SUPPORTING OUR COMMUNITIES - SP AusNet

STRENGTHEN TRANSFORM EXTEND MODERNISE
PREPARING FOR BUSHFIRE SEASON
THROUGH ENGAGEMENT AND INNOVATION
Defining new methods and enhancing public engagement
ENGAGING THE COMMUNITY
IN OUR SMART ENERGY FUTURE
Public perceptions on future electricity usage
ABCs OF ELECTRICAL SAFETY
Engaging with local schools
LEADERSHIP BUILDING BLOCKS
Developing our people and technical leaders
SUPPORTING
OUR COMMUNITIES
ISSUE 3 NOVEMBER 2010

2 ENERGISE ISSUE 3
A message
from Nino
Supporting our communities is
always a priority in this everchanging
world.
As members of the community
ourselves, we all see the impacts
that increased costs of living have
on us. Not only are bills rising,
there’s also more of a desire to
adopt greener ways of living
and working.
As an energy company, SP AusNet
plays a role in helping people meet
their energy needs.
It is our responsibility to ensure
the energy networks we manage
are reliable and cost-effective,
while also providing the
opportunity for our customers to
connect to renewable, sustainable
energy supplies.
One key project in response is
Victorian Government’s smart
meter program, where we’ve
begun rolling out smart meters
across our electricity
distribution network.
We see ourselves as an active
member of the communities we
operate in. As employees, we
both live in and work across our
regions, and we are proud of the
role we play in keeping the lights
on and the gas flowing.
This issue of ENERGISE explores
how SP AusNet is responding to
changing community needs and
expectations – including:
• our actions following the
Victorian Bushfires Royal
Commission recommendations;
• progress on introducing ‘smart
network’ capabilities and new
technologies to Victoria;
• helicopter visits to schools to
increase awareness of our asset
inspection program; and
• up skilling our managers to
meet future organisational
needs.
I’d also like to recognise those
employees who were recipients
of our annual Inspire Awards.
It’s a highlight on our SP AusNet
calendar and recognises and
celebrates how employees
demonstrate Safety, Passion,
Teamwork, Integrity and
Excellence. There’s also an award
for Innovation and my Managing
Director’s Award for an individual
whose day to day work embodies
all our values. Congratulations
to all this year’s winners. I know
these awards will inspire other
employees to live our values
every day.
Please keep safe over the coming
festive period and take some
time out to relax with family and
friends, ready to begin again
in 2011!
I hope you enjoy this issue
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 Communications team at
public.relations@sp-ausnet.com.au
Front Cover image: Helicopter inspections underway across
SP AusNet’s electricity networks.
Printed on 100% recycled stock.
In this issue
Preparing for bushfire season through engagement and innovation 4
Engaging the community in our smart energy future 6
ABCs of electrical safety 7
A day in the life of a...
Customer Faults and Emergencies Team Leader 8
Tracking our performance scorecard: July to September 2010 10
STRENGTHEN
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Smarter techniques to manage our networks 12
Leadership building blocks 14
Serious about change 15
My safety observation: Eric Howie 16
Select Solutions continues expansion into water market 18
Strengthening our electricity network to meet customers’ needs 19

4 ENERGISE ISSUE 3
Preparing for bushfire season
through engagement and innovation
THE ROYAL COMMISSION MADE A NUMBER
OF RECOMMENDATIONS IN ITS FINAL REPORT
INTENDED TO REDUCE THE OCCURRENCE AND
IMPACT OF FUTURE BUSHFIRES.
STRENGTHEN
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On 31 July, the Victorian Bushfires
Royal Commission Final Report
was released.
SP AusNet supports the State
Government’s decision to evaluate
the recommendations and how
they might best be implemented,
and is working with them and the
electricity regulators to implement
any recommendations that will lead
to constructive improvements and
make the electricity network
even safer.
The release of the final report
symbolised a key milestone for
the communities affected by the
bushfires, and was also significant
to SP AusNet, with many employees
giving evidence at the Royal
Commission’s public hearings and
assisting the process in other ways.
Seven recommendations were
relevant specifically to the
electricity industry, with a taskforce
established by the Victorian
Government to examine all options
to further minimise the risk of
bushfires caused by
electrical assets.
Manager Asset Engineering Gary
Towns, and chair of SP AusNet’s
Bushfire Mitigation Management
Committee, says SP AusNet is
pleased to work with and contribute
to the Powerline Bushfire
Safety Taskforce.
“As we did when the Royal
Commission was established, we
have made a commitment to extend
our full support and assistance to
the taskforce to evaluate all of the
options, based on latest technologies
and robust risk analysis,” Gary said.
The taskforce will provide an interim
report by the end of January and a
final report by 30 June 2011. The
group is required to recommend a
10-year plan to reduce bushfire risk,
accompanied with options for fairly
and efficiently recovering
the plan’s costs.
Among other proposals, the
taskforce will look at aerial bundled
cable, underground powerlines and
other technologies that may assist in
reducing bushfire risk.

NCASP-559BM
Following changes to legislation
after the release of the commission’s
final report, Gary explains SP AusNet
has already begun assessing
how it can implement
particular recommendations.
“In relation to Recommendation
28, for example, which states that
all Single Wire Earth Return (SWER)
lines and all 22-kilovolt feeders
in areas of high bushfire risk are
inspected at least every three years,
we are transitioning to a ground
and aerial inspections mid-cycle
program every two and a half years.
We are also inspecting an extra
45,000 pole top assemblies this
year,” Gary said.
More broadly, SP AusNet has a
long-standing annual bushfire
mitigation program that complies
with legislative requirements to
ensure community safety, while
also balancing environmental
preservation. The program involves
asset inspections, maintenance and
vegetation management conducted
prior to the declaration of
the fire season.
Alongside this is a public awareness
campaign to inform electricity
customers of their obligations to
prepare and maintain their private
overhead electric powerlines to
reduce bushfire risk.
By taking a more engagementfocused
approach to this campaign,
Gary explains that SP AusNet is
keen to maximise the level of
understanding and involvement
of communities, businesses
and individuals.
We’re preparing for
bush� r e season
ARE YOU?
Have you checked your private overhead
electric line?
If you see any faults or hazards call 13 17 99.
To � nd out more about private overhead
electric powerlines and your responsibilities
call SP AusNet on 1300 360 795 or
visit www.sp-ausnet.com.au.
ISSUE 3 ENERGISE 5
“We’re targeting relevant
stakeholders - government, private
powerline owners, farmers and local
councils - in the high risk areas
identified by the government, as well
as building on the relationships our
field employees already have in their
local communities,” Gary said.
“We want to inform the community
so that we can work together to
reduce the risk of bushfires.”
One example of this enhanced
stakeholder engagement is North
Regional Manager Paul Lane’s
strengthening of relationships with
Indigo, Murrindindi and Mitchell
Shire Councils. These shires were
affected by last year’s bushfires, and
following the release of the Royal
Commission recommendations,
it was opportune to catch up to
discuss bushfire preparedness.
“I’ve found the shire discussions
really useful in helping all of us
understand the bushfire risks
in the areas, the challenges our
communities face and what we
can do together to mitigate them,”
Paul said.
“The meetings also provided me
with an opportunity to inform the
shires of other relevant upgrade
works we were carrying out in their
area, to assist their understanding
of the electricity related terminology
and technologies mentioned in the
final report and to hear and help
with local concerns or needs they
had,” he said.
Another critical element of this
engagement is SP AusNet’s
revamped television, radio and print
advertisement campaign to run
across the electricity distribution
network starting in late 2010. This
ad campaign clearly articulates what
SP AusNet has done to prepare for
the bushfire season, and outlines
the responsibilities for customers
with private electric lines
on their property.
SP AusNet’s bushfire mitigation
program and public awareness
campaign emphasise the
importance of working with
communities to further reduce the
risk of bushfires.

6 ENERGISE ISSUE 3
Engaging the community in our
smart energy future
AT SP AUSNET, WE ARE PRIMED TO FACILITATE THIS
ENERGY TRANSFORMATION.
Utilities have long been focused
to provide electricity supply to
consumers seeking reliable,
sustainable and affordable
energy. With network functionality
remaining relatively unchanged
for a century, the industry is more
ready than ever to take advantage
of advanced technologies to
deliver our communities a ‘smart
energy future’.
Our customers want reliable
delivery of electricity, but they also
want the ability to make informed
decisions. They are prepared
to take a more active interest
in their electricity usage – and
want the capability to alter their
consumption to reduce costs and
live more sustainably.
Enabling such an interactive and
consumer-empowered electricity
system requires the development
of a ‘smart grid’ or network.
In March 2010, GE Money
commissioned a consumer survey
to better understand the public
perception of smart meters and
smart grids (or smart networks)
in Australia.
The survey found that nearly
three-quarters of Australian
consumers were unfamiliar
with the term ‘smart grid’. More
promising however – of the 8 per
cent who had heard of the term,
91 per cent were overwhelmingly
positive about the technology and
what it would do for Australia, and
71 per cent wished they knew
more about the technology and
how it would affect them.
Those aware of smart grids:
• were excited about electricity
networks relying more on clean
domestic energy sources (45
per cent);
• believed it would reduce the
frequency and duration of power
outages (45 per cent); and
• felt it would provide more
information to make better
decisions (43 per cent).
The research shows that
consumers will accept a
modernised energy network and
the improvements it will deliver.
STRENGTHEN
The challenge lies in educating
and engaging consumers as
our company embarks on a
smart journey that has already
seen SP AusNet begin installing
smart meters in Victoria – these
meters play a key role in helping
consumers better manage their
electricity use.
So, how do we convince our
communities to embrace a change
that imposes an upfront cost when
the benefits are to be realised in
the future? SP AusNet needs to
convince them the benefits will
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be worth the wait. Not only for
Victoria’s electricity network but,
more importantly, for them
as consumers.
Victoria’s smart meter program
will enable households to
exchange information directly with
the electricity network – this twoway
communication will be the
foundation for smart grids.
The flow of information between
electricity providers and customers
will assist in optimising network
operations, managing energy
demand and allowing faults to
be automatically detected and
repaired. Through implementation,
customers will gain greater usage
information to manage their
energy costs.
Having the community join the
electricity industry on this smart
energy journey is essential, with
the prize being the ability to
make electricity more visible and
customer-managed.
Thanks to GE Money for the reproduction of survey results – view full results at: http://www.itsyoursmartgrid.com/pdf/assets/resources/downloads/GE_Australia%20smart%20grid%20survey%20fast%20facts.pdf.

ABCs of electrical safety
AS PART OF ITS COMMUNITY AWARENESS AND ENGAGEMENT
COMMITMENT, SP AUSNET IS WORKING WITH SCHOOLS IN ITS
ELECTRICITY DISTRIBUTION AREA TO TEACH STUDENTS ABOUT
ELECTRICITY SAFETY AND RELIABILITY.
SP AusNte’s program has led to a
number of school children having
an experience many of them
would only dream of – being able
to sit in a real helicopter.
SP AusNet has been using
helicopter inspections to improve
electricity safety and reliability
through a more efficient technique
that enables more powerlines to
be inspected more quickly.
Maintenance Planning Lead
Consultant Denis McCrohan, who
is coordinating the helicopter
program, came up with the idea of
visiting schools in the areas where
powerlines are being inspected.
The first school visited was
Lakeside Lutheran College
in Pakenham.
Denis explains that whenever
SP AusNet is going to be visible in
the community during inspections,
we’ll also promote what we’re
doing and why to the local schools.
“It was easy to organise for the
helicopter to drop into the college
as it was inspecting lines in the
nearby area. I think the kids got
a kick out of the helicopter flying
overhead and taking photos of
their school. They also got the
opportunity to sit in the helicopter
and learn about how we inspect
the lines,” Denis said.
More helicopter visits to schools
are currently being planned. With
over 45,000 lines to inspect by the
end of January, SP AusNet plans
to visit as many schools in the
inspection areas as possible.
Further to this, SP AusNet
employees spoke to more than
660 children at seven schools in
July as part of its sponsorship of
the Tour of Gippsland - a five day
bicycle race.
Property Administration Officer
Jacqueline Drapos, who spoke at
the schools, says the visits taught
the children about staying safe in
their home, at school and on
their bikes.
“When doing the site visits
we were accompanied by a
professional cyclist entered in
the event, who talked about
bicycle safety. We followed up by
explaining how to stay safe around
electricity in the home and at
school. The students responded
really well, asking lots of
questions,” Jacqueline explained.
The school children later created
posters about what actions
they would take to stay safe
around electricity and displayed
them when they came to cheer
STRENGTHEN
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ISSUE 3 ENERGISE 7
Trying out the equipment on the ground
EXTEND
MODERNISE
cyclists during the official Tour of
Gippsland event.
This commitment to our local
schools is sure to continue,
educating tomorrow’s future adults
about the importance of managing
of energy networks safely
and reliably.

8 ENERGISE ISSUE 3
A DAY IN THE LIFE of a
Customer Faults and
Emergencies Team Leader
WE RECENTLY SPENT THE DAY WITH JAMIE PALMER,
A CUSTOMER FAULTS AND EMERGENCIES TEAM LEADER IN
SP AUSNET’S CUSTOMER AND ENERGY OPERATIONS TEAM,
TO FIND OUT HOW HE AND HIS TEAM SERVE COMMUNITY NEEDS
The Customer Faults and
Emergencies team operates out
of SP AusNet’s fully-equipped
control centre in Melbourne’s CBD.
Monitoring the performance of
our electricity transmission and
distribution, and gas distribution
networks 24-hours a day, seven
days a week, the team responds to
gas and electricity fault calls from
SP AusNet customers.
As Team Leader (sharing this role
with five other colleagues), Jamie
continually monitors the fault call
quantity and quality that comes
into the control centre, always
looking to improve the way he
and his team respond to
our customers.

Pictured left: Customer Faults and Emergencies Team Leader, Jamie Palmer.
Pictured clockwise above: Jamie discusses the day’s progress
with Manager Jase O’Driscoll; The control centre;
Speaking with customers; A record of the day’s set-up.
6:00 AM
Jamie begins by conducting a
handover with the previous shift’s
Team Leader to discuss overnight
faults information – he’s then fully
updated on the latest outages and
any planned works.
So he’s aware of any impacts
on our networks during the next
four days, Jamie calculates
a weather threat assessment
from the Bureau of Meteorology
website, which he sends to the
Customer and Energy Operations
management team.
The threat assessment predicts
the likely number of network faults
SP AusNet will experience given
the forecasted weather conditions.
Pending the assessment’s results,
Jamie will increase or decrease
the number of employees rostered
to work in the coming week.
Handover complete, Jamie and
his team of two (increasing to
six throughout a normal day,
depending on weather conditions)
begin taking gas and electricity
fault calls from the general public.
8:00 AM
Call-taking continues, with calls
received from general customers,
the National Response Centre,
which manages minor and major
gas leaks, and other SP AusNet
departments.
Keeping customers aware of
faults information is vital. To do
this, Jamie’s team begins making
outbound calls to customers
regarding planned and unplanned
electricity outages. Jamie also
updates the customer telephone
system so the majority of callers
can find out about their respective
faults over the phone. The team
also monitors SP AusNet’s two
faults email addresses – one
for general faults and one for
streetlight faults.
To keep SP AusNet’s entire
Customer and Energy Operations
team informed of current fault
information, Jamie’s team
provides updates via an intranet
outage system page and in the
communications room itself.
When severe weather incidents
occur, the call centre needs to
bring in Severe Weather Action
Team (SWAT) volunteers to help
man the phones when they’re
running hot. During the morning,
Jamie oversees the training of
SWAT volunteers during a quiet
time so they are adequately
prepared for whenever they are
called in to help
11:00 aM
Jamie liaises with SP AusNet’s
distribution controllers,
dispatchers and planners
about multiple outages and
infrastructure faults to keep aware
of current status.
Upgrading our customer outage
technology systems is a key focus
area. As his team’s subject matter
expert on the topic, Jamie attends
several meetings on the new
Distribution Outage Management
System. This system will provide
one integrated tool that manages
all SP AusNet energy networks,
rather than the multiple systems
now used.
Afterwards, Jamie continues
updating the Team Leaders daily
checklist so he doesn’t miss any
important information during his
ISSUE 3 ENERGISE 9
handover to the next Team Leader
at the end of his shift.
2:00 PM
With the afternoon speeding on,
Jamie checks the following day’s
roster to confirm that enough
people are scheduled on the
phones. This workforce is made
up of approximately 70 per cent
permanent staff and 30 per cent
temporary staff, dependant on the
resourcing need.
In case any sudden high activity
on SP AusNet’s networks occurs,
Jamie checks the call centre
overflow rooms to confirm all
computers and phones are
working and are available to use
if needed.
4:00 PM
Daily reports are run on the team’s
statistics to keep management
informed and provide feedback
to employees.
During the afternoon, a gas fault
has been identified by the National
Response Centre, so Jamie verifies
the information received and adds
this to PowerOn, SP AusNet’s
outage computer system. By doing
this, a truck is dispatched to the
site to fix the fault.
SP AusNet has also been
notified by an electricity retailer
of a customer who needs
their electricity supply to be
reconnected after business hours.
To get this underway, Jamie raises
a service order for the connection
to be completed during
the evening.
With his shift coming to an end,
Jamie prepares a handover to give
to the incoming Night Shift Team
Leader. All activities that occurred
during Jamie’s shift must be
thoroughly explained so the next
leader can continue leading the
Customer Faults and Emergencies
team effectively.
6:00 PM
After conducting the handover,
Jamie clocks off after a 12 hour
shift – ready to do it all again
tomorrow!

10 ENERGISE ISSUE 3
Tracking our performance
scorecard: JULY TO SEPTEMBER 2010
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 30 September, 2010
Customer Customer satisfaction survey
Select Solutions client satisfaction
Network performance Transmission availability (Calendar Year 2010)
Capital program delivery Completion of works program
Electricity unplanned average minutes off supply per customer (USAIDI)
(Calendar Year 2010)
Gas unplanned average minutes off supply per customer (USAIDI)
(Calendar Year 2010)
Business excellence Number of smart meters installed

July to September performance
Year to date actual Year to date target
12 9 *
306 250
$166.1M $142.2M
$57.6M $63.1M
$0.86
87% 87%
79.8% 80%
99.19% 98.73%
141.2 minutes 110.3 minutes †
0.76 minutes 0.76 minutes
Risk of being unfavourable at year end
36,208 34,700
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ISSUE 3 ENERGISE 11
MODERNISE
* 35 recordable injuries recorded this financial year. This measure is a 12 month rolling average – the year-to-date trend indicates the full year performance measure will not be met.
† Performance unfavourable due to a number of storms during this calendar year.
‡ Overspent mainly due to Schultz acquisition and additional AMI capex.
‡

12 ENERGISE ISSUE 3
Smarter techniques to
manage our networks
MANAGING AND MAINTAINING OUR ENERGY
NETWORKS TO MEET COMMUNITY NEEDS IS
BEING ENHANCED THROUGH THE INTRODUCTION
OF INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES
SP AusNet’s Smart Networks
department is leading the charge
through projects led by its Asset
Innovation and Research
(AIR) team.
The emergence of accurate
sensing technologies and the
availability of high-end processing
hardware have opened new
possibilities of using smarter asset
management approaches.
One key new capability that has
been introduced is image and
data processing, which the AIR
team has built from scratch. This
involves the use of advanced
computing, such as computer
vision, machine learning and
artificial intelligence, to make asset
inspections even more efficient.
AIR Team Manager, Dr. Yogendra
Vashishtha, says that inspecting
assets more accurately at lower
cost will continue to provide our
customers with enhanced service,
while also increasing network
reliability and safety.
“Using intelligent and automated
processing will let us do more at
lower cost and will enable us to
deliver higher accuracy, increasing
customer satisfaction levels,” Dr.
Yogendra said.
In developing smart solutions
for electricity and gas networks,
the AIR team works closely with
SP AusNet’s commercial arm,
Select Solutions, to identify and
leverage appropriate avenues to
apply this technology for other
interested external businesses, in
addition to SP AusNet.
Image and data processing
Through the ability to provide
comprehensive assessment of
aerial conductors and conductor
fittings, the use of automatic image
processing of aerial photography
promises to revolutionise electricity
network asset inspections.
Dr. Yogendra explains that
technology, intelligent processing
and our experience are brought
together to inspect assets and
build a more reliable network.
“From license plate recognition
to fingerprint matching, image
processing has been successfully
used to transfer labour intensive
tasks to the computer,”
Dr. Yogendra said.
STRENGTHEN
Preparing for helicopter-based asset inspection
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This technology is being introduced
to our business through the work
of SP AusNet developer
Arman Tajbakhsh.
“Two of our ongoing projects
are ‘transmission conductors
assessment using image
processing’ and ‘automatic
recognition of pole tags’. This
computerised image processing
vastly reduces the manual labour
required to perform image
inspections,” Arman said.
“These computerised and
automated systems allow us to
train computers to detect fittings
and conductors along a powerline,
automatically identify defects and
efficiently process all data using a
smart user interface.”

Arman explains that these
developments can also be
translated into achieving efficiency
in how we process powerpole
images collected during any of our
aerial or ground-based surveys.
“It is anticipated that our
automated image processing
capability will extend to images
captured with other platforms,
such as line inspection robots,
unmanned aerial vehicles and
ground vehicles,” Arman added.
Applying different image
processing techniques has allowed
the AIR team to develop software
that automatically analyses,
extracts and recognises the tag
number of powerpoles from
pole images.
Arman advises that recognised
tag numbers can be stored in
a database that will provide
our trained employees with
the possibility of doing a quick
ID-based search along the entire
image archive.
“Content-based image retrieval
makes it possible to retrieve
all historical images relating to
a specific pole in a blink of an
eye – something that is very time
consuming using traditional image
archiving methods,” Arman said.
Vegetation clearance
analysis
Light Detection and Ranging
(LIDAR) is another high-end
technology that SP AusNet has
used to develop a more ‘smartly’
managed network.
This laser-based remote sensing
technology is used to create three
dimensional models of terrain,
vegetation and landscape features.
The AIR team has extended this
technology capability by using
techniques to develop software
to automatically group points into
meaningful ‘clusters’ – with the
software converting these clusters
into 3D shapes and exporting
them into a Google Earth
readable format.
This new feature allows the field
inspector to have a more accurate
estimation of the size and shape of
the cluster, easily locate the target
areas and investigate access to
the region.
Lightning strike analysis
To enhance the response to storms
and possible power outages that
are caused, the AIR team has also
begun developing an automated
lightning strike analysis tool.
Dr. Yogendra goes on to explain
that while the technology is
currently at prototype stage,
it will be used to further
enhance SP AusNet’s storm
forecasting model.
“By using simulation and data
clustering techniques to identify,
analyse and track possible storm
cells over time, this technology
identifies the number of lightning
strikes per minute in a
dedicated cell.
“This allows us to deploy
appropriate resources to help
restore potential outages for
the probability of potential
severe and damaging weather,”
Dr. Yogendra said.
ISSUE 3 ENERGISE 13
3D visualisation of clearance violation in Google Earth – base image provided by Google Earth under license
The future for innovation in
asset management
With technology advancement
moving so quickly, Dr. Yogendra
recognises the importance of
delivering business benefits
from innovative technologies
– supporting the rollout of new
ideas to modernise how we
manage our networks.
“At any given time, we are
proactively investigating several
smart techniques that will enable
an even higher level of asset
management support, while
providing growth opportunities
all at lower costs – all critical
components for SP AusNet,”
Dr. Yogendra concluded.
Automatically detecting conductor defects from the images

14 ENERGISE ISSUE 3
Leadership building blocks
STRENGTHENING SP AUSNET MANAGERS’ TECHNICAL AND
LEADERSHIP CAPABILITIES IS A KEY FOCUS FOR OUR BUSINESS
SP AusNet’s February 2010
engagement survey acknowledged
leadership development as a
significant area for improvement.
To build a more engaged
workforce, a number of programs
have been released that highlight
our desire to further develop
professionals with five to
10 years experience.
One initiative is the Future Leaders
program, established to create a
new generation of managers with
cross-functional experience across
the business.
Organisational Development
Manager Alison Bradley explains
the program looks to break
down perceptions of limited
career progression opportunities
by offering a two-year rotation
program for aspiring managers.
“The Future Leaders program
aims to develop managers that
are adaptable, rotating into new
leadership roles every three to
six months. The program offers
a clear pathway for participants
to progress their careers in
directions they may not have first
considered,” Alison said.
The two successful candidates,
Elias Raffoul and Narelle Whinfield,
were recently placed into their
first rotations.
Elias was appointed as the Acting
Network Owner, Gas Distribution
Network – he will work closely
with the gas leadership team to
drive any changes associated
with the recent gas function
review. Narelle has been placed
in the Risk and Assurance division
to work on a broad range of
initiatives and projects.
General leadership isn’t the
only challenge SP AusNet is
Elias Raffoul and Narelle Whinfield look forward to the challenges of SP AusNet’s Future Leaders program
responding to. Another area is the
future resourcing of our technical
experts who currently fill technical
leadership roles, as increasing
numbers of these experts will be
retiring over the coming decade.
In response, the Technical Experts
program was born to ensure more
recent SP AusNet new starters
receive further development to
support the work of our current
experts in representing our
company nationally
and internationally.
These current experts,
predominately from Networks
Strategy and Development
(NSD) and Integrated Network
Systems (INS) divisions, represent
SP AusNet across a wide variety of
business-critical areas, including
protection systems, transformers,
switchgear, planning and
asset testing.
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Alison notes it was vital to create
an approach aligned to divisional
needs and people development
programs already in existence.
“A working group defined a
program where current employees
were asked to express their
interest in becoming a new
‘technical expert’,” Alison said.
“The newly appointed experts will
take part in a tailored accelerated
development program to work
closely with the current technical
expert to upskill in the identified
business area.”
Having the right leaders in the
right roles is vital.
By increasing our leadership and
technical capabilities, SP AusNet
will enable our leaders to meet
the expectations of our employees
and deliver the services our
communities need.

Serious about change
SP AUSNET IS EXCITED TO WELCOME ASH PECK TO THE NEWLY-
CREATED ROLE OF GENERAL MANAGER INFORMATION AND
COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)
Ash joined the company in April
this year and is already making
headway in creating a mature
ICT function – helping SP AusNet
provide its customers with
superior network and
energy solutions.
Ash believes his long career in the
food industry, predominantly at
Cadbury, has prepared him well
for the issues SP AusNet faces in
developing the ICT function.
“I spent the first six years of my
career in sales and marketing
roles, so I’m very customer
orientated – whether internal or
external customers.”
Ash aims to make using
technology easier for IT users
by Christmas. One of the
improvements will be a change
from the Lotus Notes email system
to Microsoft Business Productivity
Online Standard Suite (BPOS) –
accessible through the internet,
making use from any
computer easy.
In one of his first moves, Ash
has restructured his department,
giving it a stronger focus on
customer service and
change management.
“We need a humming team that
can work closely with business
departments and drive change.”
Core to achieving this change is
analysing the user experience,
Ash explains.
“Over time, a lot of applications
have been purchased, but more
thought needs to be given to how
they interact. I’ll be accelerating
application replacement
to improve the overall
user experience.”
Ash says a well-integrated
platform will make the ICT function
well-prepared to handle business
growth through Select Solutions
and Smart Networks.
SP AusNet’s relationship with
its major IT service provider,
Enterprise Business Services
(EBS), will be reviewed as part
of creating a seamless
user experience.
“We need to work with EBS to
ensure we receive the optimum
service for our business.”
Like many parts of the business,
Ash’s division will be encouraged
to think about the energy
consumers’ experience and
identify improvements.
“We are planning to launch
a text messaging system to
notify customers of planned and
unplanned electricity outages. We
are also considering an iPhone
application that could show any
STRENGTHEN
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ISSUE 3 ENERGISE 15
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outages near to the user’s location
and provide updates on when the
power may be turned back on.”
Ash isn’t shy about making
promises, but he is also realistic
about when change can
be achieved.
“We are currently making a
number of structural changes
that will influence some big
improvements in 15-18 months.
But we are also aiming to
implement some quick wins to
demonstrate that we are serious
about change for the better,”
Ash said.

16 ENERGISE ISSUE 3
My safety observation: Eric Howie
SAFETY IS OUR WAY OF LIFE AND EVERYONE’S
RESPONSIBILITY – BOTH IN THE FIELD AND
THE OFFICE. WORKING TOGETHER ENSURES
THE SAFEST WORK PRACTICES ARE FOLLOWED
SO THAT WE ALL GO HOME SAFELY EACH AND
EVERY NIGHT
ENERGISE recently spoke with
office-based Network Pricing
Manager Eric Howie about his
experience conducting a safety
observation. Eric found conducting
a safety observation a great
opportunity to witness the work,
skills and commitment firsthand of
our field crews.
energise
Where was the safety
observation conducted?
Eric:
The safety observation was carried
out during a High Voltage pole
replacement along Edwards Road
in Chirnside Park. I conducted
the observation alongside my
colleagues Kate Jdanova (Senior
Regulatory Analyst) and Rohan
Harris (Principal Analyst).
energise
Who did you contact to arrange
the observation?
Eric:
Arrangements were made through
a Tenix construction team leader
in Lilydale, who was responsible
for coordinating the work. We
already had a meeting scheduled
Networks Strategy and Development’s Eric Howie
at the Lilydale office so we took
the opportunity to visit a work site
in the area beforehand, which the
Tenix team was happy for us to do.
energise
What were your observations?
Eric:
Our initial observations were
that crew members were fully
equipped and using the correct
Personal Protective Equipment
(PPE) and clothing. We were
pleased to see the site had been
set up with traffic control and
warning signs.
The work observed was of
a physical nature. It was
encouraging to see the work
crew had planned for safety by
completing a Job Safety Analysis
prior to commencing works and
permits were in place and being
correctly adhered to.
We paid particular attention to
the plant items. The work crew
advised us that all equipment was
set up correctly and was being
operated in a safe manner. The
site was kept tidy and equipment
not in use was put away and not
left on the work site.

energise
What recommendations did you
make?
Eric:
During the removal of the old
pole, an apprentice appeared
to be in an ‘at risk’ location. We
suggested that apprentices could
be clearly identifiable by the colour
of their hard hat so the senior
members on the work site could
provide additional instruction and
education on the risks.
energise
How did you know which
recommendations to make?
Eric:
The observation was easy to
conduct by using the Safety
Observation Procedure. This
provided clear instructions on how
to plan and set up the observation
and how to conduct it while at
the site.
The procedure also provided
some guidance on what to look
for, including what the work crew
should have prepared prior to the
job and some of the key elements
of their expected safety plans.
energise
What actions were taken?
Eric:
We spoke about the findings with
the supervisor on site but were
not in a position to discuss it with
the crew themselves. The crew
site supervisor agreed with our
observations and was going to
discuss them with the crew and
implement specific findings.
energise
Did you find the observation
beneficial?
Eric:
Undertaking the safety observation
was a great opportunity to observe
the day-to-day activities of the
work crew first hand and get a
better understanding of their work
environment and the issues they
face every day.
ISSUE 3 ENERGISE 17
Safety observations are the foundation of a positive
safety culture, underpinning our safety vision. World-class
safety cultures are achieved when everyone engages and
contributes to improving safety performance.
SP AusNet’s goal to achieve 5,000 safety observations and
500 near miss reports for 2010/11 is easily achievable when
we all work together.
Have you conducted
your safety observations?
All forms and guides to conducting an effective safety
observation can be found on SP AusNet’s intranet at
Policies & procedures > Health & safety > Procedures.
A quick link to report near misses is also available on
SP AusNet’s intranet homepage.
The Health, Safety, Environment and Quality team is available
to provide advice and answer any questions – continually
improving reporting procedures to make conducting a safety
observation an easy task.

18 ENERGISE ISSUE 3
Select Solutions continues
expansion into water market
SELECT SOLUTIONS HAS CONTINUED ITS EXPANSION INTO
THE WATER MARKET WITH THE RECENT ACQUISITION OF
MELBOURNE-BASED COMPANY SCHULTZ PLUMBING
Schultz is a well-established
business with 22 years experience
in the water industry, providing
services in meter installation and
replacement, water conservation,
and the provision of water efficient
appliances, maintenance and
testing services.
Its major customers include Yarra
Valley Water, South East Water and
Gippsland Water, as well as over
50,000 residential customers.
Select Solutions’ General Manager
John Kelso says Schultz’s
expertise will support a key
element of the Select Solutions
strategy to expand into
the water market.
“Select’s technical skills in
data management complement
Schultz’s strong industry
relationships and expertise
in operational management.
The strategy, knowledge and
experience of both businesses
are the driving forces in this
expansion,” John said.
The acquisition will see Schultz’s
former Managing Director David
Schultz play an active role through
the integration process, continuing
to support growth opportunities
with Select Solutions.
John believes that both companies
joining together will become a
leading service provider for
water retailers and customers
across Australia.
“In combining Schultz with our
existing operations, we have
created a stronger business with
significantly more scale and scope
At the deal signing – from left, SP AusNet Managing Director Nino Ficca, Schultz Managing Director David Schultz,
SP AusNet Chief Financial Officer Geoff Nicholson and SP AusNet General Manager Select Solutions John Kelso
to extend our service
offerings interstate.”
“The two companies share a
passion for safety, excellence in
service delivery and supporting
our customers to achieve their
business objectives. This deal
now means customers will
continue to receive high quality
service from Schultz Plumbing
employees, further complemented
by our experienced team at Select
Solutions,” John said.
Select Solutions is a leading
provider of specialist end-to-end
services for utilities, government,
energy and water retailers and
commercial/industrial customers,
with more than 350 staff in
Victoria, New South Wales
and Queensland.
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John explains that the larger
Select Solutions team will now
offer a wider range of services
including water meter reading,
new connections, replacement and
maintenance services and other
niche asset services for the water
industry sector.
“This is the start of an exciting
future for both companies and
employees, with the aim of
becoming the leading player
nationally in water meter reading,
installations and niche asset
services within five years.”

Following a comprehensive
consultation process, the AER’s
final decision on the 2011 – 2015
Electricity Distribution Price
Review, was released on
29 October.
The Electricity Price Distribution
Review (EDPR) is the process by
which the AER determines the
prices that customers will pay to
electricity distribution businesses
for operating and maintaining their
networks. Similar processes apply
to the electricity transmission and
gas distribution networks.
This decision process takes
place generally every five years
and means that SP AusNet must
submit to the AER:
• Forecast costs for operations
and maintenance and the
ISSUE 3 ENERGISE 19
Strengthening our electricity network
to meet customers’ needs
THE OUTCOME OF THE AUSTRALIAN ENERGY REGULATOR (AER)’S
ELECTRICITY DISTRIBUTION PRICE REVIEW (EDPR) SUPPORTS
HIGHER LEVELS OF CAPITAL AND OPERATING EXPENDITURE TO
ENABLE SP AUSNET TO PROVIDE SAFE AND RELIABLE SERVICE
TO OUR CUSTOMERS
capital expenditure to maintain
supply, safety and manage
system growth;
• Service quality that will be
delivered to our customers.
The higher levels of capital and
operating expenditure approved
by the AER reflect the specific
needs of our network, in relation
to high levels of customer growth,
replacement/safety, as well
as augmentation.
Importantly, the Final Decision
provides funding to allow
SP AusNet to proceed with
extensive safety related
replacement programs, arising
from the Electrical Safety
Management Scheme, enhanced
bushfire mitigation programs and
expanded vegetation management
A team of SP AusNet engineers replace an old timber power pole at Stoney Creek
programs to meet additional
bushfire mitigation and
regulatory requirements.
The Final Decision also makes it
clear that the AER will construct a
more intensive monitoring regime,
particularly on delivery of
the safety programs with
Energy Safe Victoria.
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The Regulation and Network
Strategy team in NSD has coordinated
our response to the AER
consultation process, working
with many others from across the
business to ensure our position
was clearly understood by the AER.
Alistair Parker, who heads
the team commented,
“A lot of hard work contributed
to the EDPR outcome. This marks
the beginning of an exciting and
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EXTEND
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challenging five year period, when
we have the opportunity to deliver
on the commitments we have
made to our customers”.
Over the coming months,
Alistair’s team will be working
with other teams to finalise
business plans, resourcing
and procedures to ensure we
effectively and efficiently deliver
health and safety, bushfire
mitigation, customer service and
network performance obligations,
plus the crucial reinforcements to
the network. Energise will keep
you posted on future
key developments.

Optimise the life of your assets and
enhance their reliability with our
inspection solutions.
Select Solutions offers tailored asset inspection
services involving the inspection and reporting on
the condition of utility assets. We provide total
end-to-end solutions in:
Asset Solutions
• Developing asset inspection plans
• Undertaking field-based inspection activities
• Providing open access to data on a spatial
platform (GIS)
• Processing inspection data and reporting on
condition of assets
• Providing subsequent work packages for the
immediate rectification of defects
• Stakeholder management
• Safety and compliance auditing and reporting
Data & Measurement Solutions
We offer a variety of inspection data collection and
processing methods including Unmanned Aerial
Vehicles, HiMast, ground based inspections and
helicopter inspections utilising our SPANView system.
Select Solutions is a leading provider of specialist
end- to-end services for utilities, government, energy
and water retailers and commercial/industrial
customers.
As a division of SP AusNet, we share similar values in
Safety, Passion, Teamwork, Integrity and Excellence.
With over 300 staff in New South Wales, Victoria and
Queensland, Select Solutions is geared up to deliver
innovative, efficient and cost effective solutions.
Technical Solutions Telecommunication Solutions Utility Solutions
For more information about Select Solutions phone 03 9695 6000 fax 03 9695 6666 web www.select-solutions.com.au
For more information about Select Solutions phone fax web