VICTORIA'S energy and water Ombudsman (EWOV) says an 18 per cent reduction in complaints over water and energy issues needs to be taken cautiously given the pandemic and the amount of people who have had access to increased government payments in the past 18 months.
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While high bills continue to be the top complaint received by EWOV, overall cases have slipped to 19,542 in the 2020-21 reporting period, an 18 per cent reduction on the previous year.
Specifically in Ballarat, high bill complaints fell 57 per cent, disconnection cases were down 18 per cent, collection cases fell 31 per cent and payment difficulty concerns reduced by 35 per cent.
Figures were also released for the Hepburn and Pyrennes shires with those regions also showing declines.
But lower populations have meant meant lower total figures in those areas and need to be taken with a grain of salt.
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For example a 50 per cent reduction in bill complaints in Hepburn is in actual fact, six complaints down to three, so a true figure of those doing it tough is less likely.
However, the EWOV said the downward trend across the state - while potentially showing greater attention to service and support from providers - was more likely due to the increase of government payments such as JobSeeker and JobKeeper which enabled people to survive throughout the early days of the pandemic.
Ombudsman Cynthia Gebert said with those securities no longer available, or having been reduced, there is potential for complaints to rise again in the next reporting period.
''Predicting rises or falls in overall case numbers is proving difficult in the COVID-19 environment - community responses, government support, regulatory responses - all of these have changed significantly over the past year," she said.
''And after trending down in the second half of 2020, our cases have generally been on the rise in the first half of 2021 - especially billing cases."
In the EWOV annual report, the Ombudsman highlights a 35 per cent fall in credit cases in the 12 month reporting period.
''The fall in cases about credit issues - payment difficulties, disconnection, debt collection - has been more sustained," the Ombudsman said.
"We believe energy and water companies have demonstrated high levels of compassion for the difficult circumstances so many customers have been facing.
"However, since the beginning of 2021, we have seen cases about imminent disconnection of electricity and gas rising too.
''The challenge for the companies now is to work out how to maintain a more compassionate approach, and to embed that approach in their business culture and practices.''
