First Nations people in Shepparton region helping shape the electricity network

By Georgia Tacey

Jun 7, 2023

New report: Affordability and reliability are essential and should be considered when investments are being made in the electricity network, according to a new report.

First Nations people in Shepparton, Mooroopna and the surrounding region say affordability and reliability are essential and should be considered when investments are being made in the electricity network, according to a new report released by Powercor.

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General manager of regulation Renate Vogt said that with electricity being an essential part of people’s lives, speaking and listening to all customers was critical to ensuring that Powercor was meeting the needs and expectations of communities.

“We want to invest in our networks in a way that delivers value for all our customers,” she said.

“The feedback from the Yorta Yorta community members, combined with feedback from a wide of other customers, is helping to shape our investments and plans for the future.”

Ms Vogt said 24 people took part in the three-hour engagement session that was held earlier this year, resulting in the Yorta Yorta Country Consultation Summary Report, which examines priorities in relation to the four themes covered in the session, including reliability and resilience, affordability and equity, energy transformation and customer experience.

“The session was about listening to the participants’ views and understanding more about their perspective, which is incredibly important given their history and connection to this region,” she said.

“The participants provided some great insights, highlighting the need for better reliability and resilience of the network for Shepparton and Mooroopna, given the towns are in flood-prone areas.”

The participants also identified the price of electricity, a need to better understand how to reduce their power bills and the potential role of solar and batteries in achieving this as some of the key areas they’d like more information on from Powercor.