We recognise the important role that consumer representatives have long played in assisting energy and water customers and driving customer protection and customer service improvements.
The EWOV Board includes four consumer directors (equal to the number of industry directors), who are nominated by the ESC and approved by the board and who bring the consumer experience to the Board’s discussions.
We take up opportunities to learn from the experience of consumer representatives to help us improve our complaint handling processes.
We take up opportunities to work with community agencies to build customer capability. We’ve made almost 100 regional and rural community visits with a community education focus.
And, over the years, following approaches by community (and government) agencies, we’ve been pleased to become involved in some really innovative community projects—including the Committee for Melbourne’s ‘Utility Debt Spiral Prevention Project’, Good Shepherd Youth & Family Services’, ‘Utilities Project for Women in Prison’, the ‘Transitional Housing Management Project’ co-ordinated by WAYSS, outreach programs run by Consumer Affairs Victoria’s Indigenous Consumers Unit and Footscray Community Legal Centre’s ‘Bring your bills days’.