Our biannual Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) forum was held last month (11 December 2019), following the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning’s consultation on future policy settings for the program.
We focused on the performance of the program, particularly regarding the December 2018 regulatory changes, as well as issues and upcoming changes which may impact stakeholders.
With over 170 attendees, the forum was a valuable opportunity for us to engage with our stakeholders. We thank everyone for their feedback and active participation during the forum. We value this feedback and aim to reflect it in our constant improvements to the program.
Highlights of the day:
VEU Director, Jeff Cefai opened the forum with an update on the program’s performance in 2019 and what’s in store in 2020.
He discussed how we’re preparing for the next phase of the program relating to the transition, the opportunities and challenges:
VEU fee review
IT systems
proposed lighting phase-out
changes to the exemption process for large energy users
introduction of new activities to the program.
Jeff also broke down how we are planning on becoming a more effective regulator. This covered how we will:
strengthen our risk-based and compliance-focused operational framework
develop our data analytics capabilities
improve the efficiency of our systems and processes by building a new web-based registry environment that will increase the transparency and speed of the processes for certificate creation, validation and surrender
implement our program engagement activities.
Other presentations from the VEU team covered registry, audit and compliance, technical services group, and planning and development. These presentations were well received by the audience and covered:
2019’s achievements.
compliance examples and expectations.
regulatory change activities.
introduction to the enhanced data analytics capabilities and a demonstration of the VEU data dashboard.
how we will deliver on our commitment to build stronger and more effective relationships with stakeholders in 2020 to promote the uptake of VEU activities, improve compliance, and deliver better energy efficiency outcomes.
