Consumer groups have slammed a review of energy market regulation for not going far enough to protect the interests of consumers after steep rises in prices for gas and electricity which have resulted in rising numbers of disconnections.
"There is an urgent need to deregulate, consolidate and reduce complexity in order to enhance competition, especially given the transformation under way in Australian energy markets," Oliver Derum, policy officer with the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, said.
"These changes must be accompanied by enhanced consumer representation, as well as generally making the governance arrangements more democratic, transparent and accountable."
Separately, another consumer lobby group, Victoria's Consumer Action Law Centre, said the pace of change in national energy markets was running ahead of consumer protections.
"The energy market is advancing at a rate that exceeds the scope of the current energy consumer protection framework," it told a government review of energy markets.
"Clients are presenting with energy problems that no longer fit neatly into, nor can be resolved by, the protections provided by the Energy Retail Code in Victoria or the National Energy Customer Framework.
"Instead, we are assisting consumers with a range of complex energy problems that extend into other aspects of the economy and a broader framework of protections, i.e. the Australian Consumer Law or the ASIC Act."
It argued this was a result of the transition of the energy market from being comprised of energy groups supplying consumers "as passive recipients, into a more dynamic market, where the energy flows both ways" especially now that many households and businesses had solar panels.
"Trade is less focused on electrons and more focused on energy services, which are reflected in the way consumers' relationship with technology evolves, and, subsequently, the changing value of energy. The energy market is extending beyond the National Energy Market, into something broader.
"With this in mind, we consider that current governance arrangements cannot meet the 'long-term interests of consumers'."
Changes to energy market regulations had forced power companies to consult consumer groups more widely about planned price hikes, although the fundamental shift unfolding in the electricity market, in particular, where more households and businesses were generating their own power via rooftop solar systems, meant the approach to the regulation of the sector needed to be rethought, the consumer groups said.
