Bills stack up for struggling families

BY MELISSA LAHOUD
Welfare groups are dealing with a growing trend of people failing to pay their energy bills on time, but the government doesn’t believe there is a problem.
The NSW Department of Water and Energy funds an emergency help scheme through welfare agencies, who have reported that more people are struggling as the cost of living rises.
Mekomen Lemma, Manager of inner city welfare group, The Station Ltd, has seen the number of people wanting EAPA (Energy Accounts Payment Assistance) vouchers soar in the last year.
“There’s been a total of around 340 people who have asked for assistance, including vouchers, this year. Last year it was about 180 people,” Mr Lemma said.
The government has been criticised for not doing enough to tackle the problem.
“About two years ago this [$6000 grant] would have lasted the entire quarter, now it’s lasting us a month to six weeks,” said Maggy Ferago, Community Services Manager at The Station Ltd.
“No one in government has ever come to me and asked for feedback on statistics, they need to pull their finger out and look at what is really going on instead of sitting remotely and doing nothing.”
The Department of Water and Energy say the number of customer disconnections has actually dropped by 24 per cent from 2005 to 2007, and expect further reductions this year.
“This reduction can be attributed to NSW Government efforts to work closely with welfare and consumer groups and energy retailers,” said Anne Brook, Public Relations Officer for The Department of Water and Energy.
“In the 2007/08 financial year the Government provided $85 million in financial assistance to help customers facing financial hardship, pensioners and people on life support machines to pay their energy bills,” she said.