General News
22 July, 2025
Council sparks fly over Ergon delays
MAREEBA Shire Council has slammed Ergon Energy for its delays in providing accurate costings, delivery of contracted works, and cost blowouts, and is calling for the state government to intervene.
Discussing a motion to be submitted to the Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) conference, Mayor Angela Toppin said Ergon had shifted its relationship with council from one of a partnership in delivering services, to one where “councils are treated simply as clients”.
A background report tabled during last Wednesday’s council meeting, provided a damning critique on hold-ups and price increases by Ergon, including one quote which almost tripled within two years.
This, in turn, had delayed vital infrastructure projects, impacted community amenity, and jeopardised grant applications.
Mayor Toppin stressed that at a local level, council’s relationship with Ergon field staff remained good, but the business side and “head office” had changed.
“In recent years, council has seen a significant increase in costs and timeframes for Ergon connections and this is impacting council’s ability to fund and deliver essential community projects, particularly where council is upgrading existing, aged street lighting for road and pedestrian safety,” she said.
A key example was a street lighting quote for Coondoo St, Kuranda, received from Ergon in May 2023, of $103,603. By January 2025, that offer had risen to $261,259, more than double the original quote.
Council had accepted and paid for the quote, but in May 2025, Ergon had said a cost variation brought the total to $299,769.
“This represents almost a tripling of costs in a two-year period,” Mayor Toppin told the meeting.
“Additionally, Ergon advised that council would be charged on actual costs; therefore, the amount payable may decrease or increase further.
“Presently, Ergon has been unable to confirm whether the commencement date of September 2025, provided in January 2025, would be met.
“The lack of certainty in cost and delivery timing is hampering the ability of council to program and budget for future projects.”
The meeting heard there had also been a growing delay in the time required to gain approval for council works which involved Ergon. An example of this was the delays on the Herberton/Constance Street roundabout, (which was still undergoing lighting works).
Another case study was the collapse of a sewer main following Cyclone Jasper, which forced council to construct a temporary main and pump station. There were “considerable delays in Ergon delivering power to the site”, which resulted in residents having to live with large generators running 24/7 for months on end, as well as having to tolerate sewerage odours.
“Ergon has forgotten they were actually formed to serve the community. It’s commercialisation means it’s all about making money, not about delivering services to the community,” a council spokesperson said. “But it can do both.”
The motion, “Establishment of Ergon Energy Customer Charter for Local Government” will be put to the LGAQ conference in October.
The motion argues that as the sole electricity distribution network provider in regional, rural and remote Queensland, and as a government-owned corporation, the government should require Ergon to develop a new customer charter for local government, in collaboration with the LGAQ and Queensland councils, which would:
address cost and timing certainty issues for power connections and improve responsiveness to council and community needs, and
ensure Ergon Energy takes a collaborative approach with councils for road lighting and electrical design, to support timely project delivery, reduce administrative burden and meet infrastructure funding commitments.
