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Two government owned power generators have been hit with what is reportedly the largest class action ever in Australia launched over claims of inflated electricity prices.
The class action lawsuit, filed in the Federal Court, boasts more than 40,000 registrants, according to News.com.au. Class Members include Queensland electricity customers who paid the allegedly inflated bills between Jan. 20, 2015 and Jan. 20, 2021.
The purported largest class action in Australian history targets two state power companies, Stanwell and CS Energy. Reportedly, residential electricity users in Queensland have faced the fastest rising rates compared to other states and territories – up to 90% higher, according to the class action lawsuit.
The lawsuit contends that those price increases can be attributed to manipulation of the wholesale price of electricity by Stanwell and CS Energy to boost their own profits.
“From our research we believe it can be shown that certain price spikes have been caused by Queensland’s State owned electricity generators, Stanwell Corporation Limited and CS Energy Limited adopting ‘gaming’ strategies in their supply of electricity,” states the Claim Summary. Through these alleged manipulation strategies, the generators create a feigned scarcity of supply in the National Electricity Market (NEM), resulting in an increase in electricity prices for consumers while stopping competitive generators from maintaining their own market share.
Mirage News reports that the law firm representing the claimants in the lawsuit spent more than two years investigating the power generators before bringing the claim. Representatives for the law firm acknowledged the complexity of determining electricity generation and the price of power, but, ultimately, Queenslanders paid a “hidden tax” due to the alleged manipulations of Stanwell and CS Energy.
“It is our belief that the defendants have been misusing their market power to artificially increase electricity prices in Queensland, which has caused significant increases in the cost of living for all residents and business owners,” contends a statement from the representing law firm, Piper Alderman, according to News.com.au.
The class action lawsuit seeks to represent all residents and businesses in Queensland who paid allegedly inflated prices for power. According to the law firm, the costs of administering the legal action have already been paid and it is free for those who believe there are Class Members to register.
The CS Energy CEO has already stated that the class action lawsuit claims are false; however, some Queensland area energy users say they have noticed higher than expected electricity bills, according to ABC News. In fact, one self-professed “efficiency nerd” from Brisbane said that he noticed that, no matter what they did, the bill for electricity in his apartment block remained high.
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The plaintiffs are represented by Piper Alderman.
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