Impossibly high bill - and no options provided except "prove us wrong"

[JeffreyT]

BACKGROUND

Let me set the scene. We are two people in a house (in our sixties) and our electricity bill has been around $1000 each quarter for over 12 months. Around 50-60 kWh average daily usage. Now this is really really high for two people, no dependants, in a house on our own. However we have lived with it, even though the little "house" picture shows us that we ae using far more electricity that others in the area.

THE LATEST BILL

To our horror, the latest bill is $2307.71. A jump of over 100%! 100kWH average daily usage.

TO BE CLEAR

We have not changed anything. We have not added a new appliance, a new washing machine, nothing. What has changed is that AGL installed a Smart Meter in March this year. That's the change. 

The little house picture shows that we are using the equivalent of 20 people's electricity compared to houses in the area! There are two of us.

MY CONVERSATIONS

I have now spoken to frontline support a AGL, someone in the resolution team, and a manger in the resolution team. Here is the story I am given:

1. The reading are correct because AGL says they are
2. If they check the meter and it is faulty then we have to pay for the fact they checked the meter
3. The onus is on us to invalidate their readings
4. The bill is correct....because the bill is correct...unless we can prove otherwise
5. We have to turn everything off in the house and spend time messing about with appliances (where we know there has not been a change) to prove to AGL that their bill is faulty
6. Otherwise, the bill stands because.... it is their bill!

HOWEVER

1. AGL is providing a service to us, and we are entitled to pay fair value for a service rendered. This is an impossible bill, and we should not have to pay for a service incorrectly rendered
2. If AGL installed a smart meter, it is their meter that is making the readings, their system that is doing the calculation, and their system that is generating the invoice. It is beyond belief that AGSL says "trust us because you should" when a bill is provided that cannot, just cannot be correct.
3. We did not ask for a meter change. AGL put in a "smart meter" for, on the surface, to SAVE MONEY on the people who now do not need to read meters, and, on the surface, to institute some sort of scam where they can now charge double, with the response: it is what it is (heard that somewhere else?)

And the onus is totally thrown back on us to prove them wrong. 

This totally unacceptable.

I am going to write to AGL one more time, and then straight to the media and the ombudsman. I cannot be alone receiving this appalling behaviour, and it is time that companies like AGL start to realise that there are customers with rights, and the supplier's role is to serve the customer, not to issue bills based on calculations that the consumer has zero control over, and then put the onus back on the customer to prove them wrong.

Does this resonate with anyone else?

[rdsz]

Please I encourage you to write to the ombudsman.
Also, if you are on the smart meter for energy ask them for the NEM12 data
file.

In my case they gave me edited NEM12 files and when I proved they were
edited they offered to waive off all bills.

I also found that data on their app kept on changing and routinely took
screenshots to prove unexplained deviations not consistent with billing
norms.

[gregans28]

Hi,

I’m so glad that you posted your message. Exactly the same billing
situation here. We received an electricity bill for way over $800.00 for
one month.

I’ll ask for a NEM12 - had no idea I could do that - thank you for that
information.

Is there a way to read the errors in the NEM12?

It’s incredibly stressful as I’m disabled on Centrelink.

There really is something very bad going on with this energy company. Let
me know how your billing situation develops.
I looked at Red energy too.

Thank you,
Kathy.

[gregans28]

Link to complaints form broken? Or it has been removed by AGL - too many complaints?

[Lester]

The NEM data (edit for clarification - adjusted to reflect AGLs chargeable 30 minute intervals) is available directly to consumers, there's a link on the website (logged in) usage page up the top right.

It can be downloaded in the csv format, and saved in any excel (possibly other spreadsheet) format.

Note - Some retailers don't have this on the website as AGL does, but you are supposed to be able to phone and they are required to send this to a consumer.

Data is only available if you have a digital 'smart' meter, and many with these meters are automatically on a TOU (time of use) plan.

You CAN stay on single / flat tariff I believe, if you request it, but this could have changed, and will likely change progressively as we move into the 'new' era of power supply GOVCO, generators, retailers, and regulators seem to be pushing things.

If you are on single (flat) tariff, with or without CL (controlled load) meter, you might find it useful to check figures on bills, but then you can simply read your meter(s) and get the same numbers to compare to bills.

However if you are on TOU tariff, and even more complex with TOU CL, the data alone is worthless to check your bills.

It has to be disseminated in a spreadsheet into the 30 minute intervals that change 4 times a day, 8 periods of times if you also have CL.

Then that data info can be multiplied by the tariff rate for that TOU segment, eg peak (x 2 segments), off peak, and shoulder, and same in CL metering.

There are also special rates on some plans, like EV rates for early morning hours. (edited peak / off peak info re 2 readings per day)

It's difficult, time consuming, and not all that interesting to the average power consumer to have to do this, just to be sure they are getting charged power at the correct amount.

It just seemed so simple of fixed / single rate, even with J tariff for HWS, to be able to check bills, now it is so complex it's almost impossible by design.

Maybe, as well as consumers having access to data from power retailers (by law), there must also be a spreadsheet supplied, so the meter data can be properly open to inspection where there are discrepancies in a bill compared to what seems like normal usage during a billing period to a consumer.

[NeilC]

@Lester 

Les, you are giving incorrect data here.

You cannot directly download NEM data files from AGL, the link you refer to is a ZIPPED file containing only the INTERVAL data in 30min format with up to the last TWO years data.

You do not have to have a Smart Meter to get a NEM format file but it only contain meter info, start reading, end reading along with the appropriate dates.

If you look at the SA Power Networks file you will see these at the top of their supplied file.

AGL has a PDF available on their site at which explains the NEM 12 format

https://www.agl.com.au/content/dam/digital/agl/documents/pdf/campaigns/data_meter_guide.pdf

If you click on this link it will automatically download the document for you and may also display it. The document will go to your download folder / directory

You will require a PDF reader to be able to read the file.

To Order a NEM format file you must order it from AGL from the link below.

https://www.agl.com.au/campaigns/request-metering-data

Clicking  on the above link will result in a new web page being available to you.

A NEM format file contains the interval data for each meter into a table format.

It will contain four portions of information that give you the required amount of information required to calculate your meter data.

First is the 200 line which is the meter description that refers to information contained in the 300 and 400 lines up to either the end of file (the 900 ) or the next 200 line.

200

NMI

E1B1E2

E1

E1

Meter No

KWH

Interval Rate

300 lines are the interval data for each day for each meter in the file and maybe interspersed with 400 lines that indicate any errors that occurred during data reads.

The 900 line simply indicates the END OF FILE.

There are other lines that can appear but for calculation of usage only, the 200, 300 and 900 lines are all that are required.

Reading the NEM format file is very simple and you can calculate you information very easy due to it table format.

When requesting a NEM format file it may take up to 10 working days from your request.

[NeilC]

@gregans28 

The complaints page is located at

https://www.agl.com.au/help-support/contact-us/complaints

Click on the above link will show a new web page.

Don't want to read the page? Go to the feedback form  directly.

[Lester]

Neil, splitting hairs much ?

Are you saying a client that wants to have access to data to use to check their bills wants the NEM12 data, or the AGL download file ?

Not totally incorrect info, but info relevant to what the consumer is being charged, and that's what people need, isn't it ??

The 5 min interval info is even more useless to a consumer, and not relevant at all to what AGL uses to charge consumers, which is the 30min data they provide in their download.

What AGL (and other consumers) want (if they want to go to the trouble of disseminating the data) is what AGL is using, 30 min interval data.

[NeilC]

@Lester @gregans28 

Les, I replied to your post saying that users can download a NEM12 file from the AGL user page.

I quote your statement

"The NEM data is available directly to consumers, there's a link on the website (logged in) usage page up the top right.

It can be downloaded in the csv format, and saved in any excel (possibly other spreadsheet) format."

They CANNOT.

Not splitting hairs at all, simply telling the correct method to get a NEM format file.

The file from AGL is not a NEM file.

The file from AGL is a ZIP file that contains the interval data only in comma separated values (.csv) format, no error messages and is only available in 5 min sequential data and very hard to extract that data.

Comma delimited format is a standard that can be read by any Spreadsheet Program and Text editor and when you receive a NEM12 (or 13) file it is also supplied in CSV format.

Amongst other things the NEM12 format file is considerably smaller than the supplied AGL file. I have 2 years of data in my supplied Interval Data File which when uncompressed is over 12 MB. After I processes it the NEM file is 430KB a considerable saving.

Saving the NEM file in Excel format increases it to 512KB with no extra benefit for a file that changes every day.

[Lester]

Neil, for your precise needs, I have edited my reply.

It was clear people referring to that data, were doing so to allow checking of a bill (as complex as that might become for some).

Do you think the people asking for data to 'check their bills' want the NEM file, or the AGL data file ?

[NeilC]

@Lester 

I don't have precise needs.

Was pointing out that your statement about downloading a NEM file was incorrect and how to actually get a NEM file.

I don't think the data file supplied by AGL is at all appropriate and have suggested to AGL team leaders that the NEM12 format file would be better suited.

Suggest you look at other posts on the Neighbourhood regarding JSON and other methods of importing data into applications.

As you well know I can download the AGL file, convert it into NEM12 file, run a report, copy the results into a spreadsheet in about THREE minutes and have been able to do this for the last five years or so.

No more discussion about this.