Customer and Stakeholder engagement plan · 2018-03-22 · Customer and Stakeholder engagement plan for our Business Plan and Regulatory Proposal June 2016 5 Figure 1 outlines the

June 2016

Customer and Stakeholder engagement plan

for our Business Plan and Regulatory Proposal

2 Customer and Stakeholder engagement plan for our Business Plan and Regulatory Proposal | June 2016 Customer and Stakeholder engagement plan for our Business Plan and Regulatory Proposal | June 2016

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3Customer and Stakeholder engagement plan for our Business Plan and Regulatory Proposal | June 2016

Contents

1 Introduction .........................................................................................................4

About the Business Plan ......................................................................................5 About the 2019–24 regulatory proposal ...........................................................6 How the business plan and regulatory proposal will work together ...............7

2 Stakeholder and customer groups .....................................................................8

3 Engagement objectives and principles .............................................................12

Objectives ...........................................................................................................12 Principles ............................................................................................................12

4 Engagement approach ......................................................................................13

About the approach ..........................................................................................13 Engagement phases ..........................................................................................14 Engagement streams ........................................................................................15 Roles and responsibilities ..................................................................................16

5 Action plan ........................................................................................................18

6 Evaluation and reporting ..................................................................................20

7 Next steps ..........................................................................................................21

8 Appendix ............................................................................................................22


1

Good engagement will help us adapt to meet the changing needs of our customers and stakeholders. It will allow us to understand our customers and how we can take account of their views to help improve our services. It will also ensure we select the right tools to communicate and engage with our customers so that they are listened to, so we provide information they can understand, and so that we continue to build long lasting and trusting relationships and partnerships.

Better engagement will lead to better business.

This plan outlines how we will engage with our customers and stakeholders on the development of our Business Plan and Regulatory Proposal. It outlines when we will engage with them, how we will consider their views and how and when we report back to them. It will help us produce a final regulatory proposal that is based on the long term interests of our customers.

Our Customer and Stakeholder Engagement Framework details the processes for how we embed and deliver better engagement throughout our business. This engagement plan will sit within that framework and it will be consistent with its core values, principles and our seven engagement pillars.

Our journeyEngagement on our 2014-19 Regulatory Proposal was guided by our Customer Engagement Strategy that was endorsed by our Executive Leadership Team in November 2013. As part of that regulatory proposal, we committed to review our engagement approach to help better embed the views and preferences of our customers and stakeholders in our decision making processes.

In 2015, we engaged external support to review our customer and stakeholder engagement activities to explore where they could be improved. The review was based on stakeholder interviews and a desktop analysis of best practice techniques used in other network businesses across Australia and the United Kingdom. There were five lessons learnt from this review:

• Effective engagement is led from the top.

• Effective engagement is embedded throughout an organisation.

• Consumer and stakeholder mapping is vital.

• Engagement mechanisms and information need to be varied and tailored.

• Transparent reporting leads to continuous improvement and builds the evidence base.

Introduction


Figure 1 outlines the key issues and the lessons learnt from this review.

This review helped inform our new Customer and Stakeholder Engagement Framework. This Framework has a focus on leading our stakeholder and customer engagement from the top, embedding better governance and structure over engagement activity, outcomes and reporting as well as empowering our employees to become engagement leads and working in cross divisional teams reporting to the General Managers. The core principle of the Framework is that better engagement leads to a better business.

Under this Framework dedicated engagement plans will be developed across key areas identified by our customers, stakeholders and our people. The initial focus areas include the framework and approach, new technology for remote generation including our response to climate change, our maintenance program and tariffs and pricing.

This document is our engagement plan for the preparation of our business plan and regulatory proposal. Over time, it too will develop and change and become embedded in the way we prepare and develop these two key documents.

How this plan fits with the framework, business plan and regulatory proposal is shown in Figure 2.

Our leadership team has endorsed this plan as a draft document to discuss with our stakeholders so it can be improved based on their feedback. Our Board has supported this approach, with an understanding that genuine engagement should be led from the top. This version of the plan has been updated based on the views of our stakeholders.

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understand needs

identify

troperand

review

strategy

Lesson 2: consumer and stakeholder mapping is vital

customers stakeholders partners

Lesson 3: engagement mechanisms and information need to be varied and tailored

Lesson 4: effective engagement is embedded throughout an organisation

forums + dialogue + research

engage Regulatory

proposal ASPs retailers

trees

tariffs

measure + report review lessons

Provides the framework for governance, .selpicnirp dna ytilibisnopser lanoitasinagro

It’s our approach to engagement

Lesson 1: effective engagement is led from the top

streetlights

Lesson 5: transparent reporting leads to continuous improvement and builds theevidence base

Figure 1 Key issues and lessons from our customer and stakeholder review


About the business planOur business plan is prepared each year under NSW Treasury guidelines for State Owned Corporations. It includes a summary of our strategic direction, key priority areas, business results as well as detailed financial accounts and reporting.

As part of the long term partial lease of Ausgrid, these requirements are likely to change. In response, we have renewed our business-planning approach to help redefine our place in the changing energy market. Our business plan will be built from the ground up with input from internal and external stakeholders. It will guide us over a 10 year period, but it will be reviewed and renewed each year.

It evaluates our role and services across our core business areas as well as opportunities in a decentralised market. It sets the direction for where we want to be as a business and identifies what we need to do to get there.

The six drivers for change identified in the vision are:

• Disruption of the energy value chain – a paradigm shift from capacity to flexibility.

• Energy consumption and economic development – from declining consumption to demand growth.

• Regulatory environment – a change from a control-based relationship to a cooperative relationship that delivers outcomes for customers.

• Customers and the community – from a supply-side focus to a demand-side focus.

• New technologies and systems – from a one-way to a two-way flow of energy.

• The new world of work – from a stable internal workforce to an agile ecosystem of internal and external collaborators.

We will focus on a number of inputs across our financial, operations, customer and people priority areas to help address these drivers for change.

Figure 2How the plans, strategies and proposals work together

Business plan

Strategic vision

Engagement plans

Consumer and stakeholder engagement framework

Regulatory proposal2019-24


About the 2019–24 Regulatory ProposalEvery five years, we must submit a funding proposal to the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) explaining our capital and operating plans and outlining the revenue we believe is needed to fund those plans. The AER then sets a cap on how much revenue we can collect from customers through electricity bills issued by retailers. The regulatory proposal now includes a tariff structure statement, which sets the long term tariff strategy that will guide the direction of annual pricing proposals that must be submitted to the AER each year.

The AER decides whether these prices comply with its five-year revenue determination, so that electricity networks can issue them to electricity retailers to include in customers’ bills.

Under the National Electricity Law we need to demonstrate how our regulatory proposal considers and reflects the long-term interests of customers and key stakeholders. In 2012 new rules also came into force that placed a stronger emphasis and focus on engagement with customers to understand their views and preferences. In response, the AER introduced its Consumer Engagement Guidelines for Network Service Providers as part of its Better Regulation program.

We need to submit our next regulatory proposal for the 2019-24 period to the AER by January 2018. This will be followed by a consultation phase coordinated by the AER before it makes a draft determination. We will then have the opportunity to submit a revised proposal before the AER makes a final determination mid-2019 for the 2019-24 period.

There are two key milestones that will occur prior to submission of the regulatory proposal to the AER:

• October 2016 – Ausgrid can submit a request to the AER to amend or replace the current conditions of the Framework and Approach. After receiving Ausgrid’s submission, the AER will commence a consultation process which is expected to conclude mid-2017.

• June 2017 – Submit our proposed forecast methodology for capital and operational expenditure.

How the business plan and regulatory proposal will work togetherWe want to form a stronger link between our management business plan and regulatory proposal. The management business plan will explain the strategic direction of the business based on the views of senior leaders and the Board.

The regulatory proposal will largely flow from the business plan, setting out how it influences our capital expenditure on the network (system capex) and capital expenditure on areas that support the network (non-system capex). It will also explain our operational funding requirements and the cost of funding our total expenditure.

We are now proposing, via our Engagement Framework and the systems we build to support the Framework, to directly embed the views and preferences of our customers into the preparation of these documents. Over time, as our engagement approach matures, these documents should become more connected and closely linked to the views and preferences of our customers and stakeholders.

The key, high level, timeframes for 2017/18 Business Plan and 2019/24 Regulatory Proposal are outlined in Figure 3. We will develop a more detailed plan with our stakeholders in the early phases of the engagement.

Figure 3 Business plan and regulatory proposal timeframes

This timeline represents our

key milestones leading the

submission of our 2019-24

regulatory submission.

Apr–Jun2016

Jul–Sept2016

Oct–Dec2016

Jan–Mar2017

Apr–Jun2017

Jul–Sept2017

Oct–Dec2017

June 2017PROPOSEDFORECASTMEASURES

2016/17BUSINESS

PLAN

CONSULTENGAGEMENT

PLANS

2017/18ELT

BUSINESSPLANNING

2017/18BUSINESS

PLAN

2019/24REGULATORYDIRECTIONS

PAPER

2019/24FINAL

REGULATORYPROPOSAL

Jan 18


Understanding our customers’ diverse needs and the various stakeholders and the interests they represent is an important step identified in our Customer and Stakeholder Engagement Framework. It maps out, at a high level, the main customer and stakeholder groups affected by, or with an interest in, our business.

Our Customer and Engagement Framework also details two separate projects that will provide greater insight into our customer and stakeholder characteristics and will inform our engagement plans. These include:

• Customer segmentation model – this model will help us understand the different groups that exist across our customer base and the differing characteristics that define who they are. It is based on a range of internal and external data. This segmentation model will provide greater insights into how and who we engage as a part of this plan.

• Stakeholder mapping and management plans – a database of our stakeholders is being built that will allow us to properly map their areas of interest and develop tailored management and engagement plans. This project will also allow us to understand which customer cohorts are represented by which stakeholder groups and ensure we are capturing their views and preferences as part of our engagement planning.

Table 1 provides an overview of groups that may be impacted more directly by our regulatory proposal. This table will be further expanded based on customer segmentation and stakeholder mapping work. Section 5 outlines how these stakeholders will be engaged using key engagement activities.

Stakeholder and customer groups

2


Stakeholder group Interest

Customers

Vulnerable customers

• Network electricity prices and Tariff Structure Statement.• Customer support, communication and information.• Reliability of the services provided including metering and overall

network reliability.

Agricultural/farming customers

• Network electricity hardship support and policies.• Customer support in rural areas.• Bushfire mitigation policies and plans.• Reliability of the services provided including metering and overall

network reliability particularly in rural areas.

Residential customers

• Network electricity prices.• Customer support and communication channels with

residential customers.• Planned capital and asset maintenance work including tree

trimming.• Reliability of the services provided including metering and


Small to medium customers and SME’s

• Network electricity prices.• Customer support and communication to business customers.• Planned capital and asset maintenance work that may interrupt

their customers business.• Reliability of the services provided including metering and overall


Large customers • Tarrif prices.• Connection process.• Network reliability.

New emerging customers

• Customers interested in new technologies and services such as electric vehicles and solar photovoltaic systems.

• Prices, tariffs and policies to support the emerging technologies and services.

Industry

Unions • Any possible impact to Ausgrid award conditions, safety, apprenticeships, training, graduate and cadetship positions as a result of the business and regulatory planning process.

Education groups • Any possible impact as a result of the business and regulatory planning process that could affect on how these institutions deliver training.

Industry and customer or consumer advocacy groups

• These groups have a variety of interests depending on their customer base including the customer interests above.

Energy Consumers Australia

• Responsible for representing the views and interest of small energy consumers as part of the regulatory process.

Table 1Stakeholder and customer groups and their interest in our business and regulatory planning process


2

Stakeholder group Interest

Retailers • Prices and their ability to communicate these to their customers.

• Network service reliability and interruptions.

• Metering.

• New and emerging technology.

Government

Local Councils • Electricity pricing including street lighting.

• Street lighting services.

• Tree trimming – consultation, impact, replanting.

Road and Maritime Services

• Street lighting services – installation maintenance.

• Street lighting price.

• Service reliability and interruption.

Sydney Trains • Any changes to the Ausgrid’s business that may result in service disruptions to trains.

Energy and Water Ombudsman NSW

• Any changes that may result in an increase of customer/consumer issues and hardship policies and processes.

Regulator

Consumer challenge panel

• All aspects of the regulatory proposals; including consumer engagement

Australian Energy Regulator

• Enforcing and monitoring compliance with the National Electricity Rules (NER).

• Economic regulation of electricity distribution and transmission networks.

Australian Energy Market Operator

• Responsible for operating the energy markets and systems and delivering planning advice in eastern and south-eastern Australia.

Australian Energy Market Commission

• The national body responsible for making rules in the National Energy Market.

NSW IPART • Responsible for technical regulation of Ausgrid, including safety and reliability standards.

Political

Local Members of Parliament

• Interested in any feedback or concerns from constituents as a result of Ausgrid’s business plan and regulatory proposal engagement process.

Minister for Industry, Resources and Energy – Anthony Roberts

• Responsible for proposing and instituting laws that govern the industry in NSW and proposing changes to national regulation via The Council of Australian Governments. The minister determines reliability and safety standards that must be adhered to as a requirement of Ausgrid’s license conditions to operate as a DNSP.



3

ObjectivesThis engagement plan guides how we deepen our understanding of customer and stakeholder views to help us build evidence for our regulatory proposal, including mechanisms to properly consider customer views and report on outcomes.

In addition, it will:

• Provide all stakeholders with an opportunity to meaningfully participate in the preparation of the business plan and regulatory proposal.

• Earn the respect of our stakeholders for our engagement processes.

• Align our business practices to the long term interests of consumers. Provide the foundation to make business improvements based on consumer views.

PrinciplesThe approach for this engagement plan is consistent with our Customer and Stakeholder Engagement Framework and the principles outlined in the Australian Energy Regulator’s Consumer Engagement Guidelines for Network Service Providers. That is, this engagement will aim to be:

• Clear, accurate and timely.

• Accessible and inclusive.

• Transparent.

• Measurable.

This plan demonstrates the application of these principles by:

• Describing the timing of appropriate communication and engagement tools to support the business planning and regulatory proposal – Section 4.

• Describing who our customers and stakeholders are, their interest in the business planning and regulatory proposal and how we will reach them – Sections 2 and 4.

• Articulating what the engagement is about, the timelines for engagement, how feedback will be used and outcomes communicated – Sections 1, 3 4 and 5.

• Outlining how the success (or otherwise) of the engagement will be measured by clearly outlining the objectives for the engagement (Section 3) and demonstrating how they will be measured (Section 6).

Engagement objectives and principles


4

About the approachWe have developed a cyclical approach to engaging on the business plan and regulatory proposal. This seeks to progressively obtain customers’ and stakeholders’ understanding, alignment and/or agreement on both documents as they develop from early planning to final output.

The engagement phases match the steps involved in the development of the business plan and regulatory proposal. The phases will engage customers and stakeholders on key topic areas using a mix of qualitative and quantitative research, deliberative engagement, online communications, community outreach, and ongoing stakeholder working groups.

Our initial list of engagement topics was derived from a stakeholder workshop held on 9 May 2016. These topics include:

• Our maintenance programs, particularly how they influence our capital and operating costs.

• Street lighting and tree trimming.

• Demand management program.

• Prices and tariff structures.

• Price trade offs for the level of service we provide.

• The cost of funding our debt (WACC).

• Submission to AER’s Framework and Approach.

This list will be further developed and refined with our stakeholders through the engagement and research processes. Topic papers are being prepared based on this initial list.

A gateway process has also been incorporated to ensure that decisions, outcomes and actions from each engagement phase are fully considered before moving to the next phase. Each gateway will be marked by a reporting phase that will be used to ensure feedback is heard and considered by the Executive Leadership Team (ELT), incorporated into the next phase of engagement, or allocated within the organisation for action. The reporting phase will also help to refine the engagement process and design activities for subsequent engagement phases.

Figure 4 provides a high level overview of our proposed engagement phases, streams and reporting processes. This is supported by the action plan detailed in Section 5. Both the overview and action plan will be refined and developed further in the early phases of our engagement with our stakeholders.

Engagement approach

April –June2016

July –September

2016

October –December

2016

January –March2017

April –June2017

July –September

2017

October –December

2017

Preparation Testing the topicsEXECUTIVE

LEADERSHIPTEAM REVIEW

EXECUTIVELEADERSHIP

TEAM

EXECUTIVELEADERSHIP

TEAMScope the proposal Finalise the proposal

• Research brief/engage researchcompany

Research Research Research

• Topic papers• Stakeholder meetings

Stakeholderengagement



• Web content• Social media plan

Widerengagement

Widerengagement

Wider engagement

TOPIC SPECIFIC WORKING GROUPS (as required)

Outcomereport

Actions to business Actions to business Actions to business

Outcomereport

Outcomereport

For furtherdiscussion

2016/17

BUSINESSPLAN

CONSULTENGAGEMENT

PLANS

2017/18

ELTBUSINESS

PLANNING

2017/18

BUSINESSPLAN

2019/24

REGULATORYDIRECTIONS

PAPER

June 2017

PROPOSEDFORECASTMEASURES

2019/24

FINAL REGULATORY

PROPOSAL

Jan 18

Figure 4 High level engagement phases, approaches and key project milestones


4

Engagement phases

Preparation (March to July 2016)

Engagement will begin with an intense period of planning that will take place between the endorsement of the engagement plan by the ELT at the end of March 2016 and the finalisation of the 2016-17 Business Plan in June 2016. The phase will focus on the following:

• Seeking feedback on the engagement approach from stakeholders and making any resulting amendments to the documents and planned engagement activities. This step has the support of Ausgrid’s Board.

• Finalising stakeholder mapping and customer segmentation activities to provide clarity on who will be engaged through this process.

• Briefing and engaging a research provider to help Ausgrid reach customers and consumers during each engagement phase.

• Developing material to support the engagement in particular, topic papers and briefings on broad areas such as system and non-system capital expenditure, operational expenditure, pricing and tariffs to help form a tariff structure statement and weighted average cost of capital.

• Finalising online and digital resources to support engagement.

• Making preparations to begin our engagement.

Test the topics (August to December 2016)

This phase will seek customer and stakeholder feedback on key themes and topics to be considered in the business plan and regulatory proposal. The initial topics will be based on those identified in the 9 May workshop and outlined on page 13. Stakeholders will be given the opportunity to engage on topics of interest. However in general they will mirror the main components of the regulatory proposal.

Given the complexity of some of these issues, we will need to spend time developing appropriate material and working with representative groups to build the capacity of customers to engage. We will begin to seek views on what customers expect to see in core areas of business such as network performance and investment, metering, pricing, street lighting and connections.

The 2016-17 Business Plan will have been endorsed by this point. However, its format is well suited to engagement in that it outlines aspirational initiatives and goals for Ausgrid to become a modern energy provider. The 2016-17 Business Plan will therefore be treated as a ‘discussion paper’ for the purposes of this engagement phase. Feedback on this document will be gathered and considered for planning and refinement of the 2017/18 business plan.

Scope the proposal (January to June 2017)

This phase will build upon the outputs of the first phase to show how customer views are beginning to shape the regulatory proposal and the 2017/2018 Business Plan.

The draft regulatory proposal will start to take shape by about mid-2017. Given these milestones, this engagement phase will be crucial in ensuring that the content of both the plan and the proposal is being further tested with customers and stakeholders and refined and shaped on the basis of feedback. This will be achieved by releasing and engaging on a directions paper that will outline the intended scope, intent and key components of our 2019-24 Regulatory Proposal.

Finalise the proposal (July to December 2017)

This phase will focus on final feedback on the detail of our regulatory proposal prior to it being submitted to the AER in January 2018. Engagement will focus on demonstrating how feedback is influencing and shaping the submission, where it didn’t and the reasons why.


Submission to AER

Once our proposal is submitted to the AER our customers, stakeholder and the community will have an opportunity to provide feedback on our proposal through an AER led engagement process. We will seek to participate in this process and use it as another opportunity to listen and engage on our proposal. Once the AER makes its draft determination on our proposal we will then have an opportunity to submit a revised regulatory proposal that can take account of the views of our stakeholders and customers. This process is expected to take place over a 12 month period.

Engagement streamsAll of the phases above will be delivered through three key engagement streams designed to provide multiple channels to reach our customer and stakeholder base. Activities in each stream will need to be planned and refined depending on the engagement phase.

Research

Qualitative (e.g. focus groups and deliberative forums) and quantitative (e.g. online/telephone survey) research will provide an important means of reaching the broad consumer base. Research will build upon our initial customer segmentation to ensure that representative groups of consumers and customers are targeted in each phase of engagement.

Research will be used to initially test issues and topics as part of the engagement phases. We will recruit a research partner to work on a research program to support this engagement plan. The research plan will be made publicly available.

Stakeholder engagement

Deliberative engagement techniques provide stakeholders and communities with information and discussion opportunities to allow them to make considered input on a complex issue. Deliberative engagement is usually delivered through face to face forums, workshops and meetings.

We will hold deliberative forums for our key customer and stakeholder groups. Our research partner will help design and deliver these forums.

In addition, we will hold one-on-one meetings with key stakeholders during each engagement phase to bolster the forums and provide an opportunity to explore issues offline in more detail.

For phase 1 Test the Topics, we will provide the information required for stakeholders to be able to discuss and provide feedback on key topics and issues. Where required, communication materials and techniques that will be adapted for different needs, including culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities. Translating services may also be required. This requirement will be determined through our stakeholder mapping exercise and during the engagement preparation phase.

The forums will be conducted at either an area level (e.g. Sydney North, East, South, West and Central Coast, Lower and Upper Hunter) where customer and stakeholder issues fit a particular geography; or at a stakeholder issues level (e.g. welfare customers and large business customers). As an example, we could have multiple forum groups as outlined below:

• Stakeholder forums for groups highly engaged with the regulatory process.

• Stakeholder forums based on Local Government Areas for councils and other local and regional stakeholders.

• Large customer forums – one to two depending on the number of customers and their locations.

• Residential customer forums for residential groups or individuals to engage. These may be split based on regional or rural interests.

• Retailer workshop – for representatives of electricity retailers within Ausgrid’s area of operation.


4Wider engagement

This will initially be through digital content or traditional media. Towards the end of the engagement period it may be necessary to widen the reach of this engagement stream through information sessions in key areas.

The aim of this stream is to allow the wider public and our customers to get involved in the discussion and understand the issues and topics being discussed at each phase. The content for this stream will mirror the information discussed at each phase but will be modified to suit the information channel and audience.

It will also ensure that key stakeholders who may not attend the forums are aware of the engagement activities (e.g Local Members of Parliament). Keeping these stakeholders updated will occur through letters and briefings as required.

Working groups

As well as these three engagement streams there is an option of breaking out specific topics into dedicated working groups. The topics for these groups are likely to be on-going issues or cannot be resolved in the forums. For example: engaging with CALD groups or street lighting.

Reporting

At the end of each phase, an engagement outcomes report will be prepared that clearly documents the engagement activities undertaken, stakeholders involved, issues and views raised, areas of alignment, and areas where agreement was not reached. It will also include our response to issues arising from the engagement, and intended actions.

The report will be written in plain English, laid out in a way that aids understanding, sent to everyone who took part in an engagement event, and will be published on Ausgrid’s website. We are also exploring the option and interest for stakeholders to review significant out comes report through lessons learnt presentations or forums.

The outcomes report will be used to engage with our leadership team on outcomes from the engagement process. This will include how to progress issues and which issues should be dealt with in subsequent phases of the regulatory engagement or in another area of the business (i.e. taken out of this process).

Actions identified in the report will be allocated to individuals for follow-up. Progress against these actions will be reported on during subsequent phases of engagement.

Finally, the report will be used to prepare for the next phase of engagement by identifying issues for further discussion, and engagement mechanisms and materials that will need to be included.

Roles and responsibilitiesUnderstanding the roles and responsibilities within Ausgrid to deliver this plan will be important to ensure that the plan is adequately supported and resourced within the business. Table 2 describes the key internal roles and responsibilities for this plan.


Role Responsibilities

Board • Oversight of plan.

• Oversight of engagement processes and systems to ensure consumer and stakeholder views are being considered.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

• Lead the engagement with key stakeholders.

• Lead and champion engagement process with General Managers and senior leaders.

Ausgrid’s Executive Leadership Team (ELT)

• Overall responsibility for the implementation and reporting of all customer and stakeholder engagement, including this plan.

• Allocate outcomes and actions from phases of engagement.

• Ensure key staff are involved in engagement and delivering engagement material.

Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

• The CFO is responsible for the regulatory and pricing team. The CFO will therefore be the owner of the engagement plan and will report on outcomes and activity to the ELT.

Manager Strategy and Reporting

• Accountable for development of business plan and ensuring engagement process and outcomes are embedded in the document. This manager will also be supported by the General Manager Asset Management and Customer and Corporate Services who have responsiblity for capex and non-capex.

Regulatory Planning team

• Supporting the customer engagement lead/manager with information required to develop communication material and organise key engagement events.

• Review of communication material for technical consistency.

• Attendance at key engagement activities (as required).

Customer Engagement Manager

• Responsible for supporting delivery of the engagement plan including implementing action plans, developing communication material, organising and attending events, monitoring project feedback channels and escalating issues.

Table 2Internal roles and responsibilities


5

Figure to come

Action Plan

Table 3Key engagement mechanisms per engagement plan

Activities

Mar

16

Apr

16

May

16

Jun

16

Jul 1

6

Aug

16

Sep

16

Oct

16

Nov

16

Dec

16

Engagement preparation – March to June 2016

Engagement approvals

Board presentation – approval on engagement approach

Engagement on the plan

Plan and framework documents uploaded to Ausgrid’s website and sent to key stakeholders

Forum with key stakeholders on the engagement plan and framework

Key stakeholder meetings as required

Consolidate comments and report back to key stakeholders

Plan and framework endorsed by key stakeholders

Research preparation

Develop research brief

Engage/brief research provider

Review research proposal

Support planning for research implementation including supplying information for research materials

Stakeholder engagement preparation

Complete stakeholder mapping

Develop customer/stakeholder database

Organise forum logistics – where, when, how

Draft forum material including topic papers

Draft invites

Wider engagement preparation

Develop media and social media plan

Develop web material/interactive web page

Draft key stakeholder/customer letters

Testing the topics – July to September 2016

Research

Qualitative research (e.g. focus groups)

Quantitative research (e.g. surveys)


Local Government forums (e.g. up to five depending on regions)

Large customer forums (one to two)

Residential customer forums (e.g. up to five depending on regions)

Rural forums (dependent on industry groups)

Retailer forums (one)

Low income/welfare customer forums (dependant on customer advocacy groups)

Other (determined by stakeholder mapping)

Wider engagement

Web page goes live

Discussion topics launched

Letters sent to customer stakeholders

Media/social media plan implemented

Engagement preparation – October to December 2016

Engagement/approvals

Develop the engagement outcomes report

Brief ELT on engagement report and actions

Seek ELT approval for the next round of engagement


Brief research provider on scope of engagement phase

Support planning for research implementation


Organise/confirm forum logistics – where, when, how

Draft forum material to support new topics

Draft invites


Prepare web/social media material to support other engagement streams

Mar–Jun 2016

Jul–Sept 2016

Oct–Dec 2016

Completed activities Planned activities


Action Plan Activities

Jan

17

Feb

17

Mar

17

Apr

17

May

17

Jun

17

Jul 1

7

Aug

17

Sep

17

Oct

17

Nov

17

Dec

17

Jan

18

Scoping the proposal – January to March 2017

Research


Quantitative research (e.g. survey)


Local Government forums (group continued from previous forum)

Large customer forums (group continued from previous forum)

Residential customer forums (group continued from previous forum)

Agricultural/farming forums (group continued from previous forum)

Retailer forums (group continued from previous forum)

Low income/welfare customer forums (group continued from previous forum)

Other (as required)

Wider engagement

Update webpage

New discussion topics launched to support the engagement phase

Letters sent to customer and stakeholder to update them on the engagement


Engagement preparation – April to June 2017

Engagement/approvals


Brief ELT on engagement report and actions from the previous engagement phase

Seek ELT approval for the next round of engagement

Develop and seek ELT approval on directions paper


Brief research provider

Support planning for research implementation


Organise/confirm forum logistics – where, when, how

Draft forum material to support new topics

Draft invites


Prepare web/social media material to support other engagement streams

Organise logistics for information sessions/kiosks (if applicable

Finalising the proposal (directions paper) – July to September 2017


Update web page with directions paper

Discussion topics launched on directions paper


Information sessions (where applicable)

Research


Quantitative research (e.g. surveys)


Customer and stakeholder forums (as required)

Retailer forums (group continued from previous forum)

Other (as required)

Thank you letters to everyone involved in the engagement with a link to a survey for feedback on the process

Internal proposal preparation – October to December2017


Seek ELT approval on the final 2019-24 proposal

Submission to the AER – January 2018

2019/24 regulatory proposal submitted to AER – January 2018

AER engagement on 2019/24 regulatory proposal

Jan–Mar 2017

Apr–May 2017

Jun–Sept 2017

Jan 2018

Oct–Dec 2017

Completed activities Planned activities


6

Evaluation and reporting is important to enable continuous improvement of engagement practices and to demonstrate how the objectives of the engagement have been met. Table 4 outlines key performance indicators (KPIs) for this engagement period and methods for evaluating performance against the KPIs and reporting the results.

Evaluation and reporting

Key Performance Indicator Evaluation method Reported

Stakeholders say that they were meaningfully engaged and their views considered and in cases incorporated as part of the development of our 2017-18 Business Plan and 2019-24 Regulatory Proposal.

• Final survey of everyone involved in the process.

• Feedback from participant surveys after workshops, information sessions, presentation.

• Internal and external lessons learnt sessions where appropriate.

• Qualitative feedback from participants during the engagement process.

• Annual engagement report.

• Ausgrid’s regulatory proposal to AER.

• Customer and stakeholder section 2017-18 Business Plan.

Feedback from stakeholders demonstrates respect for the engagement process.

• Final survey of everyone involved in the process.

• Feedback from participant surveys after workshops, information sessions, presentation.

• Qualitative feedback from participants during the engagement process.

• Annual engagement report.

• Ausgrid’s 2019–24 Regulatory Proposal to AER.

• Customer and stakeholder section of the 2017–18 Business Plan.

Consumer Challenge Panel consider our proposal meets the AER consumer engagement guidelines.

• Feedback from Consumer Challenge Panel during AER consultation phase.

• Consumer Challenge Panel submission on our regulatory proposal.

• AER determination.

Table 4Key performance measures, evaluation and reporting mechanisms


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Next steps

This plan outlines how we will engage with our customers and stakeholders on the development of our business plan and regulatory proposal. It provides a foundation for genuine and lasting improvements to our engagement with stakeholders and customers. Its core assumption is that better engagement leads to better business.

With the support of our leadership team and the Board, this document has been updated and improved based on feedback garnered through a workshop held with our stakeholders on 9 May 2016. It will continue to be refined and updated as we progress through the engagement on our business plan and regulatory proposal.

Our engagement improves with the help of customer and stakeholder feedback. We appreciate their time and commitment as part of this process.

How to provide feedback

We welcome your comments and suggestions about this plan. You can email us at [email protected] or phone us on 02 9269 2469.


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Ausgrid’s customer and stakeholder engagement plan for our Business Plan and Regulatory Proposal – changes made to March 2016 version

The following changes have been made as a result of feedback from our stakeholders before, after and during a workshop held on 9 May 2016. The outcomes report for this workshop can be found at: www.ausgrid.com.au/workshop

Appendix

Themes Change Page numbers

Engagement topics • Engagement topics identified at the 9 May workshop has been included. It is also noted that this list will be further developed with the input of our stakeholders.

13

Engagement practices

• Added that our detailed action plan will be further developed with the input of our stakeholders.

• Changed the forum stream to stakeholder engagement to better reflect that this engagement will involve more engagement techniques than just forums. It will focus on our stakeholders that speak on behalf of our customers.

• We have committed to making our research program publicly available.

• We outlined that we are looking to involve our stakeholder in lessons learnt sessions.

7, 13, 15, 16

Feedback informs decisions

• Changed introduction and conclusion to advise readers that the plan has been updated to reflect the feedback from stakeholders at a workshop held on 9 May as well as comments received prior to and after the workshop.

• Showed what actions have been completed to date in our actions table Section 5.

5, 18, 21

Other • Moved Energy Consumers Australia from the regulator heading to the industry heading in Table 1.

9

Table 5Changes made to March 2016 version of our Business Plan and Regulatory Proposal


Documents

Customer and Stakeholder engagement plan · 2018-03-22 · Customer and Stakeholder engagement plan for our Business Plan and Regulatory Proposal June 2016 5 Figure 1 outlines the