Renter's Engagement Workshop

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As part of our Regulatory Reset Proposal for the 2025-2030 period, we engaged with renters, discussing their access to, current needs and future priorities for electricity. To engage with our rental customers, we conducted an online workshop on 19th May 2022 via Zoom.

To prepare for the workshop, scoping discussions with held with Carie Dawes, Manager, Tenancy Services at Rent Right (SYC) to ensure our methodology was appropriate and accessible and that the community's expectations for the session were understood and the focus group was designed accordingly.

Who did we engage?

Fifteen people comprised of seven men and eight women, whose tenancy in their current rental property ranged from six months to over 25 years attended the workshop. Participants came from a broad geographical spread, including Adelaide CBD, Adelaide Hills, the southern, northern and western suburbs, the mid-north and the Riverland.

SA Power Networks was represented by Alex Lewis and Mark Vincent at the workshop.

Also in attendance were Kelvin Trimper, Deputy Chair SA Power Networks Community Advisory Board (CAB), and Georgina Morris, Chair, Community Reference Group/SACOSS.

Mark Henley from the Australian Energy Regulator's Community Challenge Panel (CCP30) and Rebecca Nights from the Department of Energy and Mining was also present.

The group was facilitated by Melanie Lambert from ThinkHuman.

What we engaged on?

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.

Click here to access a copy of the workshop presentation.

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 session are as follows:

  • Renters gave a very strong message that affordability was of prime importance to them since many of the participants were on low incomes, JobSeeker, or disability pensions.
  • Renters sought options for more frequent, smaller bills rather than large quarterly ones, allowing them to plan their budget in advance and making it easy for them to pay on time.
  • Participants from the Adelaide Hills spoke about the vulnerability of the line in their region and their hope that new technology may improve things in the future.
  • Renters were in favour of Housing Trust Schemes that allowed a number of properties to have panels and batteries installed, leading to lower bills. They wanted to see an extension of the government scheme and incentives for landlords to install solar for reduced energy bills.
  • Participants felt that renters do not have equitable access to electricity and ended up paying more than others.

Workshop Reports

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

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 for the 2025-2030 period, we engaged with renters, discussing their access to, current needs and future priorities for electricity. To engage with our rental customers, we conducted an online workshop on 19th May 2022 via Zoom.

To prepare for the workshop, scoping discussions with held with Carie Dawes, Manager, Tenancy Services at Rent Right (SYC) to ensure our methodology was appropriate and accessible and that the community's expectations for the session were understood and the focus group was designed accordingly.

Who did we engage?

Fifteen people comprised of seven men and eight women, whose tenancy in their current rental property ranged from six months to over 25 years attended the workshop. Participants came from a broad geographical spread, including Adelaide CBD, Adelaide Hills, the southern, northern and western suburbs, the mid-north and the Riverland.

SA Power Networks was represented by Alex Lewis and Mark Vincent at the workshop.

Also in attendance were Kelvin Trimper, Deputy Chair SA Power Networks Community Advisory Board (CAB), and Georgina Morris, Chair, Community Reference Group/SACOSS.

Mark Henley from the Australian Energy Regulator's Community Challenge Panel (CCP30) and Rebecca Nights from the Department of Energy and Mining was also present.

The group was facilitated by Melanie Lambert from ThinkHuman.

What we engaged on?

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.

Click here to access a copy of the workshop presentation.

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 session are as follows:

  • Renters gave a very strong message that affordability was of prime importance to them since many of the participants were on low incomes, JobSeeker, or disability pensions.
  • Renters sought options for more frequent, smaller bills rather than large quarterly ones, allowing them to plan their budget in advance and making it easy for them to pay on time.
  • Participants from the Adelaide Hills spoke about the vulnerability of the line in their region and their hope that new technology may improve things in the future.
  • Renters were in favour of Housing Trust Schemes that allowed a number of properties to have panels and batteries installed, leading to lower bills. They wanted to see an extension of the government scheme and incentives for landlords to install solar for reduced energy bills.
  • Participants felt that renters do not have equitable access to electricity and ended up paying more than others.

Workshop Reports

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

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: 01 Jul 2022, 10:20 AM