In early 2025, we conducted a comprehensive engagement program across our network with agriculture customers, marking a significant step in understanding and supporting the electrification of the agriculture industry. This initiative is part of our ongoing commitment to transparent and inclusive engagement, designed to capture the real experiences of our customers as they navigate the shift toward renewable energy.

Over the course of a month, we engaged directly with 28 customers to better understand their experiences and challenges. Through in-depth, two-hour on-farm interviews and one-hour online focus groups, we connected with farmers across a broad cross-section of the agricultural industry, including dairy, grain, animal husbandry, irrigation, and fruit processing.

This diverse participation gave us valuable insight into the wide range of energy use patterns and operational needs across the region. Findings are reported in a comprehensive document linked below, highlighting both overarching industry trends and key insights unique to each farming industry.

What customers told us

• Farmers want to electrify as it enables; efficient operations, business continuity, competitive operations, diversification of income and ability to meet sustainability expectations
• To enable this, farmers need confidence in energy plans for upgrades to make informed decisions for the future of their business
• Regional and rural infrastructure is outdated, many farmers want to electrify but are blocked by limitations in existing networks, especially outdated single wire earth return (SWER) lines.

Along with these key insights, the industry highlighted the significant risks posed by extreme weather events and power outages. Farmers described the cascading consequences of being unable to pump water during outages, including reduced productivity, compromised livestock health, diminished crop quality, and significant financial losses. Reported losses ranged from $29,000 to $100,000 in a single day.

Concerns were also raised about the future viability of regional communities. Without timely upgrades to electricity infrastructure, the agriculture sector’s growth will be constrained, leading to economic decline, reduced liveability, and population loss in rural areas.

We've accepted our customers' recommendations and are incorporating them for lodging our final proposal with the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) in December 2025. Actions we are taking include:

• enhancing our Community Support Officer program, including the provision of 5 engagement officers for regional and rural communities
• continuing direct engagement with communities on our Regional and Rural Equity program, including upgrades to SWER infrastructure
• continuing to update the Customer Advisory Panel on these initiatives being put forward and any additional feedback we receive.

Next steps

To get involved and have your say, visit the Regulatory Reset project page and click +Follow at the top of the page to receive email updates.