AGL Class Action

AGL Class Action

On 1 June 2023, Piper Alderman filed a Class Action in the Federal Court of Australia on behalf of SA Country Pubs Pty Ltd against AGL Energy Limited (AGL).

Piper Alderman has been investigating anomalous spikes in the spot price of electricity in the South Australia region of the National Electricity Market (NEM) from 2013 through to 2020. From our investigations, it is alleged in the Class Action that certain price spikes have been caused by AGL adopting “gaming” strategies in their supply of electricity. By gaming of the system, it is alleged that AGL has created an artificial scarcity of supply in the NEM, inflated electricity prices for consumers and prevented other generators from competing for market share. The claim alleges that this conduct amounts to a contravention of section 46 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) because AGL is misusing its market power for the purpose of deterring or preventing a person from engaging in competitive conduct in the NEM.

Piper Alderman believes this conduct has caused significant losses to everyday consumers of electricity in South Australia by increasing the price of this essential service. This Class Action proposes to prove this conduct and recover that loss and damage for all consumers within the South Australian region.

The court has ordered that, subject to further order of the court, the Class Action will be dismissed on 15 April 2024. If the Class Action is dismissed, the Class Action will end. More details are contained in the Discontinuance Notice linked below.

Relevant documents

• Discontinuance Notice

For any enquiries, please contact: [email protected] or on (07) 3220 7777.