The bushfires of 2019-20 were unprecedented in their scale, burning over 10 million hectares and touching the lives of millions of Australians.

The Insight Centre developed the first longitudinal study of how survivors fared during the 12 months immediately after the fires decimated communities in Victoria’s East Gippsland Region.

This report was prepared for Australia’s national energy consumer advocate, Energy Consumers Australia. It tracks how the disaster affected the energy experience of households and small businesses, as well as the recovery and rebuild.

Over the course of a year, the research team conducted three rounds of interviews with local people to draw lessons for the energy sector and policy-makers. The report ensures the experiences of energy users in Australia’s ‘Black Summer’ are heard and remembered.