NETCC Council Meeting - August 2022

This is a summary of the NETCC Council meeting held on 26 August 2022. Communiques of each meeting are produced so that stakeholders can be informed about the work of the Council and its implementation of the Code.

Governance and administration

Council considered governance arrangements with the Administrator and Steward, and will provide feedback to the CEC about issues including cost recovery and IP.

NETCC procedures

A NETCC governance SharePoint site has been created for Council members. This site will act as a repository for key documentation relating to Council meetings and program governance. Council members will be provided with ‘view only’ access to maintain the integrity of the site.

The CEC provided a progress update on the development of the digital platforms that will support the administration of the NETCC. The NETCC CRM platform is on track for delivery in late September 2022 and the Approved Seller portal is due to be delivered in early October 2022. The coming months will focus on the testing of these systems.

Code Monitoring and Compliance Panel

Council discussed the draft Code Monitoring and Compliance Panel Appointment Procedure and the draft Expression of Interest for panel membership. Discussion included:

• The ‘Reappointment’ section of the Appointment Procedure should be reviewed to ensure it can be followed when the Chair of the Panel is being reappointed or replaced.
• Staggering the appointment terms of Panel members may be appropriate to ensure continuity and experience in the Panel should multiple Panel members reach the end of their term at the same time and not seek reappointment.
• The Expression of Interest for the Panel should be published for a period of 30 days.

Stakeholder engagement and comms update

The CEC provided an update on the progress of the NETCC stakeholder engagement strategy. The first round of engagement with key stakeholders has focussed on government departments that may have an interest in the NETCC program. The second round will focus on Ombudsmen, fair trading bodies, energy regulators, market bodies, as well as key training and research organisations. The Chair will join the CEC in these briefings where possible.

There has been particular interest in the issues of complaints handling and better educating both consumers and sellers around new energy tech. The Chair and the CEC have made clear that the NETCC is not a dispute resolution service but can assist in reducing information asymmetry for consumers.

Engagement across social media and email platforms is positive. The frequency of comms will increase as the NETCC launch approaches. The CEC will distribute a comms timeline to Council members of the key program milestones to be reached in the coming months. The CEC will support Council members in their approaches to promoting the NETCC through their respective networks.

Distributed Energy Resource forum

Council was briefed on discussions at the CEC’s Distributed Energy Leadership Forum relating to compliance with the Approved Solar Retailer program. The discussion was productive and useful in providing the broader industry with visibility over the challenges of enforcing compliance with a voluntary industry code.

Council agreed that the challenges experienced by the ASR program in enforcing and communicating compliance are likely to be shared with the NETCC program.

It was noted that the ASR program is embedded in a broader system of complaints handling which includes ACL regulators, the Clean Energy Regulator and regulatory mechanisms linked to the accreditation of installers. As a voluntary code, it was noted that the NETCC must strike a balance between acting against problematic sellers and taking a broader approach which seeks to raise standards within the industry as a whole.

Next Meeting: 6 October 2022