Annual Report

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18 Community Ausgrid aims to be a good neighbour by engaging with the community as part of planning, constructing, operating and maintaining the electricity network. We promote public electrical safety initiatives, including bushfire and safety hazards on private poles and powerlines, and invest in community welfare initiatives. Public safety Ausgrid invested more than $1 million in electrical safety campaigns through its Public Electrical Safety Awareness Program to raise awareness of the hazards associated with electricity. Outdoor workers, including tradespeople, construction workers, builders, scaffolders, crane and plant machinery operators and truck drivers were the primary target for campaigns about excavating near underground cables and working near overhead powerlines. Other community awareness campaigns focussed on do‐it‐yourself electrical safety, bushfire awareness, storm safety, electric shocks and tingles and the risks associated with copper theft. Ausgrid and Endeavour Energy also ran joint electrical safety messages on radio stations in the Sydney area throughout 2014/15. An unbranded social media safety campaign continued to target young males in the Sydney and Hunter region to raise awareness of the risks when acting irresponsibly around electrical equipment. It was run jointly with Endeavour Energy this year, increasing the target area and campaign reach. A new brochure and magnet were mailed to Ausgrid's life support equipment customers to assist in developing an emergency back‐up plan in the event of a blackout. The campaign also ensured the life‐support customer details were updated if necessary. Electricity education programs and resources have been developed in association with the NSW Department of Education & Communities to incorporate electricity safety as a core theme. More than 800 schools took part in Ausgrid’s annual Electricity Safety Week. Other resources provided for schools included an Electricity and Safety information kit for Years 5 & 6 students, Electrical Safety Activities for primary school pupils, SMART notebook lessons and high school electricity resources. Security Throughout the year, there were 19 incidents of copper theft worth $171,790 from Ausgrid depots, substations and other sites. This included $100,000 worth of damage when 17 bays of copper conductor were removed. An additional 31 incidents of theft and malicious damage were reported at Ausgrid depots and substations costing $21,208. Dial Before You Dig Damage to the underground electricity network can cause serious injury in addition to blackouts to homes and businesses. Dial Before You Dig (DBYD) is a non‐profit, free, referral service that gives residents, builders, plumbers and other tradespeople access to maps detailing underground services. Ausgrid received and processed 159,358 DBYD referrals during the reporting period, a 22 percent increase on last year’s total of 130,767 referrals. Graffiti In 2014/15, Ausgrid spent almost $593,521 to clean graffiti from our infrastructure. Crews responded to 3,517 reports of graffiti, about 22 percent more than 2013/14. The average response time to deal with reports of graffiti vandalism was about eight days. Customer Council Ausgrid's Customer Council comprised of the Smith Family, Ethnic Communities Council, Council of Social Service of NSW, Nature Conservation Council, Council on the Ageing NSW (COTA) and Country Women's Association. Membership increased when Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) joined the Council this year. It normally meets four times per year, however, two additional meetings were held as part of an improvement project to increase engagement. This project resulted in redrafting the Customer Council Charter and work procedures for the Council. The committee reviewed key performance indicators, gave input to draft customer‐related policies and Ausgrid’s new Customer Commitment Statement. Public consultation Ausgrid is committed to being a good neighbour and engaging with the community we serve as part of planning, constructing, operating and maintaining the electricity network. During 2014/15, a new community engagement policy, tools and guidelines were implemented to better equip employees to work effectively with the community. As part of our planning of major projects, Ausgrid established an improved process for engaging with the community focussing on early engagement with people and organisations potentially impacted by the work. Ausgrid engaged with the community on more than 50 major projects, such as the planning of new sub transmission cable routes or major substations, as well as construction related programs to minimise the impact of work on communities and keep them informed. An engagement program was also implemented to support Ausgrid's checks for bushfire and safety hazards on private poles and powerlines in bushfire‐prone areas and to help owners of private poles and powerlines understand what they need to do to keep their poles and powerlines safe. A key area of interest to the community has been around Ausgrid's management of vegetation near powerlines to maintain a safe and reliable electricity network. During 2014/15, Ausgrid started work on a program to engage widely on this issue to ensure the community's views are considered as part of future planning for managing vegetation around the electricity network.
Ausgrid – <strong>Annual</strong> <strong>Report</strong> 2014/15 19 Community investment program Ausgrid’s community investment program supported various charity, education and community welfare initiatives. This year Ausgrid contributed an additional $150,000 for dollar‐matching employee payroll giving contributions of $158,000 made by more than 890 employees. Throughout the year a total of $592,000 helped support the NSW Rural Fire Service, Surf Life Saving (Hunter, Central Coast and Northern Beaches Branches), the University of Newcastle Chair of Intelligent Electricity Networks and the University of NSW Chair in Electrical Power Economics. This included $40,000 to support the Sydney Burns Foundation as part of a two‐year research partnership. Multicultural policies and services program We are is committed to meeting the needs of our diverse customer base and ensuring that our services are accessible by all members of the community. We continue to offer a language interpreter assistance service to cater for customers from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. As part of working with culturally diverse groups across the community, the Ethnic Communities Council continues to be a part of Ausgrid’s Customer Council. Our corporate values commit us to acknowledging and valuing cultural diversity through the management of employees, interactions with suppliers, and the delivery of customer services to the community. The Code of Conduct sets the expectation for employees to treat customers and other employees with respect and to be sensitive to their rights. Research and development Ausgrid continues to support innovation and research for emerging energy technologies by working with major equipment suppliers to review new solutions for the electricity network and maintain links with universities and other research institutions. We are a member of the Australian Strategic Technology Program which fosters collaborative research into energy technologies across a number of projects and institutions. Ausgrid is also a participant in CIGRE (International Council on Large Electric Systems), (CEATI) Centre for Energy Advancement through Technological Innovation and the (API) Australian Power Institute. Operation Jarah Following an anonymous complaint in March 2013, the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) commenced an investigation into allegations that a former Ausgrid engineer, Mr Phillip Cresnar, had received cash and other benefits from contractors whilst employed by the organisation. Known as Operation Jarah, investigations also included a public enquiry which was held in January 2015. The ICAC completed its investigation and tabled its report to the NSW Parliament on 3 June 2015. It was found that the former employee and a number of the contractors involved had engaged in corrupt conduct including receipt of corrupt commissions or rewards. These individuals were referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions for possible prosecution under the Crimes & ICAC Acts for corrupt conduct-related offences, giving false testimony/evidence and disclosing information about an ICAC investigation. The report also made three recommendations to Ausgrid aimed at improving its existing corruption prevention activities. These recommendations are currently being implemented. MORE THAN $ 1MILLION SPENT ON ELECTRICAL PUBLIC SAFETY CAMPAIGNS 802 SCHOOLS TOOK PART IN ELECTRICITY SAFETY WEEK IN SEPTEMBER 2014 $ 40,000 WAS DONATED TO SYDNEY BURNS FOUNDATION RESEARCH $ 158,000 WAS DONATED BY 890 EMPLOYEES TO AUSGRID COMMUNITY INVESTMENT PROGRAM
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