Phase 2 - In-Depth Engagement

That way we can make sure we can contact you when we need to.

At SA Power Networks, we have many ways of communicating with our customers and many ways our customers can contact us when they need to.

Just one way we stay in touch is through Power@MyPlace - a free message service which sends customers an SMS or email update:

• when we become aware of a power outage in your suburb
• when restoration of power is likely to occur
• when supply is restored

How would you like to communicate with us when you need to?

Let us know by taking our quick poll.

Register for Power@MyPlace.

At SA Power Networks we are just one link in the energy supply chain. There are many organisations and people working together to make sure you have power at home or to run your business.

These organisations:

• generate electricity (coal, gas, wind and large-scale solar);
• operate the transmission network, which carries electricity long distances at very high voltages;
• deliver it locally via substations, poles and wires (our role as distributor); and
• your retailer sources electricity from generators and manages your bill.

With about 10 customers per kilometre of line, South Australia has the lowest ratio of customers to electricity assets of any State.

With a big State to supply, 70% of our poles, wires and substations are used to get electricity to the 30% of our customers who live outside Adelaide.

To ensure fairness, we have postage stamp pricing – which means our rural and remote customers pay the same for energy as our metro customers.

No prizes for getting it right, but we hope it’s got you thinking!

We’re a big business. We distribute electricity using:

• 400 zone substations
• 73,000 street transformers
• 200,000 km of wires
• and to answer the quick quiz - 720,000 Stobie poles.

On average 26% of a residential customer bill is for SA Power Networks’ distribution charge.

The rest of the bill is for things like the feed in tariff for customers with solar panels, transmission charges and GST. The biggest portion of your residential bill – about 50% – covers electricity generation and retail costs.

Residents, business owners, farmers, local government and other representatives from the Mount Lofty Ranges attended an SA Power Networks’ customer engagement workshop to share their views on issues that are important them.

Reliability for all customers, restoring power when outages occur, vegetation management and managing bushfire risk were topics of importance for the group. Other messages conveyed include the need for SA Power Networks to improve network reliability and plan for the future.

‘The day was made accessible to the lay person. It was really good,’ workshop participant.

Go here to see photos of Directions Workshops delivered across the State during August 2017.

August has been a busy month for us so far!

A small team of people from SA Power Networks, comprising General Managers, local depot managers, and subject matter experts, have been travelling around key regional locations meeting with local residents and businesses, and collecting feedback on topics that are important to them.

To date, we have visited:

• Renmark – 3 August
• Port Augusta – 4 August
• Mount Gamier – 8 August
• Port Lincoln – 11 August

There are more workshops coming up in the Adelaide metro area and Mt Lofty Ranges. Feedback will help us craft early directions for our Regulatory Reset proposal.