How to use it
ourPower is a statement about the future we want, and a basis for agreement with industry, market bodies and governments about how we can work together to get there. Using an innovative mindset and our principles, we can co-design solutions towards an inclusive, sustainable, zero emissions energy system.
Who is ourPower for?
ourPower is a tool for anyone making decisions about the energy transition – policy makers, regulators, industry leaders or groups representing energy users and communities.
It provides decision-makers with high-level guidance about the energy futures that energy users want (the vision, values and principles), how to ensure that people and communities are heard in the process, and how to reflect their interests in policy development, planning and service design.
ourPower is already being used by consumer groups to guide input into the energy transition. For example, it was used by the Distributed Energy Integration Program (DEIP) Access and Pricing Working Group to design a collaborative process to develop new, more equitable arrangements for the electricity grid to support small-scale solar and other new energy technologies like batteries.
Public
The public can use ourPower to guide conversations with energy companies, market bodies and governments to deliver products, services, policies and programs to better meet their needs and their communities’ expectations.
The public can reference ourPower to set their expectations of how energy companies, market bodies and governments should engage and what they should be delivering on.
Energy user advocates
For people and organisations who advocate on behalf of energy users, ourPower is a tool for enhancing their engagement with energy companies, market bodies and governments. It sets out what good engagement looks like and provides guidance on what people and communities want, and how to reflect their interests in policy development, planning and service design.
The more advocates support and use ourPower, the greater the chance of influencing how energy companies, market bodies and governments should engage and what they should be delivering on energy users and communities.
Energy companies
ourPower is a tool that energy companies can use to inform the development and implementation of products and services that better meet the needs and expectations of their customers and the communities they serve.
ourPower provides high-level guidance about the energy system that energy users want (the vision, values and principles), and how to reflect their interests in policy development, planning and service design.
It is different from the Energy Charter, which was developed by energy companies with input from consumer groups to improve their practice and rebuild trust with their customers. ourPower is a statement by people, energy users and communities which expresses their expectations about the delivery of energy now and in the future.
Because ourPower is a principles-based resource, energy companies can use and adapt it to suit the opportunity or challenge they are working on.
Market bodies
Decisions in the National Energy Market are made according to a set of legislated objectives known as the National Electricity Objective and the National Gas Objective, with the long-term interests of consumers defined as an energy system that promotes system security, reliability and economic efficiency. But during the consultation process for ourPower the public, energy user groups and community groups were clear in that the new energy context requires a modern and broader definition of ‘the long term interests’ of people and energy users.
By capturing and synthesising a contemporary view from energy users and communities, ourPower provides an up-to-date date guide for the market bodies to take a broader, legitimate view about their mandates.
Market bodies can use ourPower to inform their decision-making processes to ensure they are adequately engaging and provides guidance on what good engagement looks like.
Because ourPower is a principles-based resource, market bodies can use and adapt it to suit the opportunity or challenge they are working on.
Governments
Governments and political decision-makers can use ourPower as a tool for making decisions about the energy transition that impact people, energy users and communities.
It provides decision-makers with high-level guidance about the energy system that energy users want (the vision, values and principles), and how to reflect their interests in policy development, planning and service design.
Decision-makers can, for example, use ourPower as a set of questions to ask themselves to test the adequacy of their engagement and public consultation plans for a reform process. For instance, “Have I involved users early enough in the process or am I working from a predetermined technical view of the problem and the solution?”
Or they can use it to test whether policies are meeting the objective and achieving better outcomes for all. For instance, “Am I considering the views or needs of all stakeholders, or am I assuming that all energy users are homogenous?”.
Because ourPower is a principles-based resource, decision-makers can use and adapt it to suit the opportunity or challenge they are working on.
ourPower is not prescriptive
Decision-makers do not need to endorse every word or element of ourPower to use it as a tool to improve their decision-making.
ourPower is a principles-based resource that decision-makers can use and adapt to suit the opportunity or challenge they are working on. Because the energy transition raises novel, complex problems, ourPower does not seek to provide detailed answers for decision-makers.
Applying ourPower is about helping decision-makers adopt an open, positive and innovative mindset in their roles. The often polarised and confrontational debate about climate change and the energy transition in Australia can obscure areas of agreement amongst energy users, communities, and energy sector stakeholders. ourPower should give decision-makers the confidence and assurance they need to engage broadly, develop long-term solutions, and create win-win outcomes.
Stay connected and updated with progress in making the ourPower vision real.
How does ourPower relate to the national energy objectives?
Decisions in the National Energy Market are made according to a set of legislated objectives known as the National Electricity Objective and the National Gas Objective. These objectives define the long-term interests of consumers as an energy system that promotes system security, reliability and economic efficiency. Unfortunately, they do not currently include responding to the decarbonisation challenge; the need to ensure the energy transition is managed equitably; or the emerging issue of resilience.
Energy user representatives, community representatives, and the public were clear during the consultation process for ourPower that the new context requires a broader definition of ‘the long term interests’ of energy users. This up-to-date perspective ensures that ourPower provides a relevant guide for decision makers to take a broader, legitimate view about their mandates.
How does ourPower relate to other initiatives?
Other initiatives and frameworks have emerged to help the energy and other sectors manage complex issues and transformations. For instance, The Energy Charter was developed by Australian energy companies, with input from consumer groups, to improve their practices and rebuild trust with their customers.
ourPower is a statement by people, energy users and communities of their expectations for the whole energy ecosystem now and for the future. ourPower also speaks not only to energy companies but to all stakeholders making decisions about the energy transition.
See also the section on how different stakeholder groups can use ourPower.