SACOSS executive director Karen Grogan said 13,719 households had their power disconnected in 2003-2004 compared with less than 6000 the previous year.
“That’s over 50 disconnections a day,” she said.
She said this problem was largely due to rising charges.
SA households paid 13.8 per cent more for electricity last year and the average residential power bill exceeded $1000 for the first time, rising from $980 in 2002-03 to $1090 last financial year.
"One in four families in our state has an income of less than $500 a week and often this is not enough to pay for life's essentials," she said.
Grogan said the council had written to the state government, energy retailers, the energy industry ombudsman and a number of community organisations in an attempt to bring everyone together to tackle the problem.
"It is clear that there is no simple answer,” she said. “We need to be looking at a whole range of issues including reviewing concessions, tariffs, fees and charges."
Grogan called for an immediate moratorium on disconnecting the power for any household which included people aged over the pension age or under five or for anyone eligible for disability support or carer's pensions.
The Essential Services Commission of SA (ECOSA) said it had ordered an urgent investigation into the level of disconnections.
ECOSA will release the 2003-04 Annual Performance Report for the state's electricity industry today.
The fifth annual performance report strongly criticises electricity retailers – in particular AGL, Origin Energy and TXU – for failing to meet customer-service standards, according to a report in The Advertiser today.
Despite paying more for their power, South Australians are experiencing more blackouts. Power failures increased to 210 minutes, up from 195 minutes in 2002-03.
ESCOSA chairman Lew Owens said customer-service standards, billing and metering problems needed to be greatly improved, but the residential prices were the regulator’s greatest concern.
ESCOSA expected the average price to fall in the next year, he said.
About 230,000 electricity customers had moved on to market contracts and were expected to get a 5% price reduction, while increased Government concessions would also show up in next year's data, according to Owens.
State Energy Minister Patrick Conlon also said improvements could be expected.
"In July next year, the dirty, sweetheart privatisation deal with the distribution company runs out," he told parliament.
Conlon said it was "reasonable to expect" ESCOSA would reduce the amount ETSA was allowed to charge from July next year.
