One of Australia's big three electricity providers is heading to court accused of misleading customers and breaching the industry's code.
It's the first time the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has taken court action for a breach of the Electricity Retail Code, with EnergyAustralia accused of failing to list a mandatory estimate on price change notices last year.
It's also alleged they made false or misleading representations in annual cost estimates it provided to customers in price change notices.
The ACCC launched Federal Court proceedings on Friday, with chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb unimpressed with the retailer's treatment of customers.
"With electricity prices increasing, and many Australians looking for a better deal, it's crucial that the information people receive from their energy company is correct and can be relied upon," she said in a statement.
"We have commenced this court action because we allege that EnergyAustralia's conduct made it harder for people to accurately compare their electricity plan with offers from other retailers."
EnergyAustralia has offered an apology and said in a statement the company was committed to improving customer relations.
"We understand the clarity of our customer communication is particularly important at a time when cost of living pressures are a key concern for Australian households," chief customer officer Mark Brownfield said.
"We have been open with the ACCC on the issues they identified and the importance we attach to clear, transparent communications to our customers."
The code says providers must list a lowest possible price when sending price change notices, something the ACCC says EnergyAustralia didn't note on its website 27 times between July and September last year.
EnergyAustralia is also accused of not listing a percentage different to the benchmark price set by the government, another requirement via the code.
"Correspondence from energy companies often contains complex information that is hard for consumers to decipher, which is precisely the problem that the Electricity Retail Code was introduced to deal with," Ms Cass-Gottlieb said.
"Households cannot do genuine like-for-like comparisons between different electricity plans unless every energy company complies with the code requirements on price offers."
The ACCC says it's after penalties, costs and more through the legal action.
EnergyAustralia has around 15 per cent of the residential electricity market share, and 14 per cent of small business market share.
