2025 Agenda

• How can retailers address the gap between rising bills and perceptions of profitability?
• What transparency measures best strengthen trust and reduce confusion in pricing?
• How can value propositions beyond price build long term customer loyalty?
• How can regulation, innovation and efficiency be balanced to sustain margins and service?

• Leveraging low-cost off-peak charging rates to reduce EV owner expenses and match grid flexibility opportunities 
• Aligning EV tariffs with daylight solar generation to support renewable grid integration and cost-efficiency
• Delivering tailored energy plans with smart charging support and real-time insights to enhance customer trust and engagement 

• How can retailers adapt to the wider suite of retail reforms, from pricing regulation and compliance obligations to principles based regulation and general duties?
• What are the implications of evolving regulation of consumer energy resources for retail business models and offerings?
• What are the key impacts of the NEM Review and other reform pathways on retailers’ operating models?
• How can regulatory change become a platform for innovation, customer engagement and competitive differentiation?

Contact Energy’s Good Plans give consumers periods of free or discounted power to incentivise behavioural change.

• The power of a ‘hero proposition’ to engage and motivate consumers to change behaviour
• Creating a sustainable ‘value exchange’ balancing customer value with commercial viability
• Test, learn, refine: The agile product journey
• Targeting the right customers

• Confronting wholesale market instability to safeguard smaller retailers with innovative business models
• Addressing structural market challenges to enable the success of renewables-focused retailers
• Implementing risk management strategies to support the viability of innovative energy products

• Defining battery optimisation to clarify its role in boosting customer and system outcomes
• Creating value streams to benefit both households and the broader electricity network
• Effectively passing through value to drive battery customer engagement and participation
• Drawing on international experiences to inform Australian retail program design

• Demonstrating meaningful financial benefits to encourage customer participation and long-term program loyalty
• Building trust by offering transparency, user control, and clear communication around battery use and compensation
• Integrating seamless technology and customer support to reduce friction and enhance the user experience

• Aligning upfront rebates with ongoing VPP incentives to accelerate battery adoption and reduce customer payback time
• Combining State support with Synergy’s Battery Rewards to create a low-risk, high-return pathway for households
• Offering a distinct market proposition by integrating VPP participation into the purchase decision, not as an afterthought
• Reviewing volumes and lessons learned from the federal battery rebate scheme to refine future program design

• How can retailers better support local generation, storage and sharing models to meet customer and system needs?
• What is needed to rebuild trust in VPPs and increase consumer participation in grid services?
• Are there viable alternatives to VPPs that offer more autonomy or clearer value for battery owners?
• How can retailers ensure community-scale energy initiatives deliver both commercial and equity outcomes?

• Adapting retail strategies to thrive in a digitalised and decentralised energy market
• Harnessing AI agents to optimise customer energy use and manage distributed assets
• Rethinking the role of energy retailers as AI reshapes customer interactions
• Building trust and accountability into AI-driven products and services

• Navigating regulatory and ethical challenges to maintain trust and compliance
• Automating personalised customer interactions to boost engagement and loyalty
• Balancing autonomy with oversight to safeguard service quality and brand reputation

In June this year, Meridian Energy announced it had selected Kraken as the core technology partner for its Retail business, which supports 400,000 homes and businesses through the Meridian and Powershop Retail brands.

• Weighing in-house control against outsourced innovation and cost efficiency
• Avoiding implementation pitfalls through strong change management and early issue resolution
• Enhancing customer experience and market position through smart platform strategy

• How can retailers apply AI in ways that are straightforward and directly aligned with customer needs, avoiding over complication?
• In which retail functions—such as pricing, customer communication, or fault detection—should investment in AI deliver the highest impact?
• How can digital tools be leveraged to enhance the customer experience?
• What strategic lessons from AI adoption playbooks can retailers use to balance innovation with practicality and return on investment?

• Coordinating industry collaboration to progress the #BetterTogether Customer-led Tariffs initiative across networks and retailers
• Designing simple, predictable and fair tariff options that reflect what customers value most
• Embedding customer voice through real-world data and willingness-to-pay behavioural insights
• Ensuring regulatory and pricing frameworks support innovation while protecting customers experiencing vulnerability
• Using customer insights and retail collaboration to deliver tangible network and affordability benefits

• Accelerating the transition from gas to electric appliances to reduce emissions and lower energy bills 
• Leveraging government programs and rebates to support the adoption of renewable technologies in homes 
• Encouraging energy retailers to develop innovative offerings that align with electrification policies and meet evolving consumer needs

• Redefining spot market volatility as a benefit for asset owners and communities
• Optimising flexibility to support network services and enhanced value 
• Democratising benefits to build community trust and participation

• Establishing a baseline for why churn is so important
• Analysing pragmatic churn drivers through data insights to tailor retention strategies
• Implementing proactive outreach to address customer concerns before they escalate
• Designing personalised offers and loyalty programs to enhance satisfaction
• Aligning feedback loops with your brand promise to continuously refine service and reduce defections
• Why even when a customer leaves, it isn’t the end of the road

Worryingly, the reservoir of goodwill for energy companies is all but empty. Brendan will introduce a novel solution, encompassing:

• Avoiding the cost and rigidity of prescriptive regulation whilst improving customer outcomes
• Reducing the energy divide by rethinking costly and ineffective approaches to better support vulnerable customers

Drawing from the findings of the Rank the Energy Retailer report of June 2025, Financial Counselling Victoria will discuss:

• Addressing inconsistent retailer practices to ensure equitable support for customers experiencing payment difficulty
• Implementing proactive early identification and tailored assistance programs to prevent escalating energy debt
• Enhancing staff training in trauma-informed care and cultural safety to improve customer engagement and support
• Learning from other sectors and industry leaders on best practice hardship responses to improve customer wellbeing
• Working closely with the financial counselling sector as experts in financial hardship

• Learning from approaches to vulnerable customers in international energy markets
• Implementing proactive identification and tailored assistance programs to prevent escalating energy debt
• Developing partnerships with local charities to address challenges impacting customers’ ability to pay 
• Opportunities for regulatory changes to enhance support for vulnerable customers 

Transform the way your business delivers technology projects. This practical masterclass shows you how to avoid the big mistakes that derail CRM and billing rollouts, get systems performing faster, and keep customers onside through every stage of change. You’ll leave knowing how to turn a major IT investment into real customer value, stronger commercial outcomes, and lower operating costs.

Perfect for leaders and teams driving CRM or billing upgrades in energy retail.

Gain insider lessons from past failures, proven fixes for early roadblocks, and tools to win staff and customer support. Walk away with the confidence to deliver projects on time, on budget, and ready to generate lasting business benefits.

09:00     Avoiding common pitfalls to reduce project risk

• Learning from high-profile ERP failures to strengthen governance and delivery discipline
• Recognising red flags early to avoid delays, cost blowouts and stakeholder backlash
• Balancing ambition with capability to deliver realistic scope within business constraints

10:30     Morning tea

11:00     Overcoming early challenges to stabilise system performance

• Resolving data migration and integration issues that impact billing accuracy and reporting
• Addressing gaps in staff training and process alignment that slow adoption
• Managing customer complaints and expectations during the transition to minimise churn and reputational risk

• Engaging staff early to build support for new processes and systems
• Establishing strong vendor relationships and clear accountability structures
• Communicating transparently with customers to manage disruptions and protect brand trust

• Using unified data to improve billing accuracy and customer insight
• Enhancing customer self-service and automation to lower cost to serve
• Unlocking real-time analytics to drive smarter marketing, pricing and load management strategies