sumo Power Pty Ltd and Sumo Gas Pty Ltd