LG is also telling customers who have batteries branded LG, SolaX, Red Earth, Eguana or VARTA, to switch them off and keep them off “until they are remediated”.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has also repeated the warning and said remediation could include a free battery replacement, a software update or a refund.

“It is critically important that anyone with a solar energy storage system checks their battery’s serial number, as this recall has been updated to include new models, affected systems and dates of manufacture,” ACCC deputy chair Catriona Lowe said.

“Even if you don’t have an LG-branded solar storage system, you may still have an LG branded battery that has been recalled. For peace of mind – check your system again and turn off your battery straight away if it has been recalled.”

LG has agreed to provide financial compensation to consumers who have higher electricity bills as a result of not being able to use their battery.

The warning follows a fire at a grid-scale lithium battery near Rockhampton last week. The lithium batteries have had a history of overheating and fires including in products like scooters and bikes.

“Please put your safety first and follow this important advice to switch off. LG will compensate consumers who are out-of-pocket on their electricity bills as a result of switching off and not being able to use their battery,” Lowe said.

Further information is available at the Product Safety Australia website (see LG Energy Solution recalls: PRA 2020/18529 and PRA 2022/19550 and SolaX Power recall: PRA 2022/19420).

Consumers with affected LG batteries are urged to register their details with LG to receive free replacement, refund or software update.

While all affected batteries should be immediately turned off, some will be directly replaced or fully refunded. Other affected LG batteries will receive a software update which will shut down batteries at risk of overheating and any LG battery shut down by the software will be replaced or refunded.