Energy prices dominate more than 17,000 complaints made to NSW ombudsman

More than 17,000 NSW residents complained about energy, gas and water providers, a report by the Energy and Water Ombudsman NSW says.

The vast majority were complaints about the cost of electricity, with 11,972 complaints, a 22 per cent increase in comparison to the 2021/2022 report by the ombudsman.

Origin Australia had the most complaints, with 3258, followed by Energy Australia with 2836 complaints.

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AGL Energy had 2082 complaints filed against them, with another 797 customers complaining about gas prices.

A further 18 per cent of complaints were directed at gas companies, while 4 per cent were directed at water companies.

The ombudsman recovered $1.16 million in customer outcomes, all of which went back into the pockets of those who filed the complaints.

"It's not about accumulative debt like we've seen more often in the past, it's about the fact their one-off bill is much higher than it was last year," Energy and Water Ombudsman Janine Young told 9News.

"We're hearing from people in the past who didn't reach out for help ... [because] energy prices have increased so much."

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The second biggest category of complaints revolved around credit, including 382 complaints around debt collection, 617 around payment difficulties and 713 facing disconnection issues.

Complaints surrounding switching providers were the third most common in the last year, with 829.