Young man Allan Langford is not a happy customer - he’s fed up his electricity and gas meters are not getting read and are continually being estimated by his energy provider, despite his meters being easily accessible.
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His electrical meter in particular, had been broken for the last two years, during which he said his electricity and gas provider ActewAGL ACT was estimating his electricity consumption the entire time.
And when he contacted them about it, he said he was told to find his own electrician and that he had to pay for it himself.
“It’s wrong,” Allan said.
He’s since contacted the Energy and Water Ombudsman for NSW, who responded within days and his meter was fixed on January 27.
“I had great success once I contacted the Ombudsman, they were excellent,” he said.
But Allan’s still concerned his electricity and gas meters are still getting estimated, saying his provider has told him they can’t find his meter and that there aren’t enough readers in Young to conduct actual readings.
He’s also not alone in the situation.
When The Young Witness turned to social media, asking its readers on Facebook if other residents were experiencing similar issues with their gas and electricity meter readings, the response was astounding.
There were more than 129 comments in total within 24 hours, the post was shared 15 times, it reached 7897 people and there was 55 ‘likes’.
Several people commented on their experiences, and their anger and confusion over the situation, with many saying their meters were being estimated which led to high bills, like Allan they were told there was a lack of manpower and claims of their meters being hard to reach when residents said they weren’t.
There were also people from surrounding areas commenting, with reports it was happening in Boorowa, Cootamundra, Grenfell, Harden and Cowra.
Allan is now on a mission to find out what’s happening and wants to make others who are unaware in town that their gas and electricity meters may not actually be getting read.
“I’ve been told my next reading is on the 23rd of this month, I’m going to go down there and take a photo of the reading,” he said.
“They tell me they can’t find my meter, it’s at the front of the house.
“No one’s been going around to read it and this codswallop ‘we don’t have enough readers in town’, well that doesn’t concern me.
“I’m concerned the factual information isn’t being conveyed to the energy provider…It’s a complete and utter joke.”
Allan said he was speaking to a mate in Forbes and they were having the same problem.
He also said his neighbour’s meter was also being estimated and when she called to get a proper reading, he said they were going to charge her $140 to do it.
“Could they not leave a note, or knock on the door if they can’t get to [the meter]?” Allan said.
Responses from the Energy and Water Ombudsman NSW and ActewAGL will appear in Monday’s edition of The Witness.