Energy Charter Disclosure SEPTEMBER 2020 A message from our CEO
I began my appointment as CEO of Powershop and Meridian Beyond the immediacy of these impacts on our customers, it Energy Australia (MEA) in January 2020. was also our job to be the conduit between our customers, who care deeply about their community, and the needs of some During the appointment process, conversations were often of our most vulnerable or those doing it tough. I’m proud that centred on my personal values of empathy, kindness and within a month of remote working, our team implemented two respect. I’d been acting Chief Customer O!cer (CCO) at incredible initiatives that facilitated that community connection Meridian Energy Limited in New Zealand for 4 months while for our customers and supported those impacted by COVID-19. heading up the Sustainability Team (another personal passion) as General Manager, and I had no idea that these values and We established a relationship with Foodbank Australia for experiences were to become more important than ever in my our bi-annual increased friend referral program. This not only next role in Australia. supported customers with credits on their electricity bills at the start of remote working for many, but also resulted in donations At Powershop and MEA we talk a lot about why we’re proud. An made by us to Foodbank Australia on their behalf. Thanks to our old mantra in the company is “The Mum Test” – would I be proud customers and their engagement with this program, we were to go home and tell my mum what I did and the decisions I made able to donate $50,000 to Foodbank Australia at a time where at work today? We’ve evolved these values into new actionable demand for food relief had increased by 78 per cent. In addition commitments; Be a Good Human, Be Gutsy, Be in the Waka1. Be to this, we launched Power It Forward – a Powershop community proud to work at Powershop and MEA. support fund helping to reduce the bills of small business customers impacted by COVID-19 (learn more about this on I’m very proud to say there is little work I’ve had to do in this area. page 8). While there is a lot of work to do to get the energy industry where it should be for consumers and the environment, I can say that For all these great programs and initiatives, there is always a the culture, values and actions that are demonstrated each learning opportunity and chance to network ideas to make these day in our business, are something to be proud of and evidence impacts bigger and more meaningful. I’m personally excited that there are a lot of good people working for the best future for about the prospect of getting to know and working more with everyone. others in the industry for the betterment of our customers and the energy industry more broadly. Collaboration and the Two months into my role as CEO our entire Customer Team (the willingness to put customers at the centre of everything we do champions who look after our customers on the phones, over will be the key to unlocking a greater experience for all Australian emails and other channels) moved to remote working. Moving energy consumers. a contact centre to remote working is a massive challenge, and I was equally concerned for the wellbeing of our team and the Having been in this role for nine months now, I can say that the impact on our customers. Thanks to the hard work of many easiest part of my job to date is joining a team where customer the transition was seamless, and the team and our customers advocacy is embedded into culture. We’re faced with a challenge were supported end to end. Knowing there was no impact to the but an incredible opportunity to ensure that this culture of support we were providing customers meant that I slept easier customer centricity translates to better customer outcomes for at night. years to come.
At the same time, a team from across the business began meeting daily to ensure that we were responding appropriately to the impacts COVID-19 was having on our community. We got a moratorium on disconnections in place before the AER released 2 their Statement of Expectations and we started planning what Jason Stein needed to happen to ensure all our teams were prepared to Chief Executive O!cer ensure we were looking after our customers. Powershop & Meridian Energy Australia
1 A traditional Maori canoe – a nod to our shared commitments with our NZ colleagues.
2 We had a precedence of doing this because we’d done the same thing for customers in bushfire impacted postcodes during the height of the bushfire season in summer this year. Introduction It’s an understatement to say it has been an extraordinary year. Look after our customers and community Our business, our sta", our communities and our customers The real heroes of our business are those that spend all day are continuing to face the challenges created by a drought, a speaking to and looking after our customers. Our frontline sta" catastrophic bushfire season, an ongoing global pandemic, and have done an incredible job this year to support our customers now a recession, all of which will have lasting and serious impacts through immensely trying and highly stressful circumstances. for years to come. They have been able to provide empathy over and over again, sometimes spending their whole day on the phone to customers The environment in which we’re operating and living our lives impacted by bushfires or COVID-19. The highly emotive and at looks very di"erent to what it did at the same time last year. times devastating conversations are ones that our team have With almost 60% of our customers in Metropolitan Melbourne, handled with the upmost care despite the emotional exhaustion the majority of our community, including our sta", have been of the task at hand. Their respect to our customers and impacted by ongoing COVID-19 restrictions and the challenges communities, mirrored in our policies and programs to support caused by them. them, have kept us all connected. Our Customer Contact Team were able to action their business continuity plan and Small businesses have had to close or, if they have been able begin working from home within 24 hours of the decision being to, change their o"ering or adhere to limitations to continue made within the business in March 2020 to operate remotely. operating. Residential customers are staying at home – resulting Incredibly, there was no negative impact to our customer in their energy usage and costs going up. People have lost support stats at all during this time. their jobs or had their income reduced, they haven’t been able to see loved ones, they may be isolated or living in unsafe “The lady rang to advise the amount of my latest gas bill, that it was circumstances. With energy bills making up between 7-13% of higher than usual and if I had any concerns about it. It was a lot high a low income household’s disposable income3 and many in our than usual because I’m home with an illness. She was very helpful and understanding. I expected this bill to be high due to circumstances, community more financially and otherwise vulnerable than but I really did appreciate the call, because it shows that Powershop they have been before, we’ve been completely focussed on are tuned into their customers and care about them. It’s very much responding rapidly and appropriately to what our customers appreciated, a lot of companies have no compassion and are just need to get through these tough times. focused on money and shareholders demands. Thank you Powershop” - Customer response to Customer Satisfaction Survey, June 2020 As an employer, member of the community and key player in the energy generation and retail mix, Powershop and Meridian Look after our environment Energy Australia (MEA) have, in the last year and particularly The devastation caused by Black Summer, which impacted many in the last six months, been focussed on looking after each communities across the country and captured international other, our customers and community, and our environment. attention, also demonstrated that it’s more important than ever We believe it is important to treat our customers and sta" with to take some significant steps and hold ourselves accountable empathy and kindness. These values have meant it is important on climate action. It was during this time that a movement of to: consumers ‘putting their money where it mattered’ emerged, with Australians changing energy retailers, banks, and Look after each other superannuation funds to support those who supported the We can’t operate as a business and ensure we’re looking after planet. We’re proud that we could facilitate the shift of Australian our customers unless we’re feeling safe and supported in the consumers during this time to a carbon neutral energy retailer workplace. All our Melbourne-based sta" (about 80% of the committed to renewables, sustainability and the environment. business) have been working from home since March 2020 and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. We’ve looked after each other by organising group workout sessions (including some very entertaining 80s aerobics classes), continuing Friday night VC drop-ins, meditation and wellness sessions, health & safety moments at the bi-weekly all-company Huddle, random check-ins, no video-call days, fitness challenges….the list goes on. Not everyone gets involved in everything, and still some weeks are harder than others, but overall our Powershop and MEA sta" are doing well and know they have the support of their colleagues.
3 https://www.aer.gov.au/system/files/A"ordability%20in%20retail%20energy%20markets%20-%20September%202019_0.pdf page 1
Energy Charter Disclosure - September 2020 Page 2 Who are Powershop customers?
Our customers are diverse with Our customers are passionate and engaged different energy needs
Strong Powershop +56.9 advocacy Residential Business NPS Net Promoter Score 94% customers 6% customers
Technology to ensure 57% transparency Mobile app downloaded
Across 1669 postcodes With access to property usage data % of Powershop customers with a smart meter per state 99% 41% 32% 31% VIC SA QLD NSW
Our customers care about supporting their communities and the environment
Power It $193,167 $90,867 Learn more Forward customer contributions from Powershop on page 8.
Your Community $95,970 Contributed by customers to support the Reef Energy Restoration Foundation. Learn more on page 7.
Switch Your Mates Contributed by customers to Superchaged $50,000 support Foodbank Australia.
GreenPower O!set Generated 33,630MWh 613,497tCO2-e 670GWh of GreenPower purchased of customer emissions of electricity across 5 by customers. (we 100% o"set all customer renewable energy sites. emissions, as well as our own).
Thanks to our customers’ support we’ve been It’s our responsibility to provide able to bring cleaner energy innovations to life our customers with
Electric Vehicle Tari! Empathy above all else Powershoppers can cost-e"ectively charge Our personal interactions are seeded by our human their electric vehicles overnight. centered approach to our strategy, our policies, and Learn more on page 5. our procedures - putting customer care at the heart of all that we do. Learn more on pages 9-10.
Curb Your Power Meaningful support when they need it Victorian Powershoppers can get involved Adapting to the changing needs of our customers to in behavioral demand response during peak ensure that our programs evolve to provide complete demand. Learn more on pages 6-7. support in any circumstance that leads to hardship or vulnerability. Learn more on pages 9-10.
Virtual Power Plant Empowerment in their journey Powershoppers can provide storage of solar Providing opportunities for education and connection power for discharge, helping to take pressure between our customers and their usage as well as o" the grid. Learn more on page 5. their impacts on the environment and the community. Learn more on pages 6-7.
All data displayed in this document is for FY20 unless otherwise stated. Principle 1: Put customers at the centre of our business and the energy system
Self assessment Where to next Evolved Empowered
Getting the customer voice (even louder) in the ear of Sta" member responsible for the Customer Forum is accountable our Executive Team to the Board on this program (ongoing). The customer voice is heard regularly by our Executive Team through Jason Stein, our new CEO, will continue visiting our Customer our new monthly Customer Forum program. This program further Contact Team to listen to customer calls to better understand what elevates the customer voice and helps our Executive Team better our customers are saying and what they need (ongoing – most understand the real customer experience. recent visit was on Friday, 25th September!)
Customer outcomes Embedding the Energy Charter principles in all parts of Our Executive Team listen to customer calls and provide their Powershop and MEA thoughts on the call via a survey. The survey includes questions like To help di"erent parts of the business understand that they “What do you think was the hardest thing to explain to the customer?” contribute to better customer outcomes, we have run Energy Charter and “Can you relate to something you do day-to-day that impacts information sessions. For example, in December 2019 we ran a this customer?” An Executive Team member is then “interviewed” session with our Hydro Operations Team – this team has been a part during one of our bi-weekly all company Huddles to share the of the business for the shortest amount of time and is located across experience with the whole company to extend and embed the three sites in regional NSW, so this provided a great opportunity to learning. Commenting on the experience he had while listening to live help further onboard this team into the Powershop and MEA business calls, Ben Co"ey our Hydro Operations Manager said: and what we stand for.
“For many customers this is going to be the first and last time we hear from them, so in that 20 minute period you’ve got to try and build that Customer outcomes trust and that loyalty to go - hey, we’re going to look after you here - The Engagement Survey results for the Hydro Team increased because the next time you hear from some of these customers is when significantly between March 2019 and March 2020 in a number of they’re leaving us, so that’s a really big challenge to lay that ground important areas: work and create a lasting feeling of trust and engagement with the customer.” Engagement (including questions about being proud to work for Powershop and MEA) increased from 46% to 91%. Customer experiences that have been highlighted thanks to this Culture (including questions about safety, wellbeing, diversity and new program include gas bill shock (resulting from increased usage inclusion) increased from 67% to 91%. estimations and increased actual usage) during COVID-19. This The question “I am proud to work for this organisation” increased highlighted that distributor field agents are currently less able to from 43% to 100%. complete meter reads with new safety requirements and distancing measures in place. To compound this situation, customers are also at Thanks to a very engaged Hydro Operations Manager (the famous home and consuming more energy. As a result, we have: Ben Co"ey previously quoted), customer outcomes have been launched a “submit a picture of your gas meter” campaign, embedded as a key part of their role within the business. Integration to improve billing accuracy and enhance awareness for our of the Hydro team in weekly business Huddles has given the team key customers around their usage; insights into the breadth and depth of customer metrics, linking back supported this with the option for customers to speak to a usage to the role of the Hydro team that previously was not as transparent. specialist within our team who can o"er tailored advice on their Connecting their roles and the team directly with business and home energy usage; and customer outcomes has led to greater engagement and positive involvement from the team. created content about the impact working from home could have to customers energy bills. Where to next and how are we getting there? Where to next and how are we getting there? Learn from other Signatories who are doing this really well (for example Jemena and Energy QLD). We’ve seen both these Refocussing our retail strategy to promote customer experience organisations work hard to connect the Energy Charter Principles to and improvement initiatives to be prioritised and reported on their employee’s values, with one outcome being a “Fireside Chat” (started). learning session with Jemena on how they’ve succeeded in this area (to do).
How are we tracking towards putting customers at the centre of our business?
FY19 53.3 Net Promoter Score Sta! Engagement +56.9 Surveys sent every business day to Overall “Engagement” increased to 85% (from 80% the year NPS track trends and respond rapidly to previously) – particularly impressive considering the survey was customer issues. taken in the first COVID-19 lock-down (March 2020). NB: Engagement means how people feel working for our FY19 FY20 organisation and how we look after them.
Customer Satisfaction The question “This organisation delivers on the promises it 92% Sent after interactions with the 96% makes to its customers” scored at 96%. We’re very proud of this Customer Team. FY19 92%. score and happy that everyone feels we’re doing the right thing by our customers.
Energy Charter Disclosure - September 2020 Page 4 Principle 2: Improve energy a"ordability for customers
Self assessment Where to next Evolved Empowered
Getting customers on the right offer for them Ensure customers are taking up the right DER option for their circumstances, whether saving through the access to solar Some of our customers tell us4 that the high engagement generation owned by others (SunYield), cheaper rate periods on experience (Powershop Shopper)5 isn’t for them, but they’re with our EV tari" or more e!cient use of their solar generation through us because they want to support a greener power company. Last our VPP program (started). year we acknowledged6 that the original Shopper experience – while innovative and great for some – isn’t for everyone. We have continued to grow the number of di"erent products available under Encouraging new technologies and structures that the more traditional experience (monthly billing, no discounts, improve affordability no engagement required) and have seen great take up of these products. Some of our customers seek access to new technologies and other ways to lower the price they pay7– like the usage information we provide in the Powershop app. We are always aiming to improve Customer outcomes customer experience and add value to customers by introducing Previously, our mix of the ‘engaged’ Powershop o"ers and the products and programs specifically suited to customers with ‘traditional’ was 86.6% and 9.4%. This is now 78.5% (engaged model) Distributed Energy Resource (DER) assets. We have developed an and 13.7% (traditional), demonstrating the demand for varied approach to address the growing penetration of DER in the market to products and engagement level options that work for di"erent encourage our customers to get solar, add batteries and aid them in customer needs. See Principle 5 for further information on our work getting the most out of their assets. on the Powershop Relief O"er for vulnerable customers. Customer outcomes Where to next and how are we getting there? SunYield product Empower the Customer Team to recognise, discuss and take action when they see a customer could be on a more suitable experience Continued to facilitate the uptake and access to rooftop solar for for them (this isn’t necessarily decided by price, but could be related renters and homeowners through our growing Stoddart partnership. to benefits (e.g. GreenPower), willingness or ability to engage etc.) Customer numbers increased by 700% up from FY19 (over 1,700 (started). customers now participating in solar sharing) New connections installed up by 775% on FY19 (over 2,000 solar We’ve reduced prices over the last 12 months connections completed) Total MWh now installed - 13MWh Our customers tell us that a"ordability is the most important ingredient in their experience with us. And this is not just via one VPP and battery installations channel; customers tell us this over the phone, on social media, through customer feedback tools (e.g. the majority of our NPS Encouraged investment in battery installations through our comments are related to the theme of “price”), ad hoc surveys and in partnership with Shinehub and our Charge Force Virtual Power Plant many other ways. (VPP) program, also providing shared learnings for the industry, as well as creating a Battery O"er to cater to this DER. Customer outcomes Shinehub sold over 1,000 batteries within the trial period To increase energy a"ordability for our customers, we’ve worked 350 Powershop customers now on the Battery O"er hard to reduce prices across all the states we operate in. Powershop customers who are part of this program can now provide over 1MW of storage In VIC, on average, over the last financial year we’ve positioned our prices a further 1% below the Victorian Default O"er, where Electric Vehicles tari" customers, on average, can access rates that are 9% below the Launch of the Powershop Electric Vehicles o"er that features a VDO when they purchase our Mega Pack. “super o"-peak” usage rate for overnight charging. In other states, on average, over the last financial year we’ve 301 customers on the Electric Vehicle tari" positioned our prices a further 1-5% below the Default Market O"er, where customers can access rates that are, on average, 10 Good price, EV incentive, between 15-20% below the DMO when they purchase our Mega ease of use, monitoring data, lots! Pack. - Customer NPS feedback, March 2020 Where to next and how are we getting there? Where to next and how are we getting there? Continue working with our Energy Markets team to refine and optimise our wholesale cost management strategies (ongoing). While we’ve been successful at embedding the o"ering of a smart meter to customers on basic meters (any time we have Continue identifying opportunities across the business, from our an interaction with a customer via phone or email), we haven’t back-o!ce operations to our contact centre, to reduce costs embedded a smart meter installation o"er as a key moment in the and ine!ciencies, to help enable us to continually drive our customer journey, for example, automatically during onboarding. customer’s prices down. We are about growing a happy customer We’d like to improve this over the coming years by building the base, which means trying to keep our prices down as much as o"ering into the onboarding process for all customers who we can possible (ongoing). see do not have a smart meter (to do).
4 We hear this through a variety of channels, including feedback to agents, via our NPS survey, Exit Survey and other feedback channels. Where the feedback channel allows it, we contact customers who have indicated they’re not happy on whatever o"er they’re currently on and take them through our other o"ers that may be more suitable.
5 Powershop Shopper is our original innovative energy product. It’s an experience where customers get to shop for power using Powerpacks. See our website for more info: https://www.powershop.com.au/why-powershop/powershop-experience/
6 Powershop and Meridian Energy Charter Disclosure FY19 p. 12.
7 Independent Accountability Panel report recommendation 20.
Energy Charter Disclosure - September 2020 Page 5 How are we tracking towards improving energy a"ordability for customers?
Customers on As noted in last year’s report, Powershop tries Batteries standing o!ers to ensure all customers are on a competitive There are no specific markers on the meters that identify a market o"er. However, since the introduction of battery (like there is for solar) – this is something we should work the Victorian Default O"er (VDO), we have seen on together across industry participants so that the market Zero 127 customers elect to go on this o"er. can benefit from the understanding of battery and storage contribution to the grid, especially as this technology grows.
Of our customers have Solar customers 19% downloaded the app per state Increase in smart meter 57% On average Powershop penetration customers access the app In traditionally basic meter states 3 times per month. in FY20 compared to FY19. 38% 28% 22% 19% SA QLD NSW VIC
Principle 3: We will provide energy safely, sustainably and reliably
Self assessment Where to next Evolved Empowered
Investing in a sustainable and resilient energy system Created an interactive website for the wider community describing our novel approach to wind forecasting. This website To add more renewable energy into the grid, in FY20 Meridian Energy: is free for anyone to access, and acts as an educational resource secured two wind farm options in NSW (the Rangoon Energy for primary, secondary and tertiary students as well as the general Park and Wandsworth Wind Farm) and started developing these public who have an interest (big or small) in wind farm generation projects; including the ability to download any of the data they may want to begun planning for the installation of a large-scale battery to be further investigate. Our hope is that this this site builds community located at our existing Hume Dam Hydro plant; understanding of renewables and the prospects of a secure and decarbonised energy system. have used data and built on our stakeholder relationships to improve performance at our Hydro assets; and Where to next and how are we getting there? with ARENA support, developed and implemented a sophisticated forecasting system with the team from the University of Identifying upgrades to our existing generation fleet to improve its Melbourne, backed by state of the art technology (including capacity to deliver dispatchable energy (ongoing). LIDAR) to more accurately forecast wind generation from our Mt Securing and developing low cost renewable energy projects Mercer Wind Farm in Victoria. This provides AEMO with a more (started). accurate generation forecast, reducing the reliance on operational reserves to balance the power system for every five minute Identifying and securing new sources of energy and demand dispatch interval within the National Energy Market (NEM). The response mechanisms (ongoing). learnings and knowledge from this project is shared more broadly with the industry through regular reporting to improve the overall reliability of wind forecasting in the NEM. Update on our Curb Your Power demand response program Customer outcomes We’re working with customers and experts to build a demand response program now that the ARENA trial we’ve been involved Once it’s constructed in 2023, the expected 130MW Rangoon in for the last three years is coming to an end. There are some Wind Farm is estimated to provide about 385,000MWh per year challenges and opportunities – for example, how a program like this of renewable energy to the NEM, powering about 58,000 NSW e"ectively supports solar and battery customers to participate homes every year. and how we can provide a better customer experience to those The proposed Hume battery is sized at 20MW/40MWh, and due participating. to its unique positioning will be capable of generating or charging from either NSW or VIC. Customer outcomes Working with the Murray Darling Basic Authority (MDBA) and Water During the three years of the ARENA trial, we: NSW, we have achieved a more flexible water release regime at Hume Power Station, which has meant compared to the baseline, Provided $480,000 in credits to customers who successfully hit the station was able to provide up to 25% greater generation their load reduction target over seven events. capacity to the system during the South Australia – Victoria Increased our customer fleet to 18,500 active customers. market separation event in January 2020. This work will help Reduced demand on the grid by a total of 76MWh over the seven provide greater generation during critical periods in the summer to events. help avoid blackouts. Ran a Randomised Control Trial with the Behavioural Insights Our generation forecast at our Mt Mercer Wind Farm has now been Team (BIT) to learn more about our residential demand response fully integrated into AEMO’s real-time processes for managing program. Read the report here. the power system. More accurate forecasting facilitates the Shared learnings with ARENA and published these publicly. penetration of renewables in the NEM, which supports AEMO to maintain system security while reducing emissions and costs.
Energy Charter Disclosure - September 2020 Page 6 Where to next and how are we getting there? Within this timeframe our customers support led to the growth of 500 new climate resistant corals (a figure that will double with the System automation and better customer experience (to do). installation of the second coral nursery.) Integrate other DER assets e.g. VPP (to do). Since the launch of YCE in 2016, our customers have raised Determine how to continue our demand response program $634,672 to support community projects. outside of the ARENA trial (to do). Expand into other states (to do). Where to next and how are we getting there? Data analysis and customer feedback gathering (started). Restoring a more resilient Great Barrier Reef through Community needs assessment (to do). Your Community Energy Partner outreach to find the next cause to support (to do). The Your Community Energy (YCE) program provides the option for Powershop customers to pay a little extra on their power bills to support causes that have a positive impact on the environment – this includes our physical and social environments.
The premium that our customers pay is pooled and distributed as grants to projects we carefully select and support. Since October 2019, Powershop customers have contributed $132,647 to support the Reef Restoration Foundation to restore coral on the Great Barrier Reef. Thanks to our customers we’ve built two coral nurseries to regrow bleach resistant coral and provided further funding for ongoing operations.
Customer outcomes Historically YCE supported multiple projects, which were very localised small-scale renewable installations. The change to the program to facilitate larger projects with a national impact has proven to connect our customers with a cause they can feel passionate about, highlighted by some customer feedback below: “It’s been a great project to support” “It’s great to see we’re making a di!erence” “Happy to be part of a positive organisation” “I’ve loved the coral reef project - it really makes me feel happy with Powershop”