EMPOWERING OUR PEOPLE - SP AusNet

STRENGTH TRANSFORM 

STRENGTHEN TRANSFORM EXTEND MODERNISE 

EXTEND MODERNISE 

ISSUE 4 JUNE 2011 

TRANSFORMING OUR CULTURE 

Employee Culture and Engagement survey results. 

EMPLOYEE VALUES SHINE DURING FLOOD CRISIS 

SP AusNet displays commitment to its values during 

one-in-100 year floods. 

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT SHAPES MAJOR UPGRADE 

Community concerns result in consultative approaches to 

engage with affected stakeholders. 

SELECT SOLUTIONS SKILLING FOR SUCCESS 

Expansion into the New South Wales market 

strengthens operations interstate. 

EMPOWERING 

OUR PEOPLE

2 

ENERGISE ISSUE 4 



A message 

from Nino 

Our people are our greatest 

strength. The importance of 

nurturing a workplace where 

employees know they are 

personally important to us can 

never be underestimated. 

We want to ensure our people 

know they feel comfortable 

sharing their ideas and we 

continue to strive and promote an 

environment where everyone’s 

ideas are heard. Our people are 

the life blood of our organisation. 

This is our fourth edition of 

Energise, communicating 

SP AusNet’s progress against 

our business strategy. This 

issue’s theme is ‘Supporting 

our Employees’ where we have 

highlighted some of our programs, 

plans and policies that work 

towards strengthening our talent 

base and increasing engagement 

to build a culture that will support 

our business for the long term. 

A key component in achieving 

a high level of engagement is 

the promotion and recognition 

of our employee values, Safety, 

Passion, Teamwork, Integrity 

and Excellence. These were 

demonstrated most recently during 

the flood crisis in northern Victoria, 

by our crews and emergency 

management teams that were 

responding to the threat of floods 

on our assets. Teams came 

together to sandbag, build levees 

and monitor these rising flood 

waters to protect the electricity 

infrastructure and therefore the 

surrounding communities from 

power outages. It was a proud 

moment when the new Premier 

acknowledged our team’s efforts 

and we have provided more detail 

in our article titled “Employee 

values shine during flood crisis” 

on page 8 and 9. 

Part of our journey to a more 

engaged workforce is a 

concentrated effort on building 

diversity, as we know diversity 

brings new ideas, new ways of 

approaching issues and better 

business results. The article titled 

“Building a rewarding career at 

SP AusNet” explores our efforts 

so far and highlights what’s on 

the agenda for SP AusNet in 

the near future in this space, 

including developing a new 

employee value proposition. 

Another key element to 

SP AusNet’s employee 

engagement approach is the 

capability for the business to 

actively listen to our employees 

and receive and act on 

constructive feedback. 

We do this through a variety 

of initiatives, including our 

Culture and Engagement Survey. 

These results are then discussed 

across the business to work 

towards achieving a more 

constructive culture so that we 

can better serve and deliver value 

for our employees, customers 

and stakeholders. 

2011 promises to be a very busy 

and energising year for SP AusNet. 

With a large portfolio of planned 

capital works to get underway, 

we need a strong, experienced 

and committed team to undertake 

these works. I look forward to the 

challenge that 2011 brings for 

SP AusNet and for our employees 

as we continue to support, 

develop and build a capable 

and engaged workforce. 

I trust you will enjoy this edition 

of ENERGISE. 

Nino Ficca, 

Managing Director SP AusNet

ENERGISE is a quarterly publication of SP AusNet. 

ENERGISE is printed using environmentally friendly vegetable 

inks on 100% recycled paper. 

For more information, to suggest a story or to provide feedback, 

please email SP AusNet’s Corporate Relations team at 

public.relations@sp-ausnet.com.au 

TRANSFORM 

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STRENGTHEN 

Front Cover image: 

Trainee Design Officer - Emma Bostedt 

with her mentor John Barnett, 

Design Officer at Traralgon. 

Printed on 100% recycled stock. 

In this issue 

SP AusNet announces full year results 4 

Transforming our culture 6 

Listening to our employees 7 

Our values shine during the floods 8 

Building a rewarding career at SP AusNet 10 

Developing stronger relationships with community groups 11 

Tracking our Performance 12 

A day in the life... 14 

Progressing our growth STEM 15 

Community involvement shapes major upgrade 16 

My safety observation 18 

A career 40 years in the making 19 

SP AusNet’s Skilling for the Future 20 

Thinking ahead. Workforce planning at SP AusNet 21 

Select Solutions skilling for success 22

4 ENERGISE ISSUE 4 

SP AusNet announces 

full year results 

SP AusNet released the company’s full 

year results for year ending 31 March 

2011 to the ASX and SGX on 12 May. 

This was followed up with a presentation 

to analysts and media in Sydney. 

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“The results are the culmination 

of five years of solid investment, 

in both replacement and growth to 

strengthen our networks, as well as 

higher incentive scheme payments 

from improvements in network 

reliability,” Chief Financial Officer 

Mr Geoff Nicholson said. 

The results indicated another strong 

year of revenue and earnings growth 

and go a long way to prove that 

SP AusNet continues to remain in 

a strong financial position. 

“These results are underpinned 

by growing cash flows and sound 

financial management,” 

Mr Nicholson said. 

A 10.1 per cent gain in revenues 

to $1.468 billion for the 12 months 

ending March 31 was 

also announced. 

Mr Nicholson said a combination of 

organic growth and record capital 

expenditure in the company’s asset 

base contributed to the positive 

results along with increasing 

demand growth for new connections. 

Key results include: 

• Safety - Recordable Injury 

Frequency rate (RIFR) of 10.5, 

a 6 per cent improvement 

on the previous year. 

• Revenue - A$1.468 billion, 

up 10.1 per cent 

• Profit measures: 

−−Earnings Before interest, Tax, 

Depreciation and Amortisation 

(EBITDA) – A$ 863.4 million, 


−−Earnings Before Interest and 

Tax (EBIT) A$ 605.2million, 


−−Net Profit After Tax (NPAT) 

of A$ 252.9 million, 

up 21 per cent. 

• Full year distribution guidance 

of at least 8 cents per security

ISSUE 4 ENERGISE 5 

Looking Ahead 

Looking ahead, 2011/12 holds a 

range of opportunities as well as 

challenges for the business. With 

lower regulated pricing outcomes, 

the company aims to meet these 

opportunities and challenges in a 

tighter budgetary situation than 

last year. 

For FY12, SP AusNet expects to at 

least match the distributions per 

security for FY11. As with prior 

years, the seasonality of revenues, 

particularly due to higher demand 

on the gas distribution network for 

heating during the winter months, 

results in a larger proportion of 

revenues being earned in the first 

half of the year. 

New wind farm and gas fired 

generation connections on the 

transmission network also promote 

growth in SP AusNet’s asset base. 

SP AusNet will continue to focus on 

expanding and commercialising niche 

asset services, in particular metering 

and technical services. In addition, 

the adoption of smart networks via 

the AMI program is 

a key platform for future growth. 

“We are confident that we will 

continue to invest in strengthening 

our networks and transforming, 

extending and modernising our 

business so that we continue to 

provide our customers and end 

consumers with high quality, 

safe and reliable energy solutions,” 

Mr Nicholson said. 

Progressing our 

growth STEM 

For the current financial year, 

SP AusNet will continue its journey 

towards achieving the objectives 

outlined in our five year strategy 

with a set of one year initiatives. 

These are aimed at creating value 

as measured by a range of financial, 

growth and efficiency targets. 

Underpinned by safety, as our 

number one priority, our focus areas 

for 2011/12 are: 

Efficiency 

– creating value by being more 

effective in everything we do 

Systems 

– ICT simplification and investment 

for modernisation of our network and 

business processes 

People 

– ensuring our people are supported 

to succeed within our high 

performance culture 

Our performance planning process 

will cascade our focus areas into 

team and individual goals, ensuring 

that we all focus our activities on 

these priority areas.


2011 Circumplex 2009 Circumplex 

Transforming our culture 

In February 2011 SP AusNet surveyed all permanent and 

contractor employees to gain an understanding of the 

company’s culture and employee engagement. 

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Two different surveys were 

combined. One measured our 

culture, asking questions about 

the behaviours expected to get 

things done in the organisation. 

The other measured the level of 

‘engagement’ among our people. 

Pleasingly, 80 per cent of 

SP AusNet’s employees and 

contractors responded to the 2011 

surveys. This compares with the 

average of all organisations who 

use these surveys of 60 to 70 per 

cent. 

Moving in to the Blue 

Compared to the last culture 

survey, completed in 2009, 

the latest results show that 

employees are perceiving 

SP AusNet’s culture to be a more 

encouraging and supportive place 

to work. Our results also reflect 

an improvement in perceptions 

around working effectively with 

others in a team environment 

and achieving one’s own sense of 

growth and development. 

This indicates that we have made 

positive gains in moving towards 

a constructive, high performing 

‘blue’ culture. 

The circumplex diagrams above 

show the areas where positive 

improvements have been made. 

Positive shifts were seen for all 

four of the constructive (blue) 

behaviours styles. 

All the passive defensive (green) 

styles have reduced. This is a 

great achievement as it indicates 

that counter-productive behaviours 

such as not getting involved; 

being non committal; and making 

popular rather than necessary 

decisions have reduced. 

Importantly ‘red’ behaviours 

related to power and competitive 

behaviours have also reduced. 

This suggests that there is 

an increased willingness 

to consider new ideas and 

increased prevalence of collegiate 

behaviours in the workplace. 

In order to reach a high performing 

culture though, there is still a need 

to focus on continuing to increase 

all ‘blue’ constructive behaviours, 

in particular our achievement 

behaviours. By increasing this 

style, employees are more likely 

to pursue a standard of excellence 

and set challenging goals and 

make them happen. 

These positive results reflect 

the effort and commitment by 

employees and leaders in focusing 

on culture improvement initiatives 

across our company over the last 

two years. However, the results 

also suggest that we still have 

work to do. 

Becoming more Engaged 

SP AusNet’s Engagement 

survey score, which is based 

on Aon Hewitt’s Say, Stay and 

Strive model, presents a more 

challenging picture. Compared 

to the most recent pulse-check 

conducted in 2010, SP AusNet’s 

Engagement score has declined 

from 57 to 50 per cent, meaning 

SP AusNet is further in the 

‘Indifferent’ range. This also places 

us five percentage points below 

the energy industry benchmark 

result. 

The employee engagement results 

present many opportunities for 

improvement over the coming 

year. 

Our Response 

The Executive Leadership Team 

has committed to develop 

a culture and engagement 

improvement plan focusing on 

three key themes that will be 

communicated and implemented 

consistently across the company. 

These themes will also be 

supported by specific activities at 

the divisional levels. The three key 

themes are: 

• Leadership Accountability 

– We need to ensure that all 

leaders across the business 

understand and demonstrate 

core leadership accountabilities 

that underpin a constructive 

(blue) culture of achievement. 

Our planned work in this area 

will support our leaders to 

focus on key areas employees 

told us need further work, 

such as greater leadership 

visibility, reward and recognition, 

encouraging innovation, 

managing change and open 

communication. 

• Managing Performance and 

Recognition – By improving 

key aspects of our performance 

planning approach we can help 

our employees do their best 

work every day. This will involve 

a stronger focus on supporting 

employees to set realistic and 

challenging goals, achieve ‘line 

of sight’ between their individual 

roles and the company’s vision 

and strategic business plans, 

receive more timely recognition 

of valued contributions and 

accomplishments and ensure 

that there is a continued focus 

on learning opportunities and 

career development discussions. 

• Safety – The survey results 

indicate that our continuing 

focus on safety is viewed very 

positively. This indicates that 

we need to sustain this focus, 

and in particular, continue to 

the important work already 

commenced with the recent 

launch of our missionZero 

safety vision and strategy.


What employees say about feedback 

A number of focus groups were held in December 2010 to get feedback from existing employees on the messages the company 

wants to use in the external labour market to attract prospective new employees. These messages form the basis of a statement 

of benefits and expectations called an ‘employee value proposition’ (EVP). They express the values, benefits, privileges and 

advantages the company offers existing and new employees in return for their active contribution to company objectives. They are 

the same messages we want to keep communicating to our existing employees – to help them be motivated and strong positive 

advocates for our company. 

The EVP messages are designed to differentiate SP AusNet as an employer in a positive and credible way. The company needs 

employee feedback to test the authenticity, relevance and impact of these messages, and to take on suggestions and make 

necessary modifications. We’ll communicate more on the company’s EVP in later issues of Energise. 

So what do some of the recent focus group participants say about giving feedback in SP AusNet? 

David Curl 

Priscilla Taylor 

Chris Grinter 

Angelo Stamboulakis 

Procurement Planning Manager. 

Integrated Network Services 

Division 

Employee feedback on impressions of 

‘what it’s like working for SP AusNet’ 

is important. 

I recently had the opportunity to 

attend a focus group meeting to 

give feedback on the company’s 

proposed employee value proposition. 

I enjoyed meeting other colleagues 

from different parts of SP AusNet 

and understanding their viewpoints 

as to how things are going in their 

respective teams. This was very 

informative. 

To me, the most important thing is for 

feedback to be converted into actions. 

Actions are what employees will 

remember and can then readily 

relate to. 

Manager Risk and Compliance, 

Risk and Assurance Division 

We all have the opportunity to 

provide valuable feedback particularly 

as we promote the values of 

SP AusNet through honest feedback 

and transparency. 

Feedback opportunities are not 

only useful for the company to get 

employee input - they are useful 

from a personal perspective. For 

example, in focus groups, I meet new 

people within SP AusNet, build up 

relationships and understand others’ 

points of view. It’s also a ‘feel good’ 

factor too that you contribute to new 

initiatives or revise old ones. 

Action from feedback is fundamental 

to the ongoing credibility and 

usefulness of the feedback process. 

In the Risk and Assurance division, we 

always have action plans arising from 

the Culture and Engagement Survey. 

Design Manager, Networks 

Strategy and Development 

Division 

As well as focus groups and surveys, 

I’ve valued taking up work/task 

orientated feedback opportunities like 

participating in NSD’s delivery model 

review, annual business planning 

sessions, the ELT OpenLine and our 

employee briefings. 

The challenge with feedback is making 

sure people giving it know they’re 

being listened to and having some 

impact – without this they may be 

hesitant in participating. 

It’s been satisfying to see the 

improvement ideas I gave whilst on 

and since my graduate engineering 

program have – over a period of time 

– been implemented to help create a 

more diverse training program for 

new graduates. 

Service Delivery Manager, 

Information and Communications 

Technology Division 

I think SP AusNet really does value 

the employee perspective and seeks 

to capture feedback in various ways. 

Personally speaking, I find that in the 

company’s feedback forums I can offer 

opinions freely and without needing to 

‘self censor’. This means the feedback 

is more genuine and heartfelt. 

A prime example of my contribution 

being listened to is the reception some 

of my contributions received at a 

recent focus group. I felt my opinions 

mattered and would be seriously 

considered (and possibly acted upon). 

A key area for improvement is having 

executives explain how SP AusNet will 

act upon the feedback – perhaps one 

avenue for this to be done is through 

our half yearly employee briefings. 

Employee Feedback contributing to our company’s success 

SP AusNet actively seeks and responds to employee 

feedback via a number of channels and in relation to a 

range of topics. “Employees feed back innovative ideas, 

updates on strengths and areas of weakness, probing 

questions, important issues and concerns, and support 

for or different views on actions and decisions,” 

says Alison Bradley, SP AusNet’s Culture and 

Development Manager 

The company receives feedback on business operations 

and improvements, leadership and management 

effectiveness, workplace culture, emerging external 

issues within our communities and many other topics. 

Feedback channels include surveys – such as our regular 

culture and engagement surveys - focus groups, and 

the ELT Open-line. “Probably the most used feedback 

channel – especially for local department or site issues 

– is talking directly to managers and supervisors,” 

says Alison. 

Alison points out that “whilst all these elements 

constitute a ‘feedback system’, SP AusNet is working 

to better structure, integrate and improve its overall 

feedback processes, so they together provide an efficient 

and effective way for employees to have a voice.”


Employee values shine during flood crisis 

In true commitment to its values, 

SP AusNet displayed an extraordinary 

sense of safety, passion and teamwork 

during what was a one-in-100 year flood 

that overwhelmed North-Western 

Victoria in January. 

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With Horsham and Kerang 

Terminal Stations and surrounding 

communities under threat, 

employees from across the 

industry rallied with local 

volunteers to minimise damage to 

crucial electricity assets and save 

more than 20,000 customers from 

extended power outages. 

The urgency of the situation was 

evident, and it was admirable to 

see industry leaders SP AusNet 

and Powercor working together. 

Full time personnel were on site 

24 hours a day to ensure that 

workers and assets remained safe. 

At all times safety remained the 

top priority and through dedication 

and commitment to this value, 

the safety of crews, contractors 

and volunteers was never 

compromised. 

A state of emergency 

On Sunday 16 January, the 

response to the imminent threat 

of flood water to North-Western 

Victoria began in what was 

a hectic three days of flood 

preparation. 

Arrangements to construct a 

levee around the Kerang Terminal 

Station began immediately and 

sandbagging the main control 

building of the Horsham Terminal 

Station was initiated by the first 

response team and the State 

Emergency Services (SES). 

The sandbagging and levee works 

at the Kerang Terminal Station 

became a priority on Monday 17 

January as the major threat of 

flooding eased from Horsham. 

At Kerang, the intensity of the 

crisis increased and additional 

resources from Powercor and 

SP AusNet were dispatched. Two 

excavators, which were provided 

at short notice and run non-stop, 

were generously donated by two 

local companies D & K Douglas 

and G & K Kennaugh. A large 

pumping unit was also employed 

in the event that both the external 

and internal levee walls were 

breached. 

An extraordinary effort 

Working around the clock, the 

levee around Kerang Terminal 

Station was finished by noon on 

Tuesday 18 January, with the 

water arriving just as the last


Kerang terminal station from the air 

of the sand bags isolated the 

terminal station. 

The external wall spanned 2.3 

kilometres, measured five metres 

wide at the base and two metres 

high and was secured by building 

plastic. 

To cover for any breach of the 

external wall, a second internal 

wall was constructed using 6,000 

sand bags. 

On the ground 

Energise spoke with SP AusNet’s 

Transmission North Region 

Manager Joey Costantino, the 

main correspondent for both 

terminal stations and works 

coordinator on site at Kerang. 

Joey said this was a massive team 

effort and couldn’t express enough 

gratitude to all the crews, SES, 

CFA, Department of Sustainability 

and Environment (DSE) and the 

local community at Kerang who 

donated time and resources. 

“Once the initial levee wall was 

constructed and the flood water 

peaked, crews of up to eight 

people used two excavators, in 

shifts of up to 14 hours, to repair 

leaks and chase breaches in the 

external levy banks,” said Joey. 

“During this time there was an 

outstanding effort from the SES, 

CFA, DSE and local volunteers who 

helped strengthen sand bag walls 

and lay plastic on the external levy 

to combat the erosion from the 

flowing water. 

“At one stage there was a huge 

‘human chain’ from the roadway 

to the control building laying 

additional sand bags to strengthen 

the internal wall,” said Joey. 

“At peak times, there were so 

many people on and around the 

site, that safety needed to be in 

the forefront of all our minds.” 

“Additional temporary barriers 

were erected and regular safety 

meetings conducted. SP AusNet 

and Powercor staff took up 

‘observation’ positions around 

volunteers and contractors to 

make sure everyone was working 

safely,” he said. 

A helicopter was used to transport 

staff in and out of the station, once 

the floods reached their peak. 

Fatigue was also a consideration 

with crews being regularly rotated 

and facilities made available on 

site for rest breaks. Overall the 

effort of emergency services, our 

Transmission Operations Centre, 

field staff and the volunteers 

involved was outstanding. 

Working together 

More than 250 kilometres away in 

the heart of Melbourne, a number 

of SP AusNet teams worked to 

support those on site by keeping 

media, employees, the community 

and other stakeholders informed 

on the status of the situation and 

ensuring everyone in the vicinity 

was working safely. 

Corporate Emergency Planning 

and Security Manager, Graham 

Manson spoke with respect 

and admiration for the way all 

employees and volunteers banded 

together to achieve a tremendous 

result. 

“SP AusNet declared a level two 

emergency and the Customer and 

Energy Operations Team (CEOT) 

immediately attended the SCC 

(State Control Centre) to liaise 

with Government, the Australian 

Energy Market Operator (AEMO) 

and emergency services on the 

current and future impacts of the 

situation,” said Graham. 

“From the beginning, our 

Corporate Relations Team was 

responding to a number of media 

enquiries and keeping the public 

up-to-date through a number 

of radio interviews and press 

releases. As the state prepared to 

support those effected, we worked 

closely with the Energy Minster’s 

Office to ensure government 

and key stakeholders were kept 

informed and up to date with the 

situation. 

Everyone who played a part in this 

emergency should be commended 

for their work, including the 

Property Group, technical 

advisors, Networks Strategy and 

Development staff for their work 

on contingency planning, all CEOT 

controllers and shift supervisors. 

A positive result 

Our gas network in Horsham has 

held up well under the floods and 

fortunately has not had any issues 

to date. 

Kerang, though seemingly in 

the most danger, weathered 

the severe flooding through the 

teamwork of passionate people. 

The employees who went above 

and beyond are commended 

for their dedication and the 

great spirit shown by the local 

community to our volunteers was 

second to none. 

The full impact the floods have 

had on Victoria is yet to be 

determined, but a major crisis was 

averted and after many laborious 

days, vital electricity assets remain 

functional and customers in the 

north west of the state avoided 

prolonged power outages.


Emberin participant Jo Duckworth 

Building a strong career at SP AusNet 

With a strong focus on professional development 

and workplace training, SP AusNet has recently 

piloted a new program to help employees identify and 

pursue their career goals. 

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The Emberin Program, founded 

by Telstra Businesswoman of the 

Year, Maureen Frank, provides a 

range of benefits to participants 

including building core personal 

and professional skills, improved 

career and development goals and 

confidence and the opportunity to 

network with peers and others in 

the business. 

While the program can be 

tailored to both male and female 

employees, the SP AusNet pilot 

program, launched in October last 

year, saw ten female employees 

across a range of levels in the 

organisation, nominated by their 

managers to participate in the 

trial. 

The program format is self-paced 

with participants receiving a 

pack containing CDs (one for 

each of the twelve topics), a work 

book and a DVD. The self-paced 

nature of the program allows 

participants to complete the 

content at a time that best suits 

them, be it in the workplace 

or at home and/or listening to 

modules in the car or on an iPod. 

The participants’ managers were 

given support kits so they could 

follow their employee’s program 

and participants were encouraged 

to meet with their managers 

regularly to discuss each topic. 

As part of the program, 

participants meet fortnightly to 

discuss each topic and share their 

perspectives and thoughts. As part 

of the pilot, Managing Director 

Nino Ficca and General Managers 

Charles Popple and Claire 

Hamilton spoke with the group, 

describing their own experiences, 

particularly as leaders. 

“The Emberin Program has an 

emphasis on self motivation and 

self leadership,” said SP AusNet’s 

People Development Manager, 

Sarah Monaghan. “While the 

program has a set structure, it is 

self paced, which means that you 

really do get out of the program 

what you are prepared to put in.” 

Program topics include 

networking, communications, 

influencing and negotiation, raising 

your visibility, taking calculated 

risks, and building a career 

strategy. It’s up to participants to 

decide how deeply they want to 

study each topic and if they then 

want to pursue extra development 

to build on what they have studied 

in the program. For example, some 

participants may identify a real 

need to work on their influencing 

skills after completing the 

influencing module and might talk 

to their manager about attending a 

public course, or find 

a mentor in the business 

particularly skilled at influencing. 

“There’s no such thing as ‘one 

size fits all’ development, so 

we are always working with 

managers and employees to find 

the best solutions for different 

development needs. For us, the 

Emberin Program is a new way 

to encourage employees to take 

responsibility for their own careers 

while providing them with the 

structure and tools to identify 

and achieve their goals,” 

says Sarah.


Developing stronger relationships 

with community groups 

With a strong history of supporting the local 

communities in which it operates, SP AusNet has 

this year formed a Sponsorship and Donations 

Committee to better coordinate its efforts and 

ensure sponsorships and donations are aligned 

to our business strategy. 

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The committee, chaired by General 

Manager People and Safety 

Geraldine Leslie, aims to help 

the business develop stronger 

relationships with community 

groups, achieve better outcomes for 

sponsorship recipients and more 

opportunities for employees to be 

involved. 

While most members of the 

committee were chosen according to 

their functional roles, for example all 

three electricity distribution regional 

managers are on the committee, 

it was also deemed appropriate to 

include an employee representative. 

Geraldine said an employee 

representative would help provide 

a representational view of the types 

of sponsorships and donations the 

company should be making. 

“The level of response was so great 

to the call-out that we decided to 

appoint two - Work Group Leader 

Lines (Hazelwood) Adam Carrick and 

Financial Planning and Reporting 

Manager Michelle Johns,” she said. 

“We were very pleased with the 

calibre and level of interest from 

employees in joining the committee, 

which is a very important role. 

“Adam and Michelle come from 

different parts of the business and 

both clearly expressed in their 

committee membership submissions 

an interest in bringing to the 

committee a broad range of ideas 

and views, which is exactly what we 

were looking for,” Geraldine said. 

As a member of the East 

Sustainability Working Group, Adam 

has experience assisting SP AusNet 

assess sponsorship and grant 

applications, as well as helping 

community groups apply for funding 

from SP AusNet. 

In his submission, Adam said he 

believed it would be extremely 

important to have members who 

lived and worked within country 

areas seeing as most of SP AusNet’s 

assets were within regional 

locations. 

In Michelle’s submission, she 

outlined she had been looking for 

a way 

– beyond her work commitments – 

to contribute to SP AusNet outside 

of her current role and to the 

community as a whole. 

In addition, Michelle brings relevant 

experience and skills she has 

developed throughout her career that 

will be beneficial to the committee, 

such as her experience working 

in multinational organisations, 

commercial finance experience in 

areas of research and development 

and educational sponsorships. 

During the first committee meeting, 

which was held in mid-December, 

members discussed the charter 

that it would operate within and 

the criteria that would be used to 

assess applications. A number of 

applications were considered during 

the meeting, with almost unanimous 

agreement to sponsor all that had 

been received. With a belief that 

supporting the communities in 

which it operates goes well beyond 

supplying safe and reliable gas 

and electricity and a commitment 

to making a difference to the 

communities in these areas, the 

newly-formed committee looks set 

for establishing many rewarding 

partnerships.


Tracking our performance 

scorecard: JANUARY TO MARCH 2011 

IT’S IMPORTANT TO REMAIN AWARE OF HOW SP AUSNET IS PERFORMING AGAINST KEY TARGETS 

FOR THE YEAR. TO HELP WITH THIS, A NUMBER OF KEY METRICS HAVE BEEN SELECTED TO 

SHARE COMPANY PROGRESS, WHICH WILL BE TRACKED IN EACH ISSUE OF ENERGISE. 

Category 

Description 

Safety 

Recordable injury frequency rate 

Number of near miss reports 

Financial 

Net profit after tax 

External revenue for Select Solutions 

Share price – As at 31 December, 2010 

Customer 

Customer satisfaction survey 

Select Solutions client satisfaction 

Network performance Transmission availability (Calendar Year 2010) 

Electricity unplanned average minutes off supply per customer (USAIDI) 

(Calendar Year 2010) 

Gas unplanned average minutes off supply per customer (USAIDI) 

(Calendar Year 2010) 

Capital program delivery 

Business excellence 

Completion of works program 

Number of smart meters installed


STRENGTHEN 

TRANSFORM 

EXTEND 

MODERNISE 

January to March performance 

Year to date actual 

Year to date target 

10.5 9 * 

516 500 

On track 

On track 

$0.88 

87% 87% 

79.5% 80% 

99.15% 98.73% 

178.8 minutes 140.0 minutes † 

1.16 minutes 0.95 minutes ‡ 

On track 

36,208 34,700 

* This measure is a 12 month rolling average. 11 recordable injuries in March 2011 have reversed the downward trend of the previous months. 

† YTD unfavourable mainly due to storm events in March 2010, June 2010 and September 2010. 

‡ YTD unfavourable mainly due to the heavy rain experienced in October – December 2010.


A DAY IN THE LIFE 

People Services Manager 

Networks Strategy and Development 

WE RECENTLY SPENT THE DAY WITH Duncan Hewitson, 

the People Services Manager for the Networks 

Strategy and Development Group. He has been 

with SP AusNet for almost three years and 

brings over 20 years of ‘people’ experience to 

the business. Duncan has generously shared 

his day with Energise. 

12:00 PM 

3:00 PM 

8:00 AM 

Check Outlook for People Point 

and employee detail changes. 

Since the introduction of the 

on-line system for approvals, the 

ability to track the progression 

and identify where decisions need 

to be made or resolved is much 

easier. This has improved the time 

taken for progressing the workflow 

and tracking delays. Make a list to 

follow up through the day. Update 

diary with invites, and scan emails 

for important requests to act upon, 

update to-do list for the day. 

9:00 AM 

Attend NSD leadership meeting, 

providing an update on the 

agenda for the week, and gain an 

understanding of how the People 

and Safety Division can support 

the business in the week ahead. 

Take the opportunity to catch up 

on People Point decisions to be 

made. 

10:00 aM 

Recruitment update; review 

status of the outstanding jobs 

with the recruitment team, 

review progression of hard-tofill 

roles, discuss opportunities 

for alternatives and barriers to 

sourcing appropriately qualified 

candidates for NSD. With a tight 

labour market, the recruitment 

team is continually looking for new 

ways to attract quality candidates 

to apply for roles within NSD and 

SP AusNet. 

11:00 AM 

Time for emails; follow up on 

requests. The People Services reps 

are a conduit for many requests 

that pass through to the Payroll 

Department. This usually involves 

updating employee details and 

making requests through on-line 

portals. 

Lunchtime. Not a lot of thought 

goes into lunch – quick, simple 

and low fat. Digest the news of 

the day via the Financial Review, 

analyse the financial pages 

and the implications on labour 

markets, changes in supply and 

demand. Understanding what may 

impact our business is critical 

thinking for HR business partners. 

1:00 PM 

Meeting with one of the NSD 

leadership group to discuss 

one of the major initiatives 

they’re undertaking and identify 

opportunities for supporting the 

NSD team. Take the opportunity to 

discuss project status of current 

people projects and provide 

an update on any outstanding 

requests. The People and Safety 

calendar has regular initiatives 

throughout the year, supported 

by tools and programs, which all 

aim to help the leadership group 

achieve its division’s business 

goals. 

2:00 PM 

Attend cultural initiatives meeting. 

NSD has a number of activities 

for developing a transformational 

culture - one that support 

employees, managers and the 

business to achieve their best and 

improve business outcomes. 

Time for a coffee. Get some fresh 

air. Love the view from Freshwater 

Place, but there’s nothing like 

fresh air and a coffee. Usually 

meet someone along the way, 

get an impromptu update on how 

they’re going and a reminder of 

an outstanding task. Back to the 

office, check the emails and follow 

up on that outstanding task – will 

discuss it with one of the diverse 

group of specialists within People 

and Safety who will more than 

likely know the answer or point 

me in the right direction. There is 

always someone who can recollect 

a conversation, file or piece of 

information from the past that will 

help resolve a query. 

4:00 PM 

Project time: Look to progress one 

of the current projects that NSD 

and People and Safety are working 

on. Current projects include 

workforce planning, classification 

review, new budget and business 

planning. Ensuring that People 

and Safety plans are fit for the 

purpose of NSD and the variety of 

workgroups within NSD is critical 

for the success of my role and the 

working relationship of the two 

divisions. 

5:00 PM 

Is it that time already? 

Wrap up the day and bring some 

semblance of order to the desk.


Progressing our growth STEM 

SP AusNet’s Corporate Business Plan 2011/12 

Last year we launched our five year strategy to 

deliver on our purpose to provide our customers with 

superior network and energy solutions. We articulated 

this strategy through the STEM themes to strengthen, 

transform, extend and modernise our business. 

STRENGTHEN 

TRANSFORM 

EXTEND 

MODERNISE 

In order to position our business 

to create and maintain value 

to securityholders, customers, 

employees and the community, we 

validated and further developed 

the five year strategy and 

formulated a one year Corporate 

Business Plan, launched on 1 April. 

Our focus for 2011/12 

In 2011/12 we will continue our 

journey towards our five-year 

strategy launched last year, with 

specific initiatives in the following 

key focus areas: 

Efficiency 

– creating value by being more 

effective in everything we do 

People 

– ensure our people are supported 

to succeed within our high 

performance culture 

Systems 

– ICT simplification and investment 

for modernisation of our network 

and business processes 

These focus areas are all 

underpinned by safety, our 

number one priority. 

Ensuring ‘Line of Sight’ 

This year, we are keen to continue 

to ensure that we support 

employees in understanding how 

they contribute to our Strategy 

and Corporate Business Plan. 

To assist with this, the 2011/12 

performance planning process will 

emphasise the following: 

• Line of Sight: Leaders and 

their teams will discuss the 

SP AusNet’s Business Plan 

and how divisional, team and 

individual goals will contribute to 

the success of the organisation. 

This will help employees 

understand the significance 

of their role to ensure desired 

outcomes and provide them with 

‘line of sight’ to the direction of 

the business. 

• Goal Cascading: Performance 

goals will be ‘cascaded’ from 

leaders to employees where 

appropriate. This process will 

involve leaders’ goals being 

used as a reference when 

setting the goals for employees. 

This enables everyone to 

see how they contribute to 

the broader team and to the 

organisation as a whole. 

The full 2011/12 Corporate 

Business Plan is available to all 

employees on the company’s 

intranet, InSite, and teams should 

expect to hear more about specific 

initiatives in divisional and 

team meetings.


Community involvement 

shapes major upgrade 

Across the electricity industry, 

a number of recent upgrade projects 

have led to community concern and 

resulted in a much more consultative 

approach to engaging with affected 

stakeholders. The most recent example 

of this is the Brunswick Terminal Station 

upgrade. 

EXTEND 

MODERNISE 

With an increase in community 

activism during recent years - 

where localised and organised 

groups have brought about real 

change - SP AusNet has not 

remained unaffected. 

Examples of past community 

activism that have led to significant 

change include lobbying the State 

Government to underground 

a powerline at the Wonthaggi 

Desalination Plant and a campaign 

to have a very effective, yet 

expensive breast cancer drug 

added to the government subsidy 

list. 

SP AusNet owns and operates 

Victoria’s electricity transmission 

network, which involves 

maintaining approximately 

12,800 high voltage towers and 

approximately 6,500 kilometres 

of transmission lines that carry 

electricity from power stations to 

electricity distributors across the 

state. 

of terminal stations, where the 

voltage of electricity is reduced and 

fed through to zone substations 

where the voltage is once again 

reduced to a suitable level for 

domestic and commercial use. 

While SP AusNet owns the 

transmission network, the 

Australian Energy Market 

Operator (AEMO) is responsible for 

managing the National Electricity 

Market (NEM), overseeing system 

security of the NEM electricity grid 

and transmission planning. 

Located in King St, North Fitzroy 

is the Brunswick Terminal Station 

(BTS) – a site that has been used 

for electricity infrastructure since 

the 1940s. While some upgrades 

have been carried out on the site 

since it was originally built, a major 

refurbishment was scheduled 

for this year to meet the future 

demand for electricity to around 

70,000 of CitiPower’s customers. 

STRENGTHEN 

TRANSFORM 

Part of the transmission network 

is also made up of a number 

The BTS is situated in a highly 

urban and residential area,


Brunswick Terminal Station 

which has presented some 

additional challenges for the 

upgrade project. 

SP AusNet’s Transmission 

Customer Service Manager Suresh 

Damani has been managing the 

project from an asset-ownership 

point of view since the initial 

planning permit application was 

rejected in mid 2010 and an 

intensive community consultation 

program was established. 

Suresh said the original planning 

permit application, which was 

submitted to Moreland City Council 

last December, was based on a 

design that proposed 12 new 26 

metre pylons. 

“In the original design, the majority 

of the proposed new equipment 

was kept within the existing 

design of BTS – which is outdoors 

and unconcealed,” he said, “and 

removal of any redundant buildings 

or other infrastructure was not 

included.” 

More than 200 objections were 

received in response to this 

application, predominantly in 

relation to visual amenity and 

noise. 

Suresh said the three organisations, 

SP AusNet, CitiPower and AEMO, 

had worked closely since the 

permit was rejected to develop 

a design philosophy and set of 

principles, based on Moreland 

Council’s reasons for rejecting the 

first application and the specific 

community objections received by 

the Council. 

“We have also directly engaged 

with the local community, and 

considered feedback received 

during those recent meetings,” 

Suresh said. 

“The design philosophy - to ensure 

the Brunswick Terminal Station 

continues to provide a secure 

power supply to its customers 

while integrating better with its 

neighbours – is one that aims 

to achieve mutual outcomes for 

everyone involved. 

“All three organisations are 

committed to engaging with the 

community as part of developing 

a new planning permit application 

for the upgrade of BTS. 

“We have engaged with the 

community on a number of 

occasions and using various 

avenues, so there have been many 

opportunities for the community 

and other stakeholders to provide 

input to the new design of BTS,” 

he said. 

A regulatory test has been carried 

out by AEMO and CitiPower to 

review design concept options 

and has confirmed Option 3 as the 

preferred concept because it yeilds 

the greatest net economic benefit 

across all reasonable scenarios. 

The regulatory test considered 

a range of factors including 

engineering feasibility, town 

planning and policy requirements 

(including the environmental and 

visual amenity requirements of the 

Moreland Planning Scheme), cost, 

reliability, and maintainability. In 

March, a community discussion 

session was held to provide 

information about the options the 

regulatory test considered, as well 

as to outline how the community 

could make a submission 

regarding the regulatory test 

process. 

At the start of May, the preferred 

design resulting from the 

regulatory test will be exhibited at 

a community discussion session, 

at which time the community 

will again be invited to provide 

feedback. 

Suresh said the organisations 

would be especially interested in 

gaining feedback on landscaping, 

fencing and building appearances 

at that stage. 

“At the May community discussion 

session, we will also provide 

information on the specialist 

studies that will be undertaken 

and how they have influenced the 

preferred design. 

“We are hopeful of submitting a 

planning permit application, around 

the end of May, that the local 

community will be more supportive 

of, as we believe the design 

options now being considered 

are a much better outcome – 

largely due to the community’s 

involvement in this project,” 

he said. 

Further information about the 

project is available at www. 

brunswickts.com.au.


Health Safety and Environment Advisor Ash Dawes 

My safety observation: Ash Dawes 

Safety is ONE OF SP AusNet’S key values 

and relates to the way we conduct our 

work everyday, while underpinning 

each aspect of our Growth STEM 

– to Strengthen, Transform, 

Extend and Modernise our business. 

SP AusNet is on a Mission… 

In April SP AusNet launched a refreshed safety vision, 

focusing on the target of zero injuries at work. 

missionZero was rolled out to the entire organisation 

at the same time on the same day, to signify the 

importance of safety at SP AusNet. 

missionZero encapsulates the new vision for safety. 

When it comes to the safety of our people, contractors 

and visitors, zero injuries is the only acceptable target. 

The launch reminded employees that everyone is 

responsible for leading safety, so we all go home safely 

at the end of the day. 

missionZero sets out clear expectations about what 

is acceptable safety behaviour in our workplaces and 

provides the necessary training, tools and information to 

ensure everyone at SP AusNet successfully fulfils their 

responsibilities as a safety leader. 

Safety will always be our number one priority and will 

be critical to our future. 

Together we must achieve missionZero. 

ENERGISE recently spoke with 

Health Safety and Environment 

Advisor Ash Dawes, who says 

she performs safety observations 

on every field visit and sees 

it as a great tool to document 

the discussions and learnings 

around how our employees and 

contractors are working safely and 

what processes can be improved 

for the future. 

energise 

Can you tell us about a 

recent safety observation you 

completed? 

I recently visited an easement in 

Hampton Park where a field crew 

was installing a WiMax Antenna on 

a 220 kilovolt High Voltage Tower. 

I attended the site to observe the 

work being undertaken, what 

equipment and tools were being 

used and which processes were 

being followed to ensure everyone 

was working safely. 

energise 

What stood out in this safety 

observation? 

I was very impressed by the 

crew members on-site who were 

vigilant with their pre-start Job 

Safety Analysis. They used it 

as a discussion starter for any 

additional safety considerations 

needed for the day’s work. 

energise 

Do you find safety observations 

challenging? 

It is always important to ask 

for further explanation, not only 

what work is being undertaken, 

but how and why, especially if 

it’s not in your area of expertise. 

I have found asking more 

questions and following up on my 

recommendations has helped with 

my knowledge of our business 

and to make completing safety 

observations easy and enjoyable. 

energise 

Why do you think discussing 

safety observations with the 

crew on-site is important? 

Discussing the safety observation 

in a proactive manner and giving 

positive feedback ‘in situ’ and 

immediately following the safety 

observation enables the working 

group involved to feel good about 

what they’re doing well and 

better equip them for dealing 

with the things that need to 

be improved.


Lynn Morgan now and then. 

A career 40 years in the making 

SP AusNet celebrates the contribution of 

a team member who has made the electricity 

utility business her life’s vocation. 

EXTEND 

STRENGTHEN 

TRANSFORM 

MODERNISE 

While many organisations claim their 

employees as their greatest asset, 

it’s translating these words into 

action that is the true test of where 

an organisation’s priorities lie. 

People are a key focus at SP AusNet, 

and the number of long term 

employees with the organisation 

today is testimony to this. 

In many cases these individuals 

began with the State Electricity 

Commission (SEC) and have seen a 

variety of mergers and acquisitions, 

culminating in the formation of 


Energise met with SP AusNet’s 

Quality Coordinator Lynn Morgan as 

she nears 40 years of service in the 

electricity utility business, to gain 

an insight into the changes she has 

witnessed over the years and the 

motivation behind her continued 

loyalty. 

Much has changed in the industry 

since a 16-year-old Lynn left school 

and began her first full-time job as 

a Key Punch Operator at the SEC, 

punching meter reading data onto 

record cards. 

“The environment has changed a lot, 

so have the conditions. Life hasn’t 

been dull here!” Lynn said. 

After some years under her belt, 

Lynn moved to the Greensborough 

District Office where she gained 

experience in different areas, 

including acting in more senior 

administrative roles. 

“My manager gently pushed and 

encouraged me to move forward to 

learn and develop my skills.” 

During the late 1970s, work in the 

District Office was done using pen, 

paper and carbon paper. 

“In the mid 1980s we were 

introduced to a computer that had 

four screens but no mouse, and a 

few years later we had computers 

with a mouse with 156 screen 

options.” 

“I thought things were really 

moving!” she said. 

With a supportive manager who saw 

her potential, Lynn took on a role 

in the Service Excellence Program 

that initiated the Guaranteed Service 

Levels (GSL). These were introduced 

as a key initiative to prepare the 

distribution arm of the SEC for 

privatisation. Customers were 

surveyed for their service needs and 

a training program developed. Lynn 

trained team leaders and supervisors 

to promote a new focus on customer 

service behaviours. 

Lynn recalled these years as a 

highlight in her career. “This is 

when I had the most fun,” she 

said. “We got the business working 

smarter and faster through the 

implementation of new systems and 

procedures.” 

Lynn was involved in the introduction 

of Eastern Energy’s corporate 

wardrobe, and even became the 

face of the organisation, appearing 

in television commercials, local 

newspaper advertisements and 

on external marketing material. 

Lynn recently reprised this role by 

appearing in SP AusNet’s smart 

meter communications brochure! 

Lynn has also been witness to a 

major shift in human resource 

practices. 

“When I had my children, the 

organisation was unable to facilitate 

job sharing or part time working 

hours.” 

Today Lynn benefits from permanent 

part time hours and flexible working 

arrangements, based in Melbourne 

part of the week, with the remainder 

at Bundoora. 

“We’ve come a long way from 

regimented dress lengths and strict 

meal times,” she said. 

Her current role as Quality 

Coordinator sees Lynn focussing 

on the safety of SP AusNet’s people 

and assets, and the quality of work 

processes and procedures. This sits 

well with Lynn’s personal safety 

conviction. 

“My aim each day is to get to 

work and arrive home safely,” she 

explains. 

Lynn recalls her years in the 

electricity business fondly 

and credits the culture of the 

organisation for her long service, 

saying ‘great people and lasting 

friendships’ have kept her engaged 

all these years. 

“SP AusNet today is a good 

organisation with good people.” 

It may have been her mother’s 

suggestion to apply for that first role, 

but the hard work, dedication and 

commitment of this self confessed 

‘worker bee’ have been her’s alone. 

And what’s next for Lynn? 

“I’m trying to taper down towards 

retirement, but I’m busier now than 

I’ve ever been!” she said. 

Lynn’s advice for new starters: 

• Learn as much about the organisation as you can. 

• Be prepared to put in the extra work. 

• Don’t expect to start at the top. 

• It’s a big organisation, there’s always an opportunity 

to further your skills and find a rewarding career path.


SP AusNet’s Skilling for the Future 

January and February saw the beginning of our new 

trainees, apprentices and graduates’ careers with 


STRENGTHEN 

Technical Trainee Tester Matthew Levy. 

TRANSFORM 

EXTEND 

MODERNISE 

With a strong commitment to 

supporting our future workforce, 

our Skilling for the Future program 

looks to ensure the sustainability 

of essential energy business skills 

for SP AusNet. 

After a very long, tough and 

meticulous recruitment process, 

a fantastic group of enthusiastic 

and capable people, consisting of 

15 trainees, 15 apprentices and 

four graduates have been selected 

as this year’s Skilling for the 

Future intake. 

As a welcome to the business, the 

new group underwent a week long 

induction program led by Training 

Manager Gerard Cooke and 

Skilling for the Future Consultant 

Kirsty Dougall. 

The week included a corporate 

induction, an address from 

senior management about how 

to manage their career and a 

personal reflection on career 

journeys within SP AusNet, 

snapshots of the business and 

key procedures and processes 

that they need to be aware of 

and a welcome dinner with 

SP AusNet senior executives and 

line managers from across our 

business. 

“Induction is a critical part of 

the journey with SP AusNet for 

the trainees, apprentices and 

graduates” said Kirsty. “It’s 

essential that we provide exposure 

to the various parts of the 

business and key executive and 

senior leaders who will support the 

new starters during their training 

and development.” 

A bus trip was also organised 

for the new group incorporating 

a number of activities 

including a presentation about 

health and wellbeing from 

motivational speaker, John 

Verbi; a comprehensive tour 

of Rowville Terminal Station; 

career discussions with senior 

management and a tour of 

Newport Power Station. 

“Being new to the industry, it’s 

also critical that the trainees, 

apprentices and graduates get 

an understanding of the wider 

energy industry from generation to 

the end user and how SP AusNet 

contributes to Victoria’s gas and 

electricity needs,” said Kirsty. 

As part of SP AusNet’s 

commitment to training and 

education for the energy industry, 

SP AusNet also supports the 

development of secondary 

school students’ knowledge and 

experience as part of the Victorian 

energy education training program 

(VEET) in association with the East 

Gippsland Local Learning and 

Employment Network (LLEN). 

“We see considerable benefits 

in the VEET program. There is a 

recognised skills shortage in our 

industry. The VEET program helps 

students learn more and enhance 

their interest in the energy sector 

as well as offering employment 

opportunities within their local 

communities,” Kirsty said. 

The VEET program commenced in 

East Gippsland in 2009 through 

a partnership with SP AusNet, 

LLEN and a number of local 

secondary colleges. The program 

was initiated to introduce 

students to the energy industry 

and in turn assist with recruiting 

by encouraging high calibre 

candidates to apply for local 

apprenticeships and traineeships. 

The VEET program has led 

to students taking up 

apprenticeships and trainee 

positions with the business and 

it provides another opportunity 

to encourage and nurture the 

growth and development of 

essential skills for the long term 

needs of SP AusNet.


Thinking ahead. 

Workforce planning at SP AusNet 

SP AusNet are committed to ensure we have the right 

people and capabilities to be able to deliver on our current 

and future business requirements. we have commenced the 

development of a five year strategic workforce plan. 

STRENGTHEN 

TRANSFORM 

EXTEND 

MODERNISE 

There are many factors that 

will influence our workforce 

composition and needs into the 

future. These include changing 

technology and work practices, 

changing customer expectations 

and new generations of employees 

with aspirations to be part of the 

developments in our industry. 

The new workforce plan will have 

three specific focus areas: 

• understanding and forecasting 

our future resource 

requirements 

• identification of skills and 

capabilities we will need into 

the future 

• identification and mapping of 

career path options, which will 

enable the establishment of 

clear development pathways for 

employees 

The project will be led by Elise 

White from our People and Safety 

Division and requires the input and 

involvement of a range of people 

across the business. 

“This is a critical project for any 

business to ensure that we align 

our people capability with our 

business plan and programs of 

work,” Elise said. “What we’re 

aiming to do is assess the future 

business needs in terms of skills 

and capabilities of employees and 

map out how we will achieve this 

over the next several years.” 

“One of the key aims of the 

Strategic Workforce Plan is to 

ensure that SP AusNet continues 

to deliver a quality service to our 

customers in a changing energy 

environment against a backdrop 

of skills shortages and anticipated 

demand for new skills in the near 

to medium term.” 

SP AusNet already has a 

number of workforce planning 

initiatives in place, one of which 

is the recruitment of graduates, 

apprentices and trainees as part of 

the Skilling for the Future program, 

which has been an important and 

successful initiative, in building 

and replenishing our workforce 

to date. The workforce planning 

project will further enhance this 

existing activity and develop a 

holistic approach to meeting our 

workforce planning capability 

needs. 

“The Skilling for the Future 

program is one way to bring 

in new skills to the business 

to ensure that we maintain a 

high level of skilled graduates, 

apprentices and trainees to work 

across all energy networks. 

“This will be supported by other 

initiatives to ensure we have 

the necessary capabilities to be 

successful well into the future.” 

said Elise. 

“With the future of energy delivery 

in smart grids, SP AusNet will 

require new expertise in emerging 

technologies. The strategic 

workforce plan will also take this 

into account.” 

The plan is due to be completed 

by July, accompanied by a plan of 

action to implement the findings 

allowing SP AusNet to continue 

a strong focus on providing our 

customers with superior energy 

network solutions.


Select Solutions 

skilling for success 

The Select Solutions NSW team from left to right: 

Robert Newman, Stephen Russell, Rikus Jacobs, Barry Myburgh, and Cyrus Moradi. 

Select Solutions expansion into the New South Wales market of High Voltage (HV) 

electricity testing has not only strengthened operations interstate but also 

offered exciting opportunities both personally and professionally for those 

involved in this new venture. 

STRENGTHEN 

TRANSFORM 

EXTEND 

MODERNISE 

Aside from being a major coup for 

Select Solutions to be awarded 

both the Delta and TransGrid 

electricity HV testing contracts 

in quick succession, the true 

testament of the business was 

proven by how it overcame 

the challenges of employing a 

specialist team to facilitate such 

projects. 

People Services Consultant Andy 

Godfrey explained that although it 

was an extremely exciting win for 

Select Solutions, he faced a big 

challenge because there wasn’t 

a team in NSW ready to perform 

the work. 

“It was imperative that we 

find what we were looking for 

extremely quickly,” Andy adds. 

The types of professionals required 

for the role were considered 

extremely carefully. The specialised 

skill set of HV Engineers and 

HV Technicians that have been 

traditionally considered in Australia, 

is quite rare. 

Select’s resourcing strategy 

considered every available 

resource. Time was ticking. 

Recruitment activity was into its 

sixth month and yet no suitable 

candidates had been secured. 

And then it all began to turn around 

for Select Solutions. 

Barry Myburgh, a South African 

born, 20-year veteran of the 

transformer servicing industry was 

found and hired to lead the team 

as the inaugural NSW Condition 

Monitoring Manager. According 

to Barry, he didn’t need much 

convincing.


“The attraction for me was the 

“Such was the nature of the work 

Barry goes on to praise and 

the team to Australian standards 

major investment being thrown 

into the HV specialised testing 

equipment,” Barry said. 

“I thought that it was great for 

a company to be making such a 

significant investment in this area, 

and I just knew I had to be a part of 

it,” Barry said. 

With a manager now on board 

Select set their sights on forming a 

team of engineers and technicians 

around Barry’s expertise. 

Once again, suitable candidates 

were scarce, so the company 

worked with Barry to harness 

his industry contacts and started 

to think outside the box as their 

search for the right people began 

to heat up. 

we were looking for – people with 

previous transformer-testing and 

HV testing experience – we were 

beginning to get a clearer picture 

that our NSW team was going to 

be quite a diverse one,” Andy said. 

It was only a matter of time now 

before this new team would take 

shape. 

“We were always confident that 

we would achieve our goal. After 

all, we were offering such a 

unique opportunity to provide HV 

testing in a dedicated HV testing 

environment,” Andy said. 

Made up of an Australian, one expatriot 

Australian lured home from 

working overseas, an Iranian, and 

two South Africans, Barry believes 

acknowledge the great support 

shown by Select Solutions to these 

individuals as a critical factor in 

determining whether they would 

become part of the NSW team. 

While the team members have 

been employed because of their 

good understanding and solid 

background in a very specialised 

field, the challenges faced by 

Barry and his group now turn to 

maintaining the high standards 

required in Australia. 

“My role is to now drive this group 

forward and deliver excellence for 

our valued customers. We will turn 

our attention to continue to train 

and work to maintain this high 

expectation all year round. 

“We believe the success of our 

team will pave the way for Select 

Solutions to mobilise similar 

groups the way they have done so 

here, for other parts of Australia, 

as they continue its expansion 

and service offering of technical 

expertise,” Barry said. 

Manager Barry Myburgh 

Engineer Cyrus Moradi 

Technician Rikus Jacobs 

Technician Robert Newman 

Electrical Fitter Stephen Russell 

“We used all the technology and 

resources we needed to make 

sure we found the right people,” 

Andy said. 

the newly-formed team provides 

Select Solutions with the best 

possible opportunity to succeed in 

such a crucial market. 

“We held internet Skype hook-ups 

“This NSW team is very special 

with individuals in New Zealand, 

for so many different reasons. 

conducted international phone 

Each member brings a unique 

interviews with UK-based 

skill-set and something completely 

candidates, and reviewed resumes 

different to the group, ensuring the 

from interested parties as far away 

dynamic of the team is diverse and 

as Zimbabwe. 

specialised,” Barry said.



We help customers in managing their 

energy, water and environmental 

requirements for today and tomorrow. 

Select Solutions offers a wide range of end-to-end services for utilities, government, 

energy and water retailers along with commercial/industrial customers, including: 

Asset Inspection – full inspection and 

reporting on the condition of utility assets, 

utilising proven Inspection technologies. 

Technical Solutions – instrument calibration, 

asset condition monitoring, gas technical 

services, independent chemical testing 

and SCADA replacement and maintenance. 

Vegetation and Easement Management 

– onsite management in and around assets. 

Metering – meter provisioning, consumption 

reporting, meter asset & data management. 

Telecommunications Solutions – leasing 

of advanced communications infrastructure. 

Our customers experience competitive pricing, industry-accredited services, leading edge 

business systems and a hassle free solution-based service. 

Data Data & Measurement Solutions 

Technical Solutions 

Telecommunication Solutions Telecommunication Utility Solutions 

For more information about Select Solutions phone 03 9695 6000 fax 03 9695 6666 web www.select-solutions.com.au

EMPOWERING OUR PEOPLE - SP AusNet

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