I moved into a new place about 6 weeks after the old tenants vacated, and just received a letter from Energy Australia telling me I have 7 days from the date of the letter to change the electricity into my name. The date of the letter was exactly 7 days prior to the date I got it, but I rang them and wangled a couple of days lee-way to sort it out.
Woman on the phone seemed unwilling or unable to answer the question of how they calculate what I owe given they haven't read the meter since the old tenants took themselves off the account. Presumably they will come and read the meter now and subtract the KWh that were from the last read, but then what? Without a time machine they can't go back and get the meter reading from the day I moved in.
Besides flipping the lights on for inspections the place was renovated between tenancies, which I imagine used up a decent chunk of the juice.
How do they calculate the bill?
If there was a month from between the old tenancy and the date on my lease, and a 2nd month to when I get put on the account, do they simply charge 1/2 of the total? Also, if I want to sign up with a dif company, do I have to first make an account with the old one and then transfer? What if I just call the new guys directly?
Unless you signed up with Energy Australia, you're not obligated to pay them anything.
And if you haven't signed up with them yet, don't. You can find other electricity retailers with better rates.
In this case, you should've just ignored Energy Australia (was their letter "To the Tenant"?). Now, I imagine they have your name and might create more trouble.