Consumer Engagement report - 2020 Report - Energy Networks Australia
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Consumer
Engagement report
2020 Report
This communication extends to involving
customers in planning for the future grid and
empowering them to have more control over
their energy use.
INTRODUCTION
Energy networks are the connective tissue that link our customers to
electricity and gas supplies.
While we are not named on bills and customers don’t pay us directly, our
team members have more face to face time with customers than any other
part of the industry.
When there’s an upgrade to the network, cutting back trees or repairing
outages, our teams are communicating with customers and our crews are
working on the ground.
Andrew Dillon We are constantly striving to innovate to not only improve the value of the
CEO, Energy Networks connections we supply, but also how we communicate important information
Australia to customers.
This communication extends to involving customers in planning for the future
grid and empowering them to have more control over their energy use.
The future grid will mean connecting record levels of solar and other
renewables into areas of the network not originally designed for two-way
electricity flows.
Blending of hydrogen into gas networks will mean more clean energy options
for customers.
Electricity and gas networks are the platforms enabling Australia’s
low-emissions energy transition, while keeping supplies safe, reliable and
affordable.
The evolving, smarter grid will offer cheaper power prices at different times of
the day to allow customers to use technology to save on their electricity bills.
Critical to this process will be ensuring networks and customers continue to
communicate, which is why Energy Networks Australia (ENA) has partnered
with Energy Consumers Australia (ECA) to compile this report.
The 2019 Energy Networks Consumer Engagement Award was presented
to Jemena by then ECA CEO Rosemary Sinclair, in recognition of the gas
networks deliberative forum in NSW and its electricity network people’s panel
in Victoria.
Jemena was chosen by a panel of judges comprising consumer advocates,
non-network industry professionals and representatives from the Australian
Energy Regulator and the Australian Energy Market Commission.
This process highlights the value networks place on customer input and
how organisations like ECA reward innovation in the customer
engagement space.
1
CONTENTS
JUDGES REPORT 3
Ausgrid: Revised Regulatory Proposal Engagement 10
– delivering long term customer outcomes
AusNet Services: GoodGrid Residential Demand Management Program 13
Energy Queensland: Electricity and water don’t mix 16
– the Townsville Monsoon Event
Horizon Power: Solar Incentive Scheme 19
Jemena Gas Networks: 2020-25 regulatory proposal 22
Jemena Electricity Networks: People’s Panel 27
Powerlink: Revenue Determination Process Engagement 31
Co-Design Workshop
SA Power Networks: Setting tariffs that will help in transitioning 35
to a new energy future
TasNetworks: emPOWERing You Trial 42
Western Power: Perenjori BESS customer and stakeholder 45
engagement project
2
JUDGES REPORT
“They provided If you meet consumers where they are; if you create an environment where
they are comfortable to express their values and the outcomes that are
25 recommendations, important to them in their own words; you will get the most extraordinary
13 directly related and nuanced feedback.
to Jemena’s pricing The quality of applications continues to improve in the third year of the
and services; our Award as we considered the 10 applications from nine networks across six
customers became Australian states.
decision-makers.” The Award allows electricity and gas network businesses to showcase the
Jemena Electricity Networks’ results of their innovative and genuine approaches to consumer engagement.
Award submission.
While the standard of engagement varies across network businesses,
emerging in this year’s group of applications are clear signs that a cohort of
network businesses are now moving away from introductory engagement
involving information and education campaigns, to more dynamic
conversations where consumers have a valued say in network projects.
For this to happen, network businesses from the CEO to the employees on
the front line are engaging with consumers and taking risks that are delivering
better consumer outcomes.
Real, authentic and effective consumer engagement connects companies
through the diverse interests of consumers and the community.
Through this Award, we want to recognise those businesses that can see
and are acting on the value of genuine and authentic engagement with
consumers.
We congratulate the industry leaders who are continuing to push the frontier
forward on consumer engagement.
3
The New Frontier
feedback on this year’s applications
In the 2018 Judges’ Report, we said that we wanted Joint winners for 2019: Jemena Electricity Networks
to see 2019 engagement projects that: and Jemena Gas Networks
» demonstrated consumer values embedded in key Jemena won the ENA/ECA Energy Network
business documents;
Consumer Engagement Award for its Gas Networks
» showed evidence of material changes in Deliberative Forum in New South Wales and its
the business stemming from the consumer Electricity Network People’s Panel in Victoria.
engagement activity;
» provided clear examples of impact and outcomes Together, Jemena won the Award for these
from consumer engagement; engagement processes because:
» demonstrated “The Benefit Equation” – what is » it met consumers where they are – tailoring
the demonstrated benefit to consumers from the engagement to them, ensuring that translators
engagement? were on hand, childcare was available, and
transport was provided to ensure that no one was
» undertook consumer engagement, even when it
left out of the conversation;
wasn’t prescribed or required;
» with the support of the Board and its CEO, it
» saw network businesses designing and
engaged in this conversation in an authentic and
implementing solutions as seen through the
respectful way; and
consumer lens; and
» it was ambitious about the conversation it wanted
» demonstrated network businesses leading, guiding
to have with its customers.
and mentoring other networks based on their own
learning and experiences.
The finalists
We saw that consumer engagement in 2019 included
many of these elements in the context of: In addition to the Jemena applications, the
» regulatory proposals; Horizon Power, SA Power Networks and Powerlink
applications were shortlisted as finalists. We explore
» technical projects including trials and innovative
why below:
solutions for individual communities;
» Horizon Power: for its Solar Incentives Scheme,
» crisis event management; and
Horizon Power worked with eight Aboriginal
» tariff design. communities as partners in change. Together,
over 12 months, they co-designed a program that
addressed community concerns to deliver cleaner
and more affordable energy.
» SA Power Networks: for its community
engagement on its tariff structure statement as it
worked together with consumers to create tariffs
that work for households and businesses in a new
normal, transition to a new energy future.
» Powerlink: which “handed over the keys to
the car” to consumer advocates to build an
engagement process for its 2023-27 revenue
determination. Powerlink was clear-eyed about
risks: expectations that can’t be met; the
resourcing needed for front-ended engagement;
and having less control around a critical business
initiative.
4
Highlighting the positives from across the “Handing over the keys to the car”
applications
Some network businesses took risks this year by
The applications demonstrate that consumer engaging with consumers in novel ways. The best
engagement is an activity that can be undertaken processes put consumers in the driver seat from the
for many different types of network projects. The beginning, allow them to have a say about ‘how’ the
applications that stand out are those that clearly engagement would run, how investment strategies
outline the ‘why’, ‘what’ and ‘how’: were designed, and how community energy solutions
» ‘why’ did the business engage with consumers and could be developed.
for what purpose?
These are risks that paid off and resulted in
» ‘what’ were the key issues that they sought to agreement, understanding, trust and a way forward.
explore?
For the sector, these examples have debunked the
» ‘how’ did they engage, outlining the risk-myth associated with dynamic engagement.
methodologies and approaches?
The value of consumer engagement embedded in
Meeting consumers where they are the business
Some of the applications this year demonstrated We are encouraged to see examples of businesses
the importance of meeting consumers where they that have responded to consumer engagement
are. This means representatives from the network through structural and cultural change.
businesses taking the time to go to consumers in their
communities rather than bringing consumers to them. Businesses have created new executive roles aimed at
This approach makes it easier for a wider range of ensuring the business strategy is customer focused,
consumers to participate and places a high value on a number have joined The Energy Charter and
consumers’ time and convenience. consumer outcomes are being considered by some
Boards on a routine basis.
Some network businesses went further to maximise
accessibility and inclusiveness and break-down
barriers to real and meaningful dialogue. This included
providing transport, interpreters, childcare assistance,
independent experts and other resourcing that would
have otherwise been inaccessible by the community.
5
Future focus: 2020 awards
The consumer engagement awards are a great The network businesses which make submissions
marker of the progress the sector is making in its to the Award are at the forefront of best practice in
relationship with energy consumers. consumer engagement. The best submissions, which
include references such as “handing over the keys to
The first big engagement task was to move away customers”, are heading in the right direction.
from an adversarial engagement model that was
not working for consumers and to course-correct on In 2020, we would like to see:
costs. The applicants for the 2019 Award demonstrate » more network businesses proudly sharing their
that we have come a long way to achieving these successful consumer engagement stories through
objectives. the Award process;
The new focus on alignment has seen network » all network businesses moving beyond ‘inform’ and
‘educate’ to ‘partnership’ and ‘co-design’, building
businesses work directly with consumers to
on the examples from prior years’ applications;
produce proposals that are capable of acceptance
by consumer groups and the Australian Energy » the development of a sector-wide culture that
Regulator, building trust to help secure better values leadership and sharing of consumer
engagement experiences so that all businesses
outcomes.
move forward as the frontier moves forward; and
The next big consumer engagement task is the » innovation in consumer engagement that supports
energy transition. continuous improvement.
It is difficult to overstate the nature of the changes The consumer engagement awards in the “here and
that are happening in the way the electricity system is now” can be seen as a bellwether of the capacity of
organised and the way energy consumers power their energy network businesses, in particular electricity
home and their small businesses. The mass-migration network businesses, to embrace and help drive the
of more than two million households into the world of energy revolution which is taking place, right now, in
not just buying electricity but generating it – driven partnership with consumers.
by affordability and emerging new technology – has
fundamentally changed the operating environment
for network businesses. A system that was once
centralised and ‘one-way’ (‘a small number of large
things’), is increasingly decentralised and two-way (‘a
large number of small things’).
The future success of energy network businesses
depends on their ability to provide valued services
in this new, more dynamic environment. And this will
be built on a clear understanding of the different
needs, preferences and priorities of energy consumers
and communities more generally. That is, genuinely
engaging to find out what consumers want, not what
network businesses think they want.
6
Behind the Panel – about the judges
Rosemary Sinclair AM (Chair) Mark Henley Craig Memery
Former CEO, Energy Consumers Advocacy, Uniting Policy Team Leader, Energy +
Australia Communities Energy Advocate, Water Consumers’ Advocacy
Uniting Care Australia and Program, Public Interest
Rosemary Sinclair was the CEO member of the AER’s Consumer Advocacy Centre
of Energy Consumers Australia, a Challenge Panels
company established by the Council Since joining the energy sector
of Australian Governments Energy Mark Henley is an economist and in 2002, Craig has managed
Council of Ministers in 2015 to is currently employed by Uniting demand- and supply-side energy
strengthen independent consumer Communities as Manager of projects; provided economic,
advocacy on national energy market Advocacy and Communication technical and policy advice
matters of strategic importance and and splits his time with being a to government, community
material consequence for energy member of the Australian Energy and private sectors; sat on
consumers, in particular household Regulator’s Consumer Challenge numerous advisory panels and
and small business consumers. Panel. He is an inaugural member representative groups; designed
of the national small energy and delivered training programs;
ECA focuses on the long-term consumers Roundtable and sits engaged with consumers and
interests of consumers of energy on a number of Utility focused communities across Australia;
with respect to the price, quality, consumer reference groups. and provided thought leadership
safety, reliability and security of on existing and emerging
supply of energy services. Mark has worked in community challenges for the sector.
services for 40 years, is a Life
Rosemary is a Director of CPA Member of SACOSS and was the Craig has represented energy
Australia and a recent past Member inaugural President of YACSA, users for the last decade, and
(part-time) of the Australian the Youth Affairs Council of now leads the Energy and
Communications and Media South Australia and he has been Water Consumer Advocacy
Authority. a member of the ACOSS Board Program (EWCAP) at the Public
and a Vice President of the Youth Interest Advocacy Centre.
Rosemary has many years of
Affairs Council of Australia. EWCAP promotes access to
senior large-scale operations,
communications and strategy affordable, sustainable energy
Mark is concerned about issues
experience in business and water for NSW households,
associated with poverty and
and government across through improvements in
addressing disadvantage which
telecommunications, media and policy, regulation, markets
has meant that he has been
education. and supporting measures for
actively working on energy
people facing hardship and
affordability issues over recent
Rosemary has held a number of disadvantage.
years as well as taxation,
Directorships on unlisted company
gambling, housing and labour
and not-for-profit Boards, both
markets.
Australia and international.
Mark is the Past President of the
Rosemary received the Order of
SA Branch of the Economics
Australia Award in the 2018 Queen’s
Society of Australia and is a
birthday Honours List.
passionate Adelaide Crows
Rosemary has degrees in Arts, supporter.
Law and Business and a Masters of
Commerce from UNSW. Rosemary
is a qualified CPA and Fellow of the
Australian Institute of Company
Directors.
7
John Devereaux Robyn Robinson Jim (James) Cox
Affiliate Consultant, Goanna Director, Council on the Aging Board Member, AER
Energy Consulting Queensland
Jim has held positions with the
John has extensive experience Robyn held executive and Reserve Bank of Australia, the
in both the energy and banking senior management positions Department of Prime Minister
industries in an executive career within the electricity industry in and Cabinet and the Social
spanning over 35 years. He has Queensland for over 20 years. Welfare Policy Secretariat of the
particular interests in advocating She has an extensive background Department of Social Security.
on behalf of energy consumers in IT management, business He was a Principal Economist
and the application of new performance improvement and at the Office of EPAC between
technology in the energy industry. managing organisational change. 1986 and 1989, and between 1989
Robyn combines her knowledge and 1992 was a consultant to the
John’s roles in the energy industry New South Wales Cabinet Office.
and experience in the energy
have included those of General Jim was Principal Adviser to the
industry in Australia with her
Manager Strategy and Corporate Government Pricing Tribunal of
involvement in a number of
Affairs with Power and Water New South Wales from 1992 and
organisations concerned with the
(NT), Acting CEO of the Energy was a Member of the Tribunal
rights and needs of seniors in the
Networks Association of Australia, since January 1996. He was Acting
community to take on an active
General Manager Networks with Chairman of the Independent
role as an advocate for senior
Aurora Energy, and Chief Financial Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal
energy consumers. In 2013, Robyn
Officer with Aurora Energy. He (IPART) during 2004, 2009/10 and
was appointed as an inaugural
joined Goanna Energy Consulting 2011 and a visiting fellow at Monash
member of the Australian Energy
as an Affiliate Consultant in 2013 University during 1985.
Regulator’s Consumer Challenge
John also held the roles of Chief Panel and was re-appointed to the
Jim assisted the New Zealand
Financial Officer and Chief panel for a second term in 2016.
Government with social policy
Information Officer in banking Robyn is currently a member of
changes during the early part of
institutions based in Tasmania and the Board of two not-for-profit
1991 and has written extensively on
has extensive project and program organisations concerned with
economic and social policy issues.
management experience, including the well-being of seniors in the
This work has been published,
the roles of Program Manager for community.
among others, by the New Zealand
the disaggregation of the former Business Roundtable and the
Robyn has qualifications in science
Hydro Electric Corporation, and Centre for Independent Studies.
and IT and holds a Master of
numerous large scale IT projects.
Science Degree in Operations
He was awarded the Public Service
John has a particular interest in Research. She is a Graduate of the
Medal in the Australia Day honours
the development and application Australian Institute of Company
list in 2011 for outstanding public
of new technology in electricity Directors.
service to IPART.
transmission and distribution and
was a founding member of the Jim was supported by colleague,
Energy Network Association’s Philip Cullum.
Smart Grid Committee and
conceived the world patented
safety device – Cable PI/Wire
Alert.
8Anne Pearson
Gavin Dufty
Former Chief Executive,
Senior Executive /
Australian Energy Market
Policy and Research Manager,
Commission
St Vincent de Paul Society
Victoria Anne served as the Chief
Executive of the AEMC from
Gavin has been a consumer
February 2016 to October
representative in the
2019, contributing outstanding
energy sector for over 25
organisational leadership
years. During this time, he has
capabilities, and a breadth
undertaken research on electricity
of industry and regulatory
disconnections; documented
experience to the role. Prior to her
changes in energy pricing and
appointment to Chief Executive
its impacts on households; and
she served as Senior Director,
been involved in the development
Market Development, where she
of state and federal energy
was responsible for directing
consumer protection and
reviews and rule determinations
concession frameworks. Gavin
to facilitate the energy sector’s
is currently a representative
adjustment to technological
of a number of industry and
change and manage emerging
government committees including:
concerns about energy security
gas and electricity distribution
and consumer responses in a
companies customer consultative
carbon-sensitive world. Before
committees; the Australian Energy
joining the Commission in 2007,
Market Commission’s reliability
Anne’s roles included Executive
panel; AGL’s national customer
Manager of Retail Regulation at
council; the AER’s customer
Energy Australia and corporate
consultative group; and Energy
mergers and acquisitions at law
Consumers Australia reference
firms Freehills and Deacons. She
committee.
holds a Bachelor of Arts and a
Bachelor of Law with Honours
from the University of Sydney.
Anne was supported by colleague,
Anthony Bell.
9Revised Regulatory Proposal Engagement – delivering
long term customer outcomes
Project timeline
November 2018 to May 2019 Description
Location Ausgrid’s new customer stakeholder engagement strategy was
The Ausgrid service area developed to actively incorporate customer views in the preparation
includes some of Sydney’s of our Revised Regulatory Proposal 2019-24 and to ensure that we
most densely populated better integrate customer preferences in our business decisions.
suburbs, as well as the fastest
growing regions of NSW from The engagement strategy incorporated close and regular consultation
Waterfall in Sydney’s south to with members of the Customer Consultative Committee (CCC) and the
Auburn in Western Sydney to Australian Energy Regulator (AER) to identify, respond to and resolve
the upper Hunter Valley. questions about our spending plans. We also established engagement
principles and collaboratively drafted 13 clear customer commitments
that we will deliver and transparently measure.
Benefits to consumers
Through our collaboration with customers, we significantly changed our
plans and submitted our revised proposal that was supported by customers
and was ultimately accepted by the AER. Our revised proposal resulted in
a $71 network saving for the average residential customer from 1 July 2019.
This saving was achieved in part through our agreed $300m reduction in
proposed capex and 1 per cent opex productivity savings.
With the Pricing Working Group (PWG) we co-created fundamental change
in our tariff strategy with the introduction of a new demand tariff that will
deliver long term customer savings. We co-created a list of commitments to
deliver and measure ourselves against and have embedded customer voices
into our decisions with the creation of new committees.
The Network Innovation Advisory Committee (NIAC) and the Technical
Review Committee (TRC), will drive the direction of our innovation program
and ensure that optionality is taken into account in future investment
decisions. Our aim throughout this project was to allow us to improve our
decision making and earn the right to deliver services to our customers.
10Approach
At Ausgrid we recognise we are better when we
have a diversity of views included in our decision
making. Members of Ausgrid’s customer advocate
committee were selected to provide customer
perspectives and experiences from a cross-section
of the NSW community. Importantly, they were
selected for their experience and their passion to
help improve our business.
Ausgrid developed engagement principles to
support honest and transparent collaboration, build
trust and improve our decision making.
» Be collaborative:
Don’t be defensive and remain open to
possibilities
» Be quantitative:
Provide data from the perspective of the
consumer
» Be accountable:
Agree a timeframe and deliver
» Be transparent:
Ask for regular feedback, understand what is
required
Benefits, results and outcomes
» Be adaptable:
Be prepared to change based on feedback Benefits: Reframing our engagement principles and
closer collaboration with customer advocates has
Customers endorsed the engagement principles
led to significantly increased customer input into
which were developed in consultation with
Ausgrid’s planning and decision-making, resulting in
board, executive and management. Ausgrid has
valuable outcomes for consumers:
since undertaken a company-wide rethink of our
customer relationships to change the way we listen, A decrease in network charges for customers
collaborate and practice engagement across the
business. This will drive cultural change through Our initial Regulatory Proposal in April 2018 included
our business. a 6 per cent decrease in customer network charges.
Following further engagement and a robust review
In November 2018 we hosted a Network of the of capex and opex programs with the CCC, Ausgrid
Future Forum where participants created the delivered a network charge decrease of 11 per cent
principles that will guide our innovation investment in our Revised Proposal. This is a saving of $71 per
decisions. Through the NIAC and TRC, customers’ annum on average for a residential customer without
views will be central to our decision making. If we compromising safety or reliability. Approximately a
are serious about shaping the future of energy, we third of the reductions were due to decisions resulting
cannot make important long-term decisions about from customer engagement, including the inclusion
these challenges alone. of an opex productivity forecast and reductions in our
proposed capex.
We recognise that in the past our engagement
was poor, we didn’t effectively give our customers A revised pricing strategy
a voice or respond to differing views. We now
» Through collaboration and compromise, our
understand how much advocates have to offer. We
customers helped Ausgrid build consensus for
are collaborating not because we must, but because the need and direction of tariff reform. This
we recognise that it is good business sense. Our will support a fairer, more affordable and more
new approach represents Ausgrid’s new direction sustainable energy supply system.
in truly collaborating, listening and then addressing
key customer concerns. Collaborative decision making
» Our customer commitments are being embedded
across the business to support authentic and
collaborative customer input into shaping business
decisions.
11Through the Network Innovation Advisory Committee, The Ausgrid Board and CEO have agreed to changes
customers will drive our $42 million innovation in our business structure, bringing together strategy,
program and ensure customer views are central to regulation, corporate affairs and customer divisions
decisions as we transform our network. It will hold under the leadership of a Chief Customer Officer
Ausgrid accountable for incorporating customer (CCO) reporting to the CEO. The CCO will ensure
perspectives and articulating customer benefits in the voices of our customers are heard in all our key
program design, network planning and program business decisions and champion customer outcomes.
implementation.
The new strategic focus ‘Fostering Community
Our new Technology Review Committee will provide Trust’ has been added to our business strategy,
a forum to improve transparency of ICT expenditure with the support of the board, to clearly embed our
and cyber investments, as well as consider the commitment to customers. Ausgrid’s Board and
role of optionality in our business cases to support executive have determined that annual RepTrak®
investment decisions. stakeholder and community engagement scores
should be used to assess business performance.
Learnings and changes
The delivery of 13 customer commitments, including
Working with customers, we can build trust and activities of the NIAC, TRC and PWG are reported
develop better outcomes than if we had done so and discussed at monthly executive leadership team
alone. For example, we: meetings. Our CEO chairs the CCC meeting and is
» co-developed innovation principles to guide our candid about the issues we are grappling with, eg.the
innovation investment decisions. cultural change required to improve our safety culture
» collaborated on a policy submission to the AER’s after the death of a worker. Other committees have
IT review. This was the first time we adopted an executive chair and committee members have
this approach, which was very well received by direct access to influence the approaches of high level
members of our CCC. senior staff from across the business.
We have commenced a review of investment decision This will build a stronger shared understanding of
frameworks to articulate and consider customer value. business and customer needs and deliver outcomes
more reflective of customer views. Eg. we will jointly
develop policy submissions, collaborate on innovation
Leadership and transferability projects, and jointly identify the need for policy
change.
The key learning from this process was that in order
to be a better business we need to better understand We recognise that adopting a customer-centric focus
our customers and this needs to be business as usual. across the business makes good business sense and
We have implemented structural and cultural reforms we are making this real. Sharing the learnings from
to ensure this. our new committees can contribute to enhancing
customer engagement across the energy sector.
12GoodGrid Residential Demand Management Program
Project Partners
For the GoodGrid Program, Project description
AusNet Services partnered
with the following entities The GoodGrid Program is a residential behavioural demand response
to assist in marketing program with the aim of addressing reliability issues in the AusNet
the program, recruiting Services network.
participants and to complete
broad energy education The program offers financial incentives to participants who can reduce
campaigns: their power usage on hot days when the network is constrained.
AusNet Services recruited 1,000 participants from high growth
» Royal Automobile Club of
demand corridors in our network and the program ran ten four-hour
Victoria (RACV)
events over the summer period. AusNet Services advised participants
» Schools: Berwick Chase on the day before, and the day of the event, and participants who
Primary School, Mernda voluntarily reduced their energy below their baseline received a $15
Park Primary School, reward for each successful event.
Jindivick Primary School,
St Joseph’s Catholic
Primary School, Mernda
» Councils: Baw Baw Shire Benefits to consumers
Council
At its heart, demand side management is about valuing consumers in the
Project timeline energy system and supporting them to manage their energy in smarter ways
September 2018 to May 2019 that benefit them, the energy system and the community as a whole.
Project location The GoodGrid Program aimed to:
The GoodGrid program » encourage households to learn about and practise how to manage their
energy use
operated in three high growth
corridors in the AusNet » help keep the lights on in the local community at times of peak energy
Services network: demand
» Northern suburbs of » keep the pressure off energy bills
Melbourne (Mernda, » reward consumer behaviour that helps maintain the local electricity grid.
Doreen, South Morang)
» South Eastern suburbs of GoodGrid’s underlying value is twofold: consumers were encouraged to learn
Melbourne (Narre Warren, ways they can manage their electricity use for their benefit, and also for
Berwick, Cranbourne, the benefit of the community during times of constraint. At the same time,
Clyde and surrounds) AusNet Services is learning invaluable lessons on how consumers participate,
» Gippsland (Drouin, what is important to them, and how to communicate with consumers to help
Longwarry, Bunyip, the grid and the environment.
Garfield and surrounds)
13Approach Benefits, results and outcomes
The GoodGrid program’s engagement approach The GoodGrid program provided an opportunity to
was multi-faceted with various strategies to recruit explore reward and incentive schemes to recognise
participants into the program and ongoing initiatives consumer participation and encourage ongoing
to ensure consumer retention throughout the change in energy use. From our survey results, event
program. Direct channels for recruitment involved analytics and consumer feedback, the program was
electronic mail to AusNet Services’ customers who a real success, with participants committed to the
had enrolled in previous energy campaigns. AusNet program’s goals. There was a consistently high rate
Services trialled geotargeted Facebook campaigns of successful participation, with 75 per cent earning
to advertise the program and promote participation, rewards across all events.
along with localised letterbox drops. The GoodGrid
program was advertised in local press with strong The program was an interactive experience with
visual marketing, as well as in flyers and posters their distribution network service provider (DNSP),
distributed in local schools and through councils. An which was a first for the majority of the participants.
internal AusNet Services’ employee, ‘Refer a Friend’ Consumers learnt about the role of the DNSP, demand
initiative was used to promote the program and versus generation and the management of the
engage with our employee base. electricity network on high demand days when assets
may be under constraint.
Indirect channels included partnering with local
schools; GoodGrid provided a mechanism for During the first couple of events, we found that
participants to donate their earned rewards to a some households were able to substantially limit
participating school. Several of the schools used the their demand, whilst others made great effort but
program to teach their students about energy usage, with limited effect. This allowed us to demonstrate
the network and decarbonisation. that different appliances used varying amounts of
power and share knowledge on potential ways to
AusNet Services aligned with the RACV, a trusted reduce load against baseline. Through the program,
Australian brand, to message their members. All participants adapted their behaviour and energy
participants who registered for GoodGrid gained an use during events to secure themselves a reward
entry into a prize draw for a $1,000 RACV Resorts for successful participation. During the final survey
voucher. consumers stated that they had learnt new skills that
they would apply to their ongoing energy use to
Pre and post event communications were sent out to reduce electricity bills.
consumers and throughout the program we adapted
our communication style based on participant
feedback. We found that consumers preferred a
more informal approach that engendered the idea
of a collective community. A post event newsletter
presented regional event analytics, discussed tips
and tricks and provided channels for feedback. The
program ran several competitions that encouraged
energy education - participants could win prizes by
submitting tips and tricks or telling us about their
GoodGrid experience. The program held both a mid-
point and final survey.
AusNet Services also ran a broad network resilience
messaging campaign across our entire network called
‘Power Prepared’ to provide network reliability and
energy education; in GoodGrid areas we ensured
consistent messaging.
14The learnings from the project were that, while
financial rewards are a fantastic incentive for
consumer registration, ongoing gamification is
required to motivate and ensure participation in
successive events. The sign up process has to be as
easy as practicable for consumers to register and
that multiple electronic direct mail is required to
trigger consumer registration. From this project, we
have become aware that program participants want
greater awareness of their electricity use, especially
during events, so that they can understand their
performance. AusNet Services are investigating
the possibility of providing near real time data to
GoodGrid participants. Consumers would like to
understand their baseline and want post event
analytics on their performance and how it measured
against other participants.
Consumers would also appreciate faster updates on
whether their event participation was successful or
not, with customer friendly access to rewards, such as
digital gift vouchers. For the next program iteration
AusNet Services are investigating incorporating
greater gamification and community comparisons
allowing for different geographic and demographic
segmentation. AusNet Services has commenced
an initiative to deploy customer-centric language
across our website and other media, to increase our
continuing focus on the consumer.
Leadership and transferability
The key learning for AusNet Services from the
GoodGrid program is that when we engage with
participants in demand response programs, their
To this end we are embedding a Customer
experience needs to be understood within the full
Experience team within the business who are
context of their lives and the way they consume
mapping customer journeys across the business,
energy. Consumers are the reason we exist, if we
commencing with Distributed Energy Resources
did not have regulated or commercial customers we
(DER) connections and Gas connections. We are
would not be here today. Our customers’ expectations
also building capability in DER, innovation, analytics
are evolving and we need to understand them to
and automation.
remain relevant. Customer centricity has become a
key part of our strategy; it is an enabler for growth For the GoodGrid program, our leadership team
and cost efficiency, as positive customer experiences were intrinsically involved, through promoting the
build our social licence to operate and improved campaign and registration in the media, and on the
customer processes are more cost effective. ground with the community presenting awards and
explaining the role of AusNet Services in the energy
Many trends in our industry are focused on enabling
value chain.
customer choice and control when it comes to
energy. Globally there has been a rapid increase Project timeline
in the number of businesses offering distributed
solar and battery solutions and it is forecast that 1 September 2018 to 30 May 2019:
45 per cent of Australia’s energy needs will be » Program participant recruitment period: 1
sourced from distributed power by 2032. Within the September 2018 - 1 December 2018 (note that
regulated business, we are embedding our ‘Energising recruitment continued until late January 2019)
Futures’ strategy that has Digital Grid, Future Ready » Demand response event period - 1 December
capabilities and Customer as three of its pillars. 2018 - 30 March 2019
AusNet Services is transforming the way we interact
» Program closeout, including participant payment
with customers and we want to ensure that we
and surveys: 1 April 2010 – 30 May 2019
understand our customer’s requirements and our low
voltage network.
15Electricity and water don’t mix – the Townsville
Monsoon Event
Project partners
» Ergon Energy Network Description
» Ergon Energy Retail
In early 2019, North Queensland experienced an unprecedented
» Energex monsoon flood event. Townsville received more than a metre of
» Powerlink rainfall in seven days, rivers hit record peaks and Ross River Dam
reached 245 per cent capacity – forcing the release of water to
Project timeline already flooded suburbs.
January - February 2019
Our challenge lay in managing community safety, and expectations
Location around getting the power back on, while working as part of the wider
Townsville and surrounding emergency response in restoring power.
regions and towns, North
We have extensive experience in disaster response, but every event
Queensland
is different. Our engagement strategy – an integrated stakeholder/
media/outreach response – required reviewing the situation, our
stakeholders, the communication channels, our resourcing and the
logistics.
Benefits to consumers
Electricity and water are a dangerous mix and this disaster had the potential
to become an electrical tragedy. However, by the time the floodgates opened,
we had proactively deenergised 17,000 homes and businesses and launched
a communication blitz to let the community know what was happening, why,
and how to stay safe. Innovations in our engagement around the proactive
de-energisation paid off, contributing to a fatality free event.
As well as keeping our communities safe, customers benefitted from the
release of our ambitious restoration plan, containing street by street details of
when power would be restored, bringing certainty to those who were able to
safely return to their houses.
Our engagement efforts undoubtedly improved our response. Engaging
through the different disaster management forums, with other stakeholders
and customers with specific needs, enabled a coordinated response where
issues are addressed quickly.
16Approach
Through an integrated stakeholder/media/outreach
engagement approach we aimed to:
» Proactively and transparently communicate
from a ‘single source of the truth’.
» Establish ourselves with a ‘human face’ and part
of the community.
» Demonstrate ‘safety first’ messaging for
customer/stakeholders/employees.
The audiences and channels included:
» Impacted customers: 21,000 homes/businesses
without power, ‘desperate’ for information.
Our post-event research showed high
engagement through our website, Facebook,
signage, community outreach, the media and
secondary sources. We actively promoted our
online tool ‘Outage Finder’ to stay up-to-date
during the event.
» Media and broader community: the event
received local, state and national interest –
with online, press, radio and television media
coverage.
» Government and emergency services: we
actively briefed our shareholders, Government
Ministers and portfolio department and
engaged with local government and emergency
services stakeholders through established
forums.
» Industry Partners: electrical contractors, unions
and other parties worked alongside us in the
restoration.
» Employees: Many crews found themselves
engaging with the community as part of Benefits, results and outcomes
the restoration – it was vital that they were
informed and sensitive to the needs of the A high level of professionalism in our communications
community. and engagement during these types of events is
critical to our brand and reputation. Each time, our
As well as using traditional channels, we added
response is delivered in an environment of increasing
these innovations
community expectations. The risks are high, but the
» Social media was central to our approach rewards are there too.
– allowing us to express empathy for those
impacted – as our primary audience – and give During the crisis, there were 575,000 visits to our
our supporters a voice. We shared the “thanks” website and our online Outage Finder tool was used
from those who had endured the experience.
around 165,000 times.
We monitored emerging issues to guide the
work program.
An absolute standout of the engagement campaign
» Acknowledgements - we started reading was the level of community sentiment expressed
messages of thanks to the crews at the morning through Facebook – an exceedingly positive result of
muster – helping them with their mindset in the 93 per cent. We actively monitored our social media
field – and providing key external messaging to profile and tweaked our efforts during the event.
support those undertaking general operational
engagement. Post event analysis, usage statistics and anecdotal
» Technology assisted our communications. feedback, provided further valuable lessons – to
With experience using our advanced spatial continually test ‘what works’ and be brave.
mapping capability in a previous flood, we were
able to anticipate flood levels and proactively We reacted quickly to set up a community outreach
engage on a safer response – literally walking program in the worst impacted communities, we
the streets – before de-energising in the areas distributed power updates specific to the area
at risk. describing the damage, where to go for help with
other agencies, as well as restoration information.
17Small teams used a mobile ‘trailer’ from various public Leadership and transferability
locations. Our retail arm had teams at the community
recovery centres and individual employees engaged Key learning - We document lessons following events
proactively with businesses and community leaders. to refine our engagement approach. During this event,
we implemented new approaches in social media
These efforts were innovative. We are now formalising (including digital live streaming) and community
this capability with improvements (including field outreach. Our in-house engagement team develop
connectivity to our internal data systems – to better and test these innovations – which are now part of
handle individual enquiries – and also looking to our capability.
partner more effectively with other service providers).
Leadership/culture – Senior leaders were highly visible
Analysis of media reporting showed it is now and active in the engagement, with many available
dominated by online news outlets – reflecting the 24/7 as spokespeople. They were accessible to those
changing media profile generally. Future responses involved, touring control centres, engaging field crew
will consider this as the traditional media outlets and debriefings and emphasising the importance of good
online conversations continue to merge. community sentiment.
We maintained a leadership presence at Kedron, the
In a post event survey we asked how we can do State Disaster Coordination Group, and with Local
better. It showed we achieved strong cut through with Disaster Management Group, Queensland Police, and
our messaging – 72 per cent recalled the messaging the State Emergency Services. We reflected this
around the process for connection for premises that operating model in our own operations.
had been flooded and 66 per cent recalled our key
powerline safety messages. Engagement for us comes in many forms, from our
response framework to field crews going above and
www.talkingenergy.com.au/disasters beyond to help impacted customers.
Engagement practice in our organisation – Internal
communication and engagement professionals were
dedicated during the event, ensuring we remained
media accessible, media-present and facilitated
positive coverage.
This event reinforced our priority on keeping our
stakeholders and communities up-to-date, as per our
stakeholder communications protocols. Forty-three
situational reports were released – providing the
single source of information for all communication
channels.
Engagement practice in sector – This event provides
a case study for others to consider. Getting customers
reconnected in a safe and timely manner after an
event is crucial to any network business and timely
communications play a huge part.
Today, customers are increasingly dependent on
electricity. Engagement teams need to be able to
reinforce the importance of continuous improvement.
Key takeaways include the need to own your own
messaging/channels and the importance of videos/
photos to provide a human face and tell your story.
Imagery was facilitated by the field rollout of iPhones.
The practice of the ‘one point of truth’ is applicable in
any crisis.
18Solar Incentive Scheme 2019
Finalist
Consumer
Engagement
Award
Project partners
» Aboriginal Community Project Description
Corporations in the east
and west Kimberley, Horizon Power’s Solar Incentives Scheme is investing $1.07M to
» Indigenous Business co-fund up to 900kW of community-owned solar in eight remote
Australia (IBA) Aboriginal Communities.
Project timeline The scheme was co-designed with Aboriginal Corporations, during 12
2018 – 2019 (ongoing) months of face to face community engagement. Feedback was that
while communities knew solar would save money, it was expensive
Location upfront, a big technical decision, and they weren’t sure who to work
Kimberley, Western Australia with.
From this community feedback, Horizon Power created the scheme
offering each community a grant (30 per cent capped at $100,000),
along with engineering and project management support.
Benefits to consumers
The scheme was co-designed with Aboriginal communities to reduce the
upfront cost of rooftop solar and assist communities to reduce electricity
costs (could be upwards of $200,000 pa).
The scheme ensures communities have access to quality, value for money
solar installations by working with Horizon Power.
The key challenges the scheme addresses are:
» improved electricity affordability for customers while maintaining a safe,
reliable supply
» increased solar uptake in communities (previously at almost zero)
» reduced barriers to solar including cost, uncertainty and technical
complexity.
The scheme, open to large remote 100 per cent diesel-fuelled Kimberley
communities, presents four opportunities:
» democratisation of renewable energy by improved access to solar for
disadvantaged customer groups (30 per cent contribution to their capital
costs)
» lower energy bills for Aboriginal communities
» reduced diesel consumption, resulting in reduced carbon emissions
» reduced costs to Horizon Power, which in turn benefits taxpayers of the
State who subsidise the regional electricity service.
19Approach Benefits, results and outcomes
The co-designed project model resulted from 12 Under the initial pilot in November 2018, the remote
months of intensive engagement. The scheme was communities of Djarindjin and Lombadina in the west
designed to effectively tackle barriers to solar uptake Kimberley installed 80kW and 30kW respectively,
and ensure that communities benefit. The co-design between them saving around $60,000 in electricity bills
model is the preferred and most effective approach and displacing 61,000 litres of diesel each year, along
to overcome obstacles faced by communities in with reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
renewable investment.
Residents of Aboriginal communities have a connection
Following community concept design, Horizon Power with land, water and sun, so being able to receive
undertook financial modelling to determine the energy from the sun is a very popular concept. The
amount of upfront capital the utility could provide, communities are particularly happy with the reductions
while maintaining the State Government’s parameters in their energy costs.
for a positive NPV project, leading to strong project
support (internally and within Government). Djarindjin Aboriginal Corporation Chief Executive Officer
Jenni Gould said the community was excited about
IBA was engaged under a partnership agreement to reducing its electricity costs through the newly installed
provide a process for community Corporations to solar panels.
access a chattel mortgage should the community seek
financing for their solar installations. IBA’s contact “It will make a huge difference to the community and
details were provided to community members who improve the viability of the roadhouse and the store
wished to explore alternative financing options. which the community owns – it is also great for the
environment and community members are pleased to
Horizon Power’s renewable engineers undertook site see power being delivered from the sun,” she said.
visits, working alongside community members to
identify the main community buildings suitable for Lombadina Aboriginal Corporation director Caroline
solar, such as recreation centres, offices, stores, and Sibosado said the money saved on power bills
men’s sheds. The engineers and community members would go towards maintaining machinery used to
identified strong, at height, roof tops on community- provide employment for community members and
owned buildings that could take ‘commercial scale’ accommodation and administration costs.
installations with minimal risk of damage.
“It means a lot to our community,” she said, adding that
Horizon Power also drafted detailed technical scopes the community hoped to get funding to install more
– offering engineering support that is not readily solar in the future.
available to community corporations.
Horizon Power is working closely with the other eligible
Horizon Power presented each Aboriginal communities and is preparing to sign an agreement with
Corporation’s governing council with information the Kimberley communities of Warmun and Bidyadanga
packs including aerial photos, options tables, costs in June 2019 – with respectful engagement continuing
and simple process mapping to facilitate final with Beagle Bay, Ardyaloon, Looma and Kalumburu.
investment decisions.
The Scheme is delivering cleaner and more affordable
Following a Corporation’s agreement, Horizon Power energy for some of our most remote Aboriginal
undertook an EOI process to vet suitable providers to communities – freeing up funds for communities to
recommend to communities. This ensured the solar invest and ensuring communities are co-designing their
installations were high quality, with good product own energy futures in partnership with the service
warranties and to a suitable safety standard. provider.
Throughout the project, close contact was maintained Reduced diesel fuel use also means a reduction in
with each community, the State Government local Horizon Power’s subsidy from the State Government to
shires, IBA and local media. Horizon Power has regional electricity supplies.
presented the model to ARENA and the Northern
Aboriginal Affairs Minister and former Energy Minister
Territory and Queensland Governments.
Ben Wyatt launched the scheme in 2018, saying:
“This is a great scheme that gives Aboriginal
Corporations the opportunity to invest in solar
and reduce their bills for electricity to community
buildings.”
“That means the Corporations will have more
money available to spend on other services for their
residents.”
20Leadership and transferability Horizon Power supported interstate knowledge
sharing and has presented this model to ARENA
Horizon Power is Western Australia’s regional energy and the South Australian, Northern Territory and
provider delivering safe and reliable electricity across Queensland Governments. Power and Water
2.3 million square kilometres. Corporation has included the scheme as a case study
for the SetUP program in the ARENA handbook
We operate 38 power systems and deliver energy to published in 2019.
48,000 customers, including 53 remote and town-
based Aboriginal communities. The scheme aligns with our business strategy which
has Aboriginal advancement as a guiding principle,
Horizon Power delivers energy solutions for regional ensuring benefit for indigenous people results from
growth and vibrant communities. It’s investing $14M in service and project delivery. Horizon Power has been
its renewable energy strategy, for remote Aboriginal engaging respectfully with Aboriginal communities
Communities, to transition from 100 per cent diesel since inception in 2006 and is committed to using
generation to around 45 per cent renewables. all business transactions as a system lever of
reconciliation and inclusion.
The Solar Incentives Scheme is the first project under
this strategy and is delivering cleaner, more affordable At August 2019, four of the eight eligible communities
energy to our most remote Aboriginal communities. had given the go-ahead to rooftop solar installation
This frees up funds for communities to invest and under the scheme and Horizon Power are working
ensuring communities can design their own energy with the remaining four communities to overcome
futures in partnership with the service provider. their respective barriers to participation.
Reduced diesel use also means a reduction in Horizon
Power’s subsidy from the State Government to
regional electricity supplies.
Throughout the project, close collaboration was
maintained with Aboriginal Corporations and
community residents, State Government, local shires,
solar PV installers, IBA and local media.
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