Origin fined $17.6m for breaches of Victorian energy rules affecting hundreds of thousands of customers

The Victorian Essential Services Commission took Origin to court to ‘ensure the cost of breaking consumer protection rules cannot be written off as a cost of doing business’. Photograph: Dan Peled/AAP

Origin Energy has apologised for failing to meet its “regulatory obligations” after it was fined $17.6m for breaching Victoria’s energy rules and affecting nearly 670,000 customers, including some on life support.

In the Victorian supreme court, Origin admitted to not providing adequate “best offer” messaging to more than 655,000 customers, and failing to provide adequate support to another 6,806 who were experiencing “payment difficulty”.