Snowy Hydro today welcomed the Australian Energy Regulator’s principles to protect customers and small businesses facing financial hardship resulting from COVID-19.
Snowy Hydro’s CEO, Paul Broad said through its retail brands Red Energy and Lumo Energy, is continuing to lead the industry on assisting customers experiencing financial hardship.
“We have always put our customers first. Last week we introduced a range of protective measures, similar to our recent response to bushfires and the ongoing drought. These included:
- Since 20 March 2020, all disconnections for customer and small business debt have ceased.
- 300 customer solutions consultants are taking calls and additional resourcing has been identified to support the customer care team who deal with customers experiencing financial difficulty.
- As per current policies of the Retail businesses, there will be no interest charged on debt.
- Both Red Energy and Lumo Energy websites and digital channels have been updated to emphasise that customers impacted by COVID-19 should call us and that customer assistance is available.
“Red and Lumo’s customer solutions team has already seen a significant increase in calls from customers reporting job losses and seeking assistance. We have deployed extra staff, many working overtime to cope with the demand”.
“More broadly as an essential services provider we are well prepared to deal with COVID-19. Snowy Hydro is operating at full capacity and Snowy 2.0 is continuing as planned.
“Our retail business is committed to continuing to provide customers with clear and regular communication during this incredibly challenging time,” Mr Broad said.