Ministerial Statement Reform of the Power and Water Authority Six months on
Tabled paper 1301
Tabled Papers for 8th Assembly 1997 - 2001; Tabled Papers; ParliamentNT
1999-06-03
Tabled by Barry Coulter
Made available by the Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory under Standing Order 240. Where copyright subsists with a third party it remains with the original owner and permission may be required to reuse the material.
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Tabled papers
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https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2019C00042
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/296056
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/394163
8 Further measures to reduce information technology costs are under consideration. One of PAWAs strengths is that it is a multi-utility and as the Merrill Lynch report put this gives it economy of scope as opposed to economy of scale. The Authority will be looking to see if it can further expand on this advantage as are other utilities in competitive markets both in Australia and overseas. Opportunities will be looked at in the communications and gas industries. The appropriate strategy will be to form alliances with companies already in the field and so look for benefits to both partners and the customer. A new bill format is being developed which will provide customers with an easier-to-read statement of account. The account format will include graphical representation of consumption history (aimed at reducing the number of customer high bill enquiries) and a bar coded customer account (aimed at reducing the number of key in errors). The bill format is also to be tendered for external printing and enveloping, which will address the upcoming issue of bar coded addresses and reduce printing, folding and mailing costs. A reduction of about $50,000 per annum is expected in the cost of producing bills. PAWA has identified an opportunity to improve apprentice/trainee skills and work experience and reduce costs and administrative effort in respect to the management and development of apprentice/trainees by outsourcing the function. This proposal supports the Governments endeavours to enhance the private sector by providing increased employment opportunities for Territorians and reducing PAWAs overhead costs. Group Training Northern Territory (GTNT) has been deemed the most suitable local provider. It is a no-profit training company governed by a board of employer and union representatives and is part of a national network of group training companies. 8