Victoria’s Essential Services Commission (ESC), the state’s main regulator, says it has suspended another business from the Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) program after alleged false claims.
The ESU’s newly established VEU fraud taskforce says that Electra Energy Efficient Solutions Pty Ltd (Electra) had been suspended from the VEU program for a period of three months after the company allegedly falsely claimed to have completed weather sealing and low-flow shower rose upgrades.
The ESC alleges that contractors working on behalf of Electra misrepresented the number of upgrades installed, fabricated customer details, manipulated geo-tags on photos submitted as evidence of upgrades, and submitted photos of different properties as evidence of an upgrade to claim certifications for work that was not in fact undertaken.
As a result, the commission has suspended Electra’s VEU accreditation for three months, refused registration and ordered the surrender of a total of 900 certificates that are valued at almost $80,000, and required the company to undertake a compliance audit to assess their compliance with the VEU program rules.
“Our investigation has uncovered what we allege is serious fraudulent conduct from Electra, so we’ve taken quick action to protect the program’s integrity and reputation,” said Gerard Brody, Essential Services Commission chairperson and commissioner.
“Stopping Electra from creating certificates directly affects their ability to generate income from the...
Victoria’s Essential Services Commission (ESC), the state’s main regulator, says it has suspended another business from the Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) program after alleged false claims. The ...