Indigenous Engagement Workshop

As part of our Regulatory Reset Proposal Engagement for 2025-2030, we engaged with our Indigenous customers and community to hold discussions about their access to, current needs, and future priorities for electricity.

In preparation for the workshop, a scoping discussion was held with Gina Rings, Artistic Director, Tjarutja-Dance Theatre Collective to ensure that our methodology was appropriate and accessible and that the community's expectations for the session were understood and the focus group was designed accordingly.

SA Power Networks worked with Gina Rings to identify specific community needs for this workshop. Gina recommended that we use Zoom as it would be most accessible for all and particularly accessible for those that attended from regional areas. Gina also assisted with the promotion and confirmation of community participants.

The session began with an acknowledgement of the traditional custodians of the land on which the focus group was held, an introduction to who was in the room, their roles and overall purpose of the session.

Who did we engage?

Seven Aboriginal people attended the workshop, facilitated independently by Dana Shen from DS Consultancy. The workshop was held on 26 April 2022 via the online tool Zoom as it made participation accessible for those that attended the session from regional areas.

SA Power Networks was represented by Dan Popping, Alex Lewis, and Kylie Kerrigan.

What we engaged on

The workshop began with an acknowledgment of the traditional custodians of the land on which the focus group was held, followed by an introduction to who was in the room, their roles, and the overall purpose of the session.

Participants were provided with a background on the role SA Power Networks plays within the electricity network operations. This was followed by a general discussion with the participants about their experience and expectations as a user of electricity to prompt dialogue about what's important to them, their concerns, or any barriers they experience in accessing electricity.

They were then taken through the four key themes for our Regulatory Reset Proposal, followed by in-depth discussions around those themes to determine key priorities.

What were our key learnings?

The key learnings that emerged from our engagement with the community included:

• The participants emphasised that there needs to be more education on the electricity system with a particular focus on how electricity bills are configured and how families can be more energy sufficient in their electric use. Given the high risk of debt and financial pressure on families, participants suggested that an app to support energy management would be very advantageous.
• Importance of renewable energy was highlighted, with participants bringing to our notice the high initial finance costs of solar and how challenging it can be for some families to afford.
• Investing in future engagement with Aboriginal communities was recommended for SA Power Networks to welcome broader family members in understanding energy use and management further.
• Participants also provided feedback on the importance of good customer service, talking about the stress of calling retailers to discuss bill payments and the need for customer service to be more user-friendly.

Read a detailed report of our Indigenous Engagement Workshop to find out our key learnings from the session.

A brief Engagement Infographic Summary for our Indigenous Engagement Workshop highlights our key learnings from the session and feedback on our engagement process.