CASE STUDY: THE TALE OF TWO ENERGY SECTOR CUSTOMER PANELS

CASE STUDY: Two voice of the customer panels

 

SNAPSHOT 

Processes: Ergon Energy Network & Energex - Voice of the Customer Panels

MosaicLab’s role: Designed and delivered two Voice of the Customer Panels

Host organisations: Ergon Energy Network and Energex (part of the Energy Queensland group)

Timeframe: 2023 - 2024

Deliberative panel participants: 35 Energex and 36 Ergon Energy Network

Outputs: Each panel presented a report to key Executives and the Chair of the Energy Queensland Board.

 
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THE DILEMMA (REMIT)

How should we plan for the new energy future while providing affordable services that meet changing customer and community needs?
Our engagement efforts have turned customer and stakeholder insights into actionable strategies that have helped to shape our regulatory proposals as well as guide our future business direction.

This open dialogue with our customers is crucial, not just from a regulatory perspective, but for aligning our business operations with customer needs for the next five years and beyond.

It ensures affordability and inclusivity for everyone in the energy transition, and importantly fosters trust across our customer base, which in turn grants us the social license to operate.
— Michael Dart | Chief Customer Officer, Energy Queensland

OVERVIEW

Two representative ‘Voice of the Customer’ (VOC) panels in Queensland deliberated and agreed on recommendations that electricity distributors Ergon Energy Network and Energex used to prepare Regulatory Proposals for the Australian Energy Regulator (AER).  

MosaicLab partnered with Energy Queensland and worked closely with both organisations to codesign and facilitate each process.

The process was interesting and kept all the panellist involved.
Everybody had a chance to have their say.
— Ergon Energy Network VOCP panellist
Photo of a group of people talking during the engagement process
Photo of a group of people talking during the engagement process
Photo of a group of people talking during the engagement process
I liked the diversity of panel members and the wealth of knowledge gained from the speakers.
— Ergon Energy Network VOCP panellist
Hearing about other peoples’ lives and how they use their energy has opened my eyes to seeing things through more than just my own lens.
— Energex VOCP panellist
 

FAST FACTS

Energex Voice of the Customer Panel

  • 35 deliberative participants

  • 1152 collective participant hours in deliberation

  • 5.5 full days in session

  • 17 speakers giving ‘evidence’ to the panel including 10 external experts  

  • 225% growth in the # of participants confident their input would have influence

  • 90% of participants felt the process was collaborative, genuine and worthwhile

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Ergon Energy Network Voice of the Customer Panel

  • 36 deliberative participants

  • 1233 collective participant hours in deliberation  

  • 5.5 full days in session  

  • 16 speakers giving ‘evidence’ to the panel including 10 external experts

  • 162% growth in the number of participants who believe Ergon Energy Network is trustworthy and accountable. 

  • 300% growth in the number of participants who intend to be involved in civic affairs in future. 

 
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KEY CHALLENGES 

Ergon Energy Network and Energex manage the electricity distribution infrastructure across Queensland for more than 760,000 and 1.6 million homes and businesses respectively. Each engagement approach needed to: 

  • involve a representative cohort of participants from across broad service areas 

  • include people from diverse background, including ‘quieter voices’  

  • enable participants to grapple with complex and technical information 

  • engage people around both network tariffs and customer service levels 

  • provide clear outputs that could be reflected in solutions proposed to the AER. 

With support from MosaicLab,  we’ve adopted new engagement methods and techniques which has allowed us to better connect with our customers and stakeholders. 

The process through which we engage is important in ensuring that customers and stakeholders feel empowered to participate fully and meaningfully, and in ensuring that we obtain the insights required to inform decision making.  

The engagement process we adopted for our Regulatory Proposals has helped us better understand and respond to our customers’ preferences. Importantly, it has helped build more effective customer and stakeholder relationships.
— Kenny Mizzi | Manager, Customer Advocacy, Energy Queensland
 
Photo of a group of people interacting with people online during the engagement process
Photo of a small group talking during the engagement process

THE TWO PROCESSES  

Ergon Energy Network and Energex both undertook extensive wider engagement activities that informed deliberations, including customer conversations, stakeholder forums, focus groups and more.  

MosaicLab also facilitated two lived experience perspective workshops and conducted four stakeholder interviews for each process, engaging with more than 120 customers across the two networks. These sessions involved voices often less heard such as seniors, young people, small businesses, people with low income, and CALD customers. Participants also provided suggestions for panel speakers and information inputs.  

Both deliberative panels were independently and randomly selected and made up of  broadly representative customers (based on key demographics) from across each respective network area.  

Each panel met for 4.5 full day sessions. The groups considered options and ideas, heard from speakers and considered a broad range of information before agreeing on a set of final recommendations.  

Both panels were recalled for one further day. Each panel learned how their recommendations had been reflected in the draft Regulatory Proposals submission, and panel members provided comfort levels around how their recommendations had been incorporated. 

 
While the regulatory process can sometimes be difficult to understand, through direct engagement with customers, we’ve been able to capture diverse viewpoints from across our customer base. It has enriched our understanding of what matters most to our customers for the upcoming regulatory period.

These insights are crucial for crafting Regulatory Proposals that are reflective of the needs and preferences of Queensland customers.
— Trudy Fraser | Executive General Manager Regulation, Energy Queensland
 

OUTCOMES

Each panel presented a report to key Executives and the Chair of the Energy Queensland Board. Both Ergon Energy Network and Energex committed to using the recommendations made by the panels to the maximum extent possible when developing their final Regulatory Proposals, which were submitted to the AER in January 2024. 

 
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