Water, power complaints rise in NSW An ombudsman report has revealed complaints on the cost of electricity and water are on the rise. COMPLAINTS from NSW energy and water consumers are on the rise, with high bills, poor customer service and marketing issues causing most grief. The Energy and Water Ombudsman NSW (EWON) found 36,373 complaints in 2012-13 for a 45 per cent increase. This follows a 43 per cent increase the previous financial year. An EWON report released on Thursday shows consumers are having problems across all areas, including billing, customer service, transfer, credit and marketing. Disputed high bills, affordability-related credit issues, bad customer service and gripes relating to people taking up new energy offers and switching suppliers dominated the complaints. There were 19,549 billing-related complaints last year, followed by 9,162 about customer service. The high cost of energy underscores many of the complaints, EWON ombudsman Clare Petre said. "The circumstances of many customers who contacted us showed they were under real pressure," she said. At the same time, some retailers were tightening credit policy and ramping up debt recovery. Ms Petre says some relief might be at hand with an end of door-to-door marketing and steadying network costs, as well as recommendations made by the National Energy Affordability roundtable.