HORSHAM mother of two Vicki Arnott has criticised energy companies for backdating bills after payment problems with EnergyAustralia.
The electricity provider, formerly called TRUenergy, failed to send Mrs Arnott a bill for the quarter ending in September last year.
Mrs Arnott said she was worried about having to pay bills for both the September and December quarters at the same time.
"I will be in for a double whammy when they send out my next power bill," she said.
"I am sitting here wondering how much I am going to get billed and if I will even get one for the December quarter.
"It is very stressful and I hate getting an electricity bill anyway but to not get one is worse."
Mrs Arnott said after contacting the Victorian Ombudsman she was shocked to discover that electricity companies could backdate bills for nine months.
"I decided I would get onto the ombudsman straight away to have it all sorted," she said.
"By rights I should be able to pay the bill off in instalments but electricity companies need to be made aware that this is totally unfair."
Mrs Arnott said she experienced the same problem in 2011 after having a smart meter installed.
"There is no jungle outside my front door or a dog tied up outside that would stop someone from being able to read the meter," she said.
"I have been with TRUenergy for about 12 years and during the past couple of years I have had a lot of problems so I am in the process of changing companies.
"If it was any other normal company, they would go broke if they didn't send out their statements."
An EnergyAustralia spokeswoman said the billing delay was caused by a technical issue.
She said Mrs Arnott was issued with a bill yesterday and she would be able to set up a payment plan.
"We apologise to Mrs Arnott for any inconvenience this delay has caused," she said.
"On occasions, billing delays do occur and can be caused by a variety of reasons, including technical issues."
The spokeswoman said the issue was limited to Mrs Arnott's account and was not widespread across Wimmera customers.