The roundtable session engaged with customers from special interest groups such as local councils, community advocacy groups and sustainability groups to understand support for both the overarching proposal, including the bill impact, as well as initiatives that have been developed by the business based on customer feedback from earlier engagements.

The initiatives included:

• Energy Transition
• Metering
• Customer Assistance Package
• Modernisation

The purpose of the program was to identify initiative refinements to be considered in the final regulatory proposal submission. We partnered with Powercor, United Energy and independent, third-party engagement experts at Forethought to deliver this program.

What we heard

• Customers supported our Customer Energy Resource and electrification strategy, with a significant number of customers intending to electrify their homes in the next 5 years
• A proactive metering rollout approach was considered reasonable noting that there would be immediate benefits, such as reliability, as well as long-term visibility benefits
• Overall, there was strong support for the customer assistance package initiatives and a desire for the business to build strong partnerships to deliver greater impact and ensure access to vulnerable customers
• The majority of customers supported the modernisation infrastructure upgrades to enhance reliability, recognising the need to replace aging assets before they become a safety risk. It was also seen as essential in ensuring the network could integrate renewable energy and support future electrification needs.

What’s next

Outcomes from the roundtable report are being used to refine initiatives being built into the final 2026-2031 regulatory proposal, due for submission to the Australian Energy Regulator in January 2025.

There will be opportunities to get involved and have your say in 2025.

Visit the CitiPower Regulatory Reset project page and click +Follow at the top of this page to receive email updates.