We have been engaging closely with residential customers through our Customer Forums and People’s Panel. We have also sought to work closely with businesses, other large users and energy partners through our Future Network Forum, Small Business feedback and surveys, Large users and Generator Forums and Retailer Forums.
Customer focus groups Retailers forum Future networks forum People's panel Other customer engagement reports
Customer focus groups
Focus groups were held in Alice Springs and Darwin in August 2021 across four dedicated sessions. Sessions established a baseline of customer experience and expectations.
The focus groups included representation from:
- NT residential customers
- low social economic customers
- life support customers
- Indigenous and English as second language customers
- solar customers
- urban and rural customers
- advocate service supporting customers
- senior/pension customers
Retailers forum
The forum provides an opportunity for Retailers to engage with Power and Water on key challenges and the structure of its network tariffs.
This includes hearing from retailers:
- How the challenges will impact retailers and;
- Understand the retailers view on the future of the network.
The first Retailer Pricing Forum took place online on Tuesday 9 November 2021.
Future networks forum
The session was held as part of early engagement on the 2024-2029 AER Regulatory Proposal. The purpose of the event was to discuss opportunities of transitioning to a renewable energy future.
In particular, we sought feedback and insights from stakeholders on:
- The role Power and Water plays in supporting the achievement of NT Government’s 50% renewable energy target by 2030.
- Network capabilities required to support this transition.
- Initiatives to help Power and Water bridge identified gaps in its existing capabilities.
- Overview of Power and Water and the Changing Energy Landscape
- The Darwin-Katherine Electricity System Plan
- The Future Network Pathways
- The Electric Vehicle Strategy and Implementation Plan
- The Future Energy Readiness Plan
People's Panel
A People’s Panel is intended to allow for customers to consider issues in-depth. It is a valuable way of collaborating with the community in the development of the our future network plans as it provides direct, actionable insights into the priorities of customers for Power and Water to incorporate in its forward planning.
Participants on Power and Water’s Darwin and Alice Springs People Panel were randomly selected residential customers to simulate a ‘mini-public’ representative of Power and Water’s broader customer cohort.
The panels:
We have held six People's Panel since November 2021, capturing issue, ideas and feedback on our proposed plans for the 2024-2029 regulatory period:
- People’s Panel Summary Report – November 2021
- People’s Panel Summary Report – March/April 2022
- People’s Panel Outcomes and Decisions – August 2022
- People’s Panel Outcomes and Decisions – May 2023
- People’s Panel Outcomes and Decisions – August 2023
- People’s Panel Outcomes and Decisions – October 2023
The findings and feedback from these sessions have been consolidated into reports linked below.
Other Customer engagement reports
Other important documents and reports on engagement and Power and Water networks for the 2024-2029 Regulatory Proposal