About the session: Supporting customers in the long-term following natural disasters

Australia is in the midst of a summer of extreme weather events – cyclones, monsoons, flooding, bushfires. The immediate response to these events is extensive, garnering a combined reaction from the community, industry, and policy makers to find quick and effective solutions to ensure the safety of the community. But how will the experiences and needs of impacted people change in the coming months and years following these natural disasters?

In our first Resilience Community of Practice session of 2024, Helen Ford, Deputy Ombudsman at the Energy & Water Ombudsman NSW (EWON) will share learnings from their recent Spotlight On report 'Natural disasters - the long-term customer experience', which looks at complaints related to NSW bushfires and floods to understand the customer experience in the medium and long term. EWON will share insights into:

The impact on people when targeted support from energy providers reduces prematurely after the immediate recovery period
How residents and small business owners can experience added trauma due to unresolved energy issues often years after their homes and lives were devastated by a natural disaster
Improving people’s experiences through long-term support plans, addressing customer stress factors and fostering engagement across the energy sector.

This event is open to all.

About our speaker

In 2018/19 Helen Ford was appointed Deputy Ombudsman at the Energy & Water Ombudsman NSW, to provide strategic support to the Ombudsman and undertake high level stakeholder engagement.

Before joining EWON, Helen worked for over a decade at the NSW Ombudsman’s office dealing with complaints about NSW government agencies and investigating systemic issues. She gained practical policy development experience working in the NSW Maritime Division of Roads and Maritime Services to improve operational procedures for Boating Safety Officers.

Helen is admitted as a lawyer in England and NSW, and has worked in Australia, the UK and the United States. She has worked in university administration, been a complaints advocate for people with disabilities and worked for the American Civil Liberties Union in the east coast state of New Jersey.

About this Community

This event is part of the Energy Charter's Resilience Community of Practice dedicated to helping customers and communities better prepare, respond and recover from disaster events.

Every second month, the Energy Charter host a Community of Practice, including expert-led discussions building on the topics covered in the Energy Charter’s Disaster Response Playbook.