Energy Charter signatories Jemena, ActewAGL, Energy Queensland and Powershop, together with Simply Energy, are collaborating #bettertogether with Deloitte to research the impacts of COVID-19 on our customers and communities.
Research was conducted to understand the degree of customer vulnerability, as well as customers’ consumption and sentiment towards energy in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, via survey between April 28th to May 3rd 2021 which found:
- 35% of people are optimistic about Australia’s economic direction
- 45% of people agreed that COVID-19 had increased their stress levels
- 56% of people on JobSeeker reported a decrease in household income
- 31% of people indicated that that they are spending more on energy bills over the last 3 months
Key themes from the COVID-19 Customer Vulnerability Research include:
- Respondents wellbeing continue to trend upwards across the entire sample population, suggesting a continued trajectory of recovery
- Pandemic induced stress has improved as the COVID-19 situation becomes more manageable across the country, however figures remain high
- Whilst JobSeekers have improved since Wave 2, the ending of income supplements may amplify their vulnerability over the coming months
- The proportion of respondents needing hardship support has persisted since Wave 2.
The snapshot placemat and full report are now available on COVID-19 Consumer Research