“Consumers who identify they have an LG energy storage battery under recall are urged to immediately contact LG to discuss next steps, including a free replacement when available,” she said.

Licensed electrical contractors who have installed or worked on systems with affected batteries are also encouraged to proactively contact these clients about the recall. Rickard said the ACCC has been working with state and territory electricity regulators to raise awareness of the recall. “These batteries have already caused injury and fire damage to properties and could lead to serious injuries or death.” “We encourage consumers to urgently check if they have an LG, Solax or Opal solar energy storage battery which is included in the recall by LG,” said ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard. The consumer watchdog has said since October 2019 that the potentially dangerous batteries have been linked to nine fires in Australia and five in the United States, causing property damage and injuries to two people. It is concerned these consumers may not be aware of the recall and the fire risk. LG has said it will replace all affected batteries free of charge, but the ACCC said about 6,400 of the affected batteries have not yet been replaced.

They were primarily installed in LG, SolaX or Opal branded home energy storage systems. South Korea’s LG Energy Solution issued a recall in February 2021 for an estimated 7,200 of the affected batteries. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has warned that some LG-branded batteries, equipped with cells from specific production lots manufactured between March 2017 and September 2018, could overheat and catch fire.

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