Jemena places customer outcomes at the centre of pricing and services plan

Leading energy infrastructure company Jemena has submitted its Gas Networks 2025 Plan which details prices and services for the next five years to the Australian Energy Regulator (AER).

The Plan seeks to provide a roadmap for the gas distribution network and outlines how Jemena will manage its network and customer needs across Sydney and parts of regional NSW.

Jemena’s General Manager of Regulation, Ana Dijanosic, said the Plan has been developed for customers, in conjunction with customers.

“Jemena undertook an extensive customer engagement program that has spanned more than 18 months. During that time we held just under 100 separate engagement events and collated hundreds of hours of interviews and discussions,” said Ms Dijanosic.

“The customer engagement key reference groups included young people, culturally and linguistically diverse communities and leaders and experts from within the energy industry. Each group provided valuable input that helped us understand the needs and concerns of our customers.  

“Customers told us that it was important the energy sector manages the transition to a net zero future, while at the same time ensuring gas supply and connections remain affordable and stable.”

Shaped by customers, the Plan includes the following initiatives for us to address over the next five years:

• Invest in renewable gas connections
• Speed up the recovery of $300m in assets
• Take a targeted approach to gas main replacement
• Invest in new technology to better detect gas emissions 
• Increase the user pays portion of new connections
• Enhance our vulnerable customer program
• Replace 8,000 ageing, defective and hard-to-reach meters with new digital meters
• Retain a user pays approach to permanent disconnections
• Reduce the number of tariff blocks and split tariffs to reflect small and large customers replacing coastal versus rural
• Move ahead with a hybrid form of price control

The AER will now review and assess Jemena’s Gas Networks 2025 Plan and provide a draft decision by the end of year. Jemena will then submit a revised regulatory proposal with the final 2025 Plan taking effect from 1 July, 2025.

For more information about the project visit YourNetwork.Jemena.com.au