NSW solar and battery complaints more than double, ombudsman warns

The number of solar, battery and related energy complaints reaching NSW's energy ombudsman has more than doubled. But the larger issue raised by the latest figures is what happens after someone asks for help: the ombudsman cannot resolve every complaint about a business selling these products.

The figures cover 2025-26, not the number of complaints lodged this month. They come from Energy & Water Ombudsman NSW's annual reporting, covered by Energy Source & Distribution on 14 October. SolarAnswers has also checked EWON's published guidance on its jurisdiction and complaint process.

From 301 complaints to 677

Energy Source & Distribution reports that EWON recorded 677 complaints about consumer energy resources, up from 301 a year earlier. This category includes household solar and batteries. EWON referred 183 customers with these complaints to Fair Trading during the year.

Ombudsman Janine Young said access to external dispute resolution was fragmented. Her concern was that households could be referred between organisations instead of reaching a service able to resolve the matter. EWON wants its coverage to extend across businesses selling solar, batteries, virtual power plants and residential EV charging.

The article reports 27,011 energy and water complaints overall. The 677 consumer-energy-resource complaints are a subset, not the total number of people seeking help with energy bills and services.

What the increase actually measures

The increase is 376 complaints, or approximately 125%, calculated as (677 - 301) / 301. Put another way, the new total is about 2.25 times the previous year's count. Those calculations explain the headline; they do not add a new dataset.

It would be misleading to describe this as a 125% increase in defective batteries. A complaint may concern a sales representation, delivery, billing, equipment, a service or handling of an earlier problem. The reported total does not provide a breakdown proving which issue caused the increase.

Nor does it provide the denominator needed to calculate an installation failure rate. That would require comparable information about the number and type of systems installed, the period in which they were used, and which complaints were substantiated. Growth in purchases and changes in awareness of complaint services can also affect the number of people who make contact.

The 183 referrals indicate a substantial access problem. Dividing that number by 677 gives roughly 27%, but it should not be presented as the share of all NSW battery customers left without help. Both numbers relate to the complaints discussed in this reporting, not the whole market.

Why the seller's identity matters

EWON's complaint guidance says a provider must be a member of its scheme for a complaint to fall within its coverage. Solar, batteries and energy services are among the issues it can consider, alongside billing, connections and supply problems.

It asks customers to first give their provider an opportunity to resolve the matter. If the answer is unsatisfactory or the problem remains, customers can contact EWON or lodge a complaint online. Independent advice is also available before a dispute reaches that point.

In practice, a household may have several businesses involved: the company on the solar contract, a subcontracted installer, a battery manufacturer and its electricity retailer. These relationships should be recorded separately. A complaint about an export credit on an electricity account is different from a dispute about whether an installer completed the contracted work, even though both involve the same rooftop system.

The broader bill-pressure context

EWON's annual report announcement says total complaints remained above 27,000 for the third successive year. Billing problems appeared in 71% of complaints. These included high or estimated bills and errors involving payments and rebates. Complaints about payment difficulties, including debt, increased by 14%.

That wider picture helps explain why delays and unresolved technical problems matter to a household budget. Someone expecting a working system may still be paying their previous electricity costs while trying to settle a dispute. However, the annual figures do not establish a particular customer's losses or prove that an advertised savings estimate would have been achieved.

Consumer protections and dispute access are different questions

The ACCC's solar and battery guidance explains that consumer law covers both the products and services. Suppliers have obligations around truthful sales claims, consumer guarantees and required information. The ACCC also makes clear that it does not resolve individual solar or battery disputes.

The practical gap is therefore between having rights and finding a service with the authority to deal with the business concerned. EWON's proposal seeks to address access. It should not be described as a new membership requirement already applying to every installer.

How to prepare an unresolved complaint

Start with a short statement of the problem and the outcome sought. For example, identify whether you are asking for completion of agreed work, correction of an account, a repair or a response to a refund request. Attach the contract and correspondence that support that request.

For a performance dispute, keep the sales calculation separate from the monitoring data and electricity bills. For a delay, list the promised dates and what happened on each occasion. For a billing issue, identify the affected billing periods and entries rather than sending an unexplained folder of statements.

Check the business's scheme membership with EWON and explain which company took payment. If the matter falls outside its jurisdiction, ask which organisation can assist and retain the referral details. The annual report records the broader problem; your documents establish the facts of your own case.