DEBATE has been raging online this week after a post in a Whitsunday Facebook group took aim at Ergon Energy.

The post claimed "Ergon is deliberately charging its customers at the higher rate for their hot water service due to a failure of their relay system".

The post went on to say a tariff which sees local hot water systems switch on overnight had failed, "which means you end up with no hot water unless you ring (Ergon)".

This cycle works on a signal from the powerlines.

An Ergon Energy spokesperson has refuted these claims, labelling them "incorrect".

"We have no hot water complaints from customers in the Whitsundays at the moment," the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said there were a number of tariffs available, Tariff 33 and Tariff 31, in regional areas.

"These tariffs are cheaper than Tariff 11 - for lights, TV, fans etc.," they said.

If a customer does encounter a lack of hot water however, the spokesperson said they could ring an electrician to have the relay bypassed "so the hot water still has power to heat water".

"Ergon pays the electrician to perform this task - not the customer," they said.

"Our crews then attend the premise and replace the relay if necessary.

"The customer still only pays for the power used to heat the water."

The choice of tariff depends on the size of a customer's hot water system.

For more information visit ergon.com.au/retail/residential/tariffs-and-prices/economy-tariff.