Lumo Energy is an Australian energy retailer operating in
Victoria and
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
, which has been wholly owned by
Snowy Hydro since 2014. The business offers electricity and gas packages in Victoria and South Australia. As of October 2017, the business had almost 500,000 customers and a workforce of just under 500 people.
History
Infratil
Infratil Limited is a New Zealand–based infrastructure investment company. It owns renewable energy, digital infrastructure, airports, and healthcare assets with operations in New Zealand, Australia, Asia, the US and Europe. Infratil was foun ...
registered as Victoria Electricity in 2002 and secured an electricity retail licence for the state of
Victoria in August 2002. Victoria Electricity commenced retailing electricity in February 2004. On 1 October 2002, the gas market in Victoria was opened to new gas retailers and full retail contestability for gas customers was introduced, enabling gas retailers to seek customers statewide. Victoria Electricity applied for and obtained a licence for gas retailing in Victoria in December 2004 and commenced gas retailing in early 2005. In May 2005, Infratil also registered
South Australia Electricity and
Queensland Electricity, and
New South Wales Electricity in August 2006.
In June 2010, Lumo Energy was incorporated as a company and as a business name in each of the four states in which it was active. In July 2011, Lumo partnered with
American Express
American Express Company or Amex is an American bank holding company and multinational financial services corporation that specializes in payment card industry, payment cards. It is headquartered at 200 Vesey Street, also known as American Expr ...
to offer the Lumo Express product, and in September 2011, it partnered with the
Velocity Frequent Flyer program to offer the Lumo Velocity product.
In 2014, Infratil sold Lumo Energy, along with Direct Connect, to government-owned
Snowy Hydro for $600 million.
In July 2016, Lumo began to migrate customers in New South Wales to
Red Energy and, in 2017, the same process began with customers in Queensland.
Customer satisfaction
In 2010, the
Queensland Competition Authority found Lumo Energy had the highest rate of unresolved complaints among the state's electricity retailers. In 2011, Lumo Energy lost a court case involving a customer whose gas and electricity were cut off over a $4,000 debt. According to the
Victorian Essential Services Commission, Lumo Energy sent the customer an initial letter which failed to mention separate disconnection periods for gas and electricity notices, as required by law.
In 2013, Lumo Energy announced it had made changes to improve customer relations, launching a new website and refreshing its customer communications. It also reported progress in the reduction of
Ombudsman
An ombudsman ( , also ) is a government employee who investigates and tries to resolve complaints, usually through recommendations (binding or not) or mediation. They are usually appointed by the government or by parliament (often with a sign ...
complaints, with a 53% reduction in complaints received in June 2013, compared with June 2010.
In August 2013, Lumo Energy was awarded the number one position for electricity in the Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Awards.
See also
*
Energy in Australia
Energy in Australia is the production in Australia of World energy resources and consumption, energy and Electricity generation, electricity, for consumption or export. Energy policy of Australia describes the politics of Australia as it re ...
References
External links
*
{{EnergyQueensland
Utility companies of Australia
Electric power companies of Australia