Deep and Narrow engagement
In 2023 we were in the 'Deep and Narrow' phase of our engagement. Throughout this phase, our business planning and customer and stakeholder engagement will involve focused conversations on the topics and themes unearthed during previous engagement stages.
Key topics and themes
The follow themes were identified by customers and stakeholders, as well as teams within our business, throughout the first two years of the regulatory reset process (see Planning and Broad and Wide engagement pages). Follow the links to learn more about each theme.
In addition, the following specific topics were identified as of interest to customers during the the Broad and Wide consultations.
- Tariffs
- Customers in vulnerable circumstances
- Network resilience
- Rural and regional access to network capacity/reliability
- Energy transition
- Customer service incentive scheme
- Framework and approach
- Future scenarios
- Customer behaviour
- Public lighting
Focused conversations
We worked to discover more about each issue or topic as we continue our engagement and develop our regulatory proposal. As we prioritise, we will focus on topics and themes that:
- were ranked as the highest importance by our residential and business customers
- our customers can meaningfully influence the outcome
- could add significant cost to our business.
To do this we're using a unique method of prioritisation called 'triangulation'. Triangulation involved topics being mapped onto an ‘engagement matrix’ based on:
- their importance from an internal and external perspective
- the level of influence a customer or stakeholder could potentially have
- what level of engagement will be required according to best practice standards.
Get involved
As we continue to burrow down into specific topics and themes in the Shape, Test and Challenge phase in 2024, we’ll be opening up further online and in-person engagement opportunities. See our Get Involved page for more information.
Back to Regulatory Reset main page
Related
-
2023 wrap up: how you've helped create Powercor's 2026-2031 business plan
Share 2023 wrap up: how you've helped create Powercor's 2026-2031 business plan on Facebook Share 2023 wrap up: how you've helped create Powercor's 2026-2031 business plan on Twitter Share 2023 wrap up: how you've helped create Powercor's 2026-2031 business plan on Linkedin Email 2023 wrap up: how you've helped create Powercor's 2026-2031 business plan link2023 has been an important year for our regulatory reset project, engaging with our customers and stakeholders to assist in the development of our 2026-2031 business plan.
Listening to the views of our customers is critical in ensuring we deliver a business plan that meets the needs, expectations and preferences of our customers who rely on the electricity distributed by our network.
Below are some of the year’s highlights from our largest customer engagement program ever, as well as more opportunities to have your say before our draft business plan is published in August 2024.
Engagement figures from January 2021 to December 2023. Shifting lifestyle trends boost Victorians’ demand for energy
In October, we joined forces with CitiPower, United Energy and Monash University’s Emerging Technologies Research Lab to unveil massive shifts in future household energy demands in a new report.
The increase in home-based care, a rise in the energy needs for household pets and the increased adoption of electric vehicles were among the 51 specific trends uncovered by the research into Victorians’ future energy needs.
The pivotal study offers an invaluable glimpse into the future – empowering us to sharpen our forecasts, develop future business plans, and ensure our distribution networks evolve in line with customers’ changing expectations.
Learn more and read the report
Engaging rural and regional communities
With rural and regional customers relying heavily on the Powercor network, we hosted a dedicated forum to explore ways to create opportunities and address challenges associated with electricity distribution across rural and regional areas. Attendees told us there needed to be a long-term vision to improve network reliability, capacity and power quality and that is essential all customers benefit from the transition to a lower carbon future. This recent article by Renate Vogt, General Manager, Regulation summarised the unique challenges and opportunities facing regional and rural communities, and you can read the full report online.
Meanwhile, First Peoples in Mooroopna and the surrounding region highlighted to us their key priorities of affordability and reliability during engagement with the Yorta Yorta community earlier this year.
The price of electricity, a need to better understand how to reduce power bills, and the potential role of solar and batteries in achieving this were also areas of discussion.
Have your say on new energy technologies
The renewable energy transition is changing how and when customers use electricity. The Energy Transition Summit in November brought together a wide variety of stakeholders including local councils, sustainability groups and representatives of vulnerable people amongst others to help understand and prioritise customers’ needs for the transition.
Our Customer Energy Futures: Service Level Options Paper, currently open for consultation, explores options to address the challenges in accommodating new technologies, and support customer-led change and agency.
If you haven’t already, you can share your views on how you’d prefer to use customer energy resources that can generate or store power until Friday 5 January 2024.
Looking ahead
The first few months of 2024 will see us testing and refining our draft business plans with customers, sharing what we’ve learnt through all our engagement so far and discussing price/service trade-offs with our customers. We’ll submit our draft business plan in August 2024.
Register to stay up to date and for your opportunity to contribute in the future.
