Upper North - Whyalla Engagement Workshop

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As part of our Regulatory Reset Proposal Engagement for the 2025-2030 period, we engaged with our regional stakeholders across the state to discuss their access to, current needs and future priorities for electricity.

To speak with our customers in the Upper North, we held an in-person workshop at Whyalla on 30 May 2022. The workshop was planned for an all-day engagement session, breaking for morning tea and lunch.

Mel Lambert from ThinkHuman facilitated the workshop with the Executive Leadership Team and Stakeholder Engagement Team members, representing SA Power Networks.

Who did we engage?

Twenty-two members of the greater Upper North region attended the workshop, including residential and business customers along with industry representatives. SA Power Networks’ depot staff from the region were also in attendance along with representatives from the local councils. Several of the local residential customers were renters.

Michael Leane and Peter Scott from our Community Advisory Board (CAB) were also present at the workshop.

SA Power Networks was represented at the workshop by Mark Vincent, Doug Schmidt, Jess Vonthethoff, Bryn Williams, Dan Popping, and Alex Lewis.



What did we engage on?

Participants at the workshop were provided with a background about the role SA Power Networks plays within the operations of the electricity network. To understand SA Power Networks’ role in the distribution of electricity, click here to download a copy of the presentation from our Upper North workshop.

This was followed by an in-depth presentation by the Executive Leadership Team on the four major themes of our Regulatory Proposal. The themes are:

To learn more about our four themes, click here to view a copy of the presentation from our workshop. A panel discussion with the members of the community and key stakeholders was held next, with the key speakers answering questions from the participants about the current issues affecting the region.

After lunch, the participants were broken into four smaller groups, brainstorming community-led ideas around the four themes, and discussing possible activities, projects, and investments for the future electricity grid in the region. Customers were also invited to prioritise their suggested levels of investment from each of the four themes, ranging from basic, compliant, and new value.

Reliability was a strong message from the local participants, with consistent supply and upgrading of infrastructure as required to maintain reliability. Affordability was also a factor to be kept at the forefront of the region. There was a strong call for advocacy, education and sharing of energy in the region, with a focus on solar panels/batteries for all, including renters and SA Housing Trust tenants. Communication and accessibility were also seen as important, with people wanting to feel confident that any issues that get reported are seen and responded to in a quick timeframe. Due to the location of the GFG Liberty Steel, participants wanted to see their energy input/output focused on renewables.

Workshop Reports

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

To know what our participants thought about our engagement session, read our Participation Evaluation Report.

Click here to access our Engagement Infographic Summary for a quick overview of our session, documenting who we engaged with and what our key findings were.

As part of our Regulatory Reset Proposal Engagement for the 2025-2030 period, we engaged with our regional stakeholders across the state to discuss their access to, current needs and future priorities for electricity.

To speak with our customers in the Upper North, we held an in-person workshop at Whyalla on 30 May 2022. The workshop was planned for an all-day engagement session, breaking for morning tea and lunch.

Mel Lambert from ThinkHuman facilitated the workshop with the Executive Leadership Team and Stakeholder Engagement Team members, representing SA Power Networks.

Who did we engage?

Twenty-two members of the greater Upper North region attended the workshop, including residential and business customers along with industry representatives. SA Power Networks’ depot staff from the region were also in attendance along with representatives from the local councils. Several of the local residential customers were renters.

Michael Leane and Peter Scott from our Community Advisory Board (CAB) were also present at the workshop.

SA Power Networks was represented at the workshop by Mark Vincent, Doug Schmidt, Jess Vonthethoff, Bryn Williams, Dan Popping, and Alex Lewis.



What did we engage on?

Participants at the workshop were provided with a background about the role SA Power Networks plays within the operations of the electricity network. To understand SA Power Networks’ role in the distribution of electricity, click here to download a copy of the presentation from our Upper North workshop.

This was followed by an in-depth presentation by the Executive Leadership Team on the four major themes of our Regulatory Proposal. The themes are:

To learn more about our four themes, click here to view a copy of the presentation from our workshop. A panel discussion with the members of the community and key stakeholders was held next, with the key speakers answering questions from the participants about the current issues affecting the region.

After lunch, the participants were broken into four smaller groups, brainstorming community-led ideas around the four themes, and discussing possible activities, projects, and investments for the future electricity grid in the region. Customers were also invited to prioritise their suggested levels of investment from each of the four themes, ranging from basic, compliant, and new value.

Reliability was a strong message from the local participants, with consistent supply and upgrading of infrastructure as required to maintain reliability. Affordability was also a factor to be kept at the forefront of the region. There was a strong call for advocacy, education and sharing of energy in the region, with a focus on solar panels/batteries for all, including renters and SA Housing Trust tenants. Communication and accessibility were also seen as important, with people wanting to feel confident that any issues that get reported are seen and responded to in a quick timeframe. Due to the location of the GFG Liberty Steel, participants wanted to see their energy input/output focused on renewables.

Workshop Reports

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

To know what our participants thought about our engagement session, read our Participation Evaluation Report.

Click here to access our Engagement Infographic Summary for a quick overview of our session, documenting who we engaged with and what our key findings were.

Page last updated: 12 Jul 2022, 01:49 PM