If something is worth doing we want to do it right, not just for the sake of it or because it has always been done one way. The standards we set for our business are high, yet reasonable.
Hydro Tasmania takes care to manage its financial risks through specific policies for electricity trading, treasury, credit and finance which are subject to compliance and internal audit. We manage revenue using a trading enterprise value approach. We conduct an annual business planning cycle, setting a budget and developing a five-year Corporate Plan which is agreed with the Tasmanian Government. We report on performance against budget to the Board (monthly) and to the Tasmanian Treasury (quarterly).
Hydro Tasmania’s 10-Year Asset Management Plan (AMP) requires consistent principles of sustainable, safe and whole-of-lifecycle management to be applied to all physical assets. Asset management goals include balancing often competing priorities to maximising production opportunities, minimising whole-of-lifecycle costs and managing risks prudently.
Protecting the public and employees from asset failure is a high priority and the AMP ensures Hydro Tasmania appropriately manages the risks related to duty of care and compliance obligations.
Hydro Tasmania’s products include energy, energy-related ancillary products, electricity financial derivative products (wholesale and retail) and professional consulting engineering services for energy and water.
Customer health and safety is centred on the retail products of Momentum Energy Pty Ltd, which provides electrical safety advice on its website. Hydro Tasmania also has a component of public safety associated with power stations and dams which are subject to legislation, regulations and internal procedures, including an Emergency Response Plan covering asset failure and extreme weather events that could affect any part of the generation system.
Product information is required for some electricity retail products and we meet the requirements of the Essential Services Commission in Victoria and South Australia. Momentum complies with the requirement to provide assistance for financial hardship and to overcome language barriers for consumers.
Marketing communications are subject to regulatory and internal procedures and, as members of the Australian Marketing Institute, our marketing communication activities comply with the Institute’s code.
Customer privacy for retail products is subject to the Privacy Policy which is on the Momentum Energy website. Privacy Officers have operational responsibility for privacy. Employees are trained in privacy compliance at induction and refresh the training every 12 months. Privacy is included in monthly compliance reporting.
Compliance with legislation, regulations and Hydro Tasmania’s policies and procedures is managed through the compliance program. It includes customer health and safety, product information and customer privacy. Compliance obligations, including marketing, are reviewed annually. Wholesale and retail energy products are subject to legislative obligations under financial market, trade practices and electricity markets. Trading activities are also subject to stringent internal management controls under the Trading Policy and the compliance system. Retail products are additionally subject to the pricing regulations of all states and territories of Australia in which we trade. Entura’s products are subject to standards, legislative and regulatory regimes for planning, environment and WHS standards and are also controlled by Hydro Tasmania’s compliance system.
Hydro Tasmania complies with Commonwealth and the states’ legislations that cover human rights, such as the Fair Work Act 2009 (Commonwealth) and state anti-discrimination acts.
The Entura India Employee Manual supports conditions for human rights that are in keeping with Hydro Tasmania’s existing policies and values and in compliance with the laws of India.
Hydro Tasmania’s two governing codes support internationally proclaimed human rights, the Sustainability Principles and the Code of Ethical Behaviour.
We have formal procedures for non-discrimination, freedom of association and collective bargaining. All employees are required to train every two years in harassment, bullying, discrimination and grievance procedures. We have policies for bribery and corruption and for procurement. Our procurement policy states our objective to engage with suppliers who have sustainable policies and practices to minimise safety and environmental impacts.
Hydro Tasmania complies with Commonwealth and the states’ legislations that cover labour practices and decent work, such as the Fair Work Act 2009 (Commonwealth) and state workplace and safety acts and state laws and policies on diversity and equal opportunity.
Hydro Tasmania’s Equal Employment Opportunity Standard provides for a fair and equitable workplace free from discrimination, bullying and harassment where equal employment opportunity principles are integrated into processes, procedures and practices.
We have formal procedures for employment, workplace health and safety, equal opportunity and complaints and grievances. All employees are entitled to be a member of a union. Our enterprise agreements comply with the Fair Work Act 2009 and protect employment conditions.
We manage safety, health and wellbeing through the WHS Policy. The WHS Commitment summarises the intention of the policy and is widely publicised and available throughout the organisation. Standardised procedures provide controls for specific risks and the Safety Improvement Plan provides the principal mechanism to regularly review our risk profile and to develop programs and opportunities to improve our WHS performance. Every senior executive is a member of the Executive WHS Team, which oversees the execution of the plan.
Employees and contractors are subject to safety training requirements relating to an individual’s work and location. Training information is provided for employees and contractors with details on requirements, procedures and third party suppliers where relevant. Some training is provided online. Completed training is recorded and it is mandatory for field work site managers to check that each person’s training for assigned tasks is current.
Hydro Tasmania has various practices to manage impacts on local communities, bribery and corruption, anti-competitive behaviour and public policy which include compliance with legislation, policies and procedures.
Local communities are principally subject to impacts on them from changes to assets due to modernisation or maintenance projects or changes in water condition. Assessment of impacts for asset projects is included in the project scope. Communication and engagement with the community is guided by the stakeholder engagement framework and embedded into our projects. Water conditions are under constant surveillance through a monitoring program. For lakes and rivers where changes are likely to impact stakeholders, real-time water levels are reported.
Storages are managed according to our storage management system with operating rules that take account of social and environmental impacts.
Public policy advocacy is managed through Hydro Tasmania’s Assurance Policy.
Bribery, corruption and anti-competitive behaviour are subject to Australian law through the Australian Consumer Law and subject to Hydro Tasmania’s Assurance Policy. Responsibility for the policy is shared between the Corporation Secretary and the General Counsel. Training is in line with legislative requirements. The compliance system monitors breaches under the policy.
Hydro Tasmania’s Environmental Policy and Sustainability Principles guides our catchment management practices so that future generations can enjoy Tasmania’s wealth of natural attractions.
The Executive General Manager Assets and Infrastructure is responsible for overall management of the Environmental Management System (EMS) for the business. However, responsibility to assess risks and introduce mitigation measures belongs to all of us.
Hydro Tasmania operates under the EMS that is certified to an international standard ISO 14001. This system helps us identify and manage the environmental risks of our operations, including potential impacts on water, land and heritage values as well as mitigating and adapting to a changing climate. This is externally audited every year to ensure continual environmental improvement and ongoing certification.
The EMS includes procedures and programs:
to manage and improve environmental outcomes.
We continually train people across the business in the use of our EMS, to assist in the management of environmental risks. Feedback from training, auditing, incident management and management review processes provides information for continuous improvement of the system. Hydro Tasmania's EMS also covers Entura.
The risk appetite statement sets out Hydro Tasmania’s understanding of the risks which it faces and which it is comfortable taking, and how it seeks to mitigate and manage those risks.
Hydro Tasmania's vision is to empower people and communities with clean energy. In realising that vision, we undertake activities that give rise to risk, including activities associated with being;
Some risks, including potential risks to the environment, and to the safety of our people and members of the public arise from the ways in which Hydro Tasmania produces energy: from water storages and water-driven generators; from wind turbines; and from gas-fired turbines. Other risks such as commercial, regulatory and reputational risks, arise in the course of selling gas and electricity into the national wholesale market, retailing gas and electricity on the mainland, and providing consultancy service nationally and internationally.
While it's not realistic to eliminate all risk, we have a low appetite for risks that affect the safety of our people and the public, cause damage to the environment, affect our cybersecurity, and which relate to our obligation to comply with laws and regulations. In contrast, we can be less risk-averse when it comes to financial risks and strategic opportunities, where risks need to be balanced appropriately against reward.
We balance our risk appetite with the need for energy security and to ensure that Tasmanians receive a financial return from our activities on the significant investment in our infrastructure and our business over the past century.
We seek to identify and, where possible, quantify the risks we're exposed to, and set limits to the amount of risk we are willing to tolerate in order to achieve our strategic objectives.
We implement strategies to help ensure we stay within those limits. Our integrated business risk management framework, along with associated standards and procedures, provides us with processes for assessing and managing risk within set boundaries. The framework, standards and procedures are aligned to the international standard on risk management (ISO 31000).
An important element of Hydro Tasmania's approach to risk is a supportive risk culture, which promotes risk management as an intrinsic part of everyone's day-to-day work.
Management of risk is a shared responsibility, from the Board, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Team, to employees on the 'front line' at power stations, in call centres, those working with clients and customers on consulting assignments, and staff in 'back office' functions.
Hydro Tasmania's Code of Conduct (the Code) reflects our values and cultural principles and sets the standard of behaviour required of all people working across the business. The Code is comprised of seven core principles (key expectations) that provide practical guidance and direction on our required standard of behaviour, and reflect our approach to business conduct.
We keep each other safe and well because we care
Demonstrating genuine care for the safety and wellbeing of our staff is the right thing to do, it also improves business performance. As such, we are committed to providing a safe and healthy workplace. While our Board and senior management have accountability for putting in place appropriate safety processes and systems, complying with work, health and safety legislation and providing a safe place of work, everyone has responsibility for doing the right thing.
We treat others with respect
We care for the community, our customers, and each other. We all have a responsibility to maintain a respectful working environment, one that provides the support and opportunity for everyone to be their best. Treating each other with dignity and respect ensures our workplace and interactions with colleagues are free from harassment, discrimination and bullying,
We act ethically and with integrity
We are required to comply with all relevant legislation, laws, regulations standards, codes and Hydro Tasmania policies, standards and procedures. However beyond this we aspire to 100 exemplars by also always acting ethically and with integrity.
We protect our brand
We value our brand and work in a manner that builds trust with stakeholders and the community.
We value sustainability
We are committed to sustainability. We demonstrate this by balancing social, environmental and economic considerations. Doing this will build resilience in a constantly changing world.
We protect personal and confidential information
We have a legal obligation to protect personal and business information. Consequently we are expected to treat personal and commercial information confidentially and take appropriate steps to protect this information from unauthorised use or disclosure, or potential misuse by others.
We use assets and resources responsibly
We have a responsibility for looking after Hydro Tasmania's assets, spending company funds and utilising its resources appropriately. This means that we do not use assets or information improperly, including for personal benefit, and we manage funds and resources responsibly.
There are a number of avenues for reporting a suspected breach of our Code including by contacting the Hydro Tasmania General Counsel or Head of Internal Audit, the Tasmanian Ombudsman or the Integrity Commission. The appropriate person or authority to contact will depend on the circumstances. Further information on reporting avenues can be found in the Hydro Tasmania Disclosure Policy. Additionally, Hydro Tasmania offers an independently run, external reporting service, 'Be Heard'. Individuals may choose to report perceived serious misconduct through this channel, including anonymously if desired, rather than internally. Breaches of our Code may result in disciplinary action and are reported to the Board of Directors.
Current as at April 2021. Next review April 2023.