In 2012/13 we have been developing and implementing a more proactive stakeholder engagement programme for the industries we regulate under Part 4 of the Act. We surveyed stakeholders about how we are perceived on things such as independence and credibility.
We report here on some key results from the survey and on some of the things we are doing to respond to the feedback we received. (Note that because of a small sample size the results are indicative only.)
Stakeholders view us as independent and credible
Independence and credibility are important for us as we exercise our regulatory functions. It was therefore good to see that 72% of respondents considered us either very or somewhat independent and 60% rated us very or somewhat credible.
To what extent do the words “credible” and “independent” describe us?
However, the survey results also suggest that we can improve our performance in the areas of clear communications, effectiveness, and accessibility. Only around 39% of survey respondents rated us as somewhat or very good in these areas. Almost a third of responses were ‘neutral’.
How do stakeholders rate our communications, accessibility, and effectiveness?
We have used this information to inform our priorities for our stakeholder engagement work.
It will continue to be important that we maintain our independence and credibility. However, we will also be seeking to improve our accessibility and clarity of communication, and have a number of initiatives in place to improve in this area.
In particular, we continue to seek to improve the clarity of our written reports through plain English writing. Improving the clarity of our writing is an ongoing focus across the whole Commission.
We will also be looking for opportunities to engage with our stakeholders (including consumers) on a more collaborative basis. This will include greater use of workshops and more site visits to relevant businesses. These activities will supplement more formal traditional forms of consultation.
We are also reviewing the structure and content of our website, to make it more intuitive and easier for users to find the information they are looking for. We will be seeking more feedback about this in the future.
Many stakeholders want to improve their understanding of EDBs’ performance
We asked our stakeholders about their level of interest in information about electricity distribution businesses’ (EDBs) performance. One of our key functions is to promote improved understanding of regulated suppliers’ performance through our information disclosure regime.
We were interested to see that almost two thirds (62%) of respondents told us that they would like to improve their understanding of EDBs’ performance.
This suggests that there is an appetite for more and better information through our summary and analysis work. We will soon release a paper providing an overview of EDBs’ performance from 2008 to 2011. We plan to build on this initial work in the future, by producing regular analysis of the performance of suppliers in regulated sectors.
We welcome your feedback
We appreciate the time respondents to this survey took to give us their feedback. We plan to repeat the survey each year, to help us focus our work in the future.
If you have any comments or suggestions in relation to the survey, please email them to regulation.branch@comcom.govt.nz, with the subject line ‘Part 4 Stakeholder Survey’.
