Unison Announces Balanced Scorecard in 2013 Annual Report

Unison Announces Balanced Scorecard in 2013 Annual Report

26 July 2012 – Electricity distributor Unison Networks has today announced a solid result for the 2012/13 financial year, delivering a pleasing performance across the board.

Unison Group Chairman Kevin Atkinson said that in addition to a strong financial result, the Company had delivered its best ever network performance result to customers.

“Unison’s network performance, as measured by SAIFI and SAIDI reported that, on average, our customers experienced 1.6 outages over the twelve month period, with outages restored on average within 89.2mins. This is well below the targets set by our shareholder and the Commerce Commission.”

Together with a mild winter, Mr Sutherland also attributed the record network result to the on-going deployment of monitoring and automation technologies, high-speed communications and leading-edge information systems across Hawke’s Bay, Taupo and Rotorua, as part of Unison’s Smart Grid vision.

“Our commitment to our Smart Grid vision is already delivering more for our consumers - achieving a record network performance on the back of a strong financial result. There are still milestones to be achieved on this journey, and we continue with confidence, emboldened by the benefits already captured.”

Mr Atkinson also noted the completion of UnisonFibre’s stage three network build, and the achievement of zero Lost Time Injuries (LTI’s) as highlights of the 2012/13 year.

“One of the most crucial aspects of any business is to ensure the employees that come to work each day return home safely to their families each night. To have recorded a year where no employee suffered an injury requiring time off work is a testament to the focus on employee safety and wellbeing.”

Unison Group Chief Executive Ken Sutherland said the delivery of a solid performance across all facets of the company wasn’t something that happened by chance.

“This result is the culmination of focused effort, commitment to deploying leading-edge technologies for the benefit of our customers, and dedication to sustainability of that success by our people.”

A focus on researching and deploying leading-edge technology has seen Unison partner with two global technology providers during the year, and continue to develop innovative toolsets that not only support its long-term Smart Grid strategy, but also provide significant benefit to the industry in years to come.

“The results of research and development projects into tools such as dynamic line ratings could help change the way electricity distributors operate and invest in their networks in the future,” said Mr Sutherland.

Mr Sutherland also stated Unison’s focus on preparing for the future had a strong emphasis on the needs of customers and their communities.

“Our philosophy is to treat our customers as though they have choices and not by relying on our position as the sole electricity distributor. We believe customers are the cornerstone of our business, and we believe this is the driver that saw customer satisfaction ratings reach record levels in 2012/13.

“We are intrinsically linked to our communities – whether it be through working with customers to help grow their business, repairing storm-damaged networks to restore power to homes, or lending community groups a hand to support others in need. We have a responsibility to deliver high performance for our customers - their needs are central to what we do, and are at the core of our vision.”

Hawke’s Bay Power Consumers Trust Chairman, John Newland said the Trustees were very pleased with the Company’s financial result and network performance.

“Investment in the Smart Grid strategy has resulted in the Company easily surpassing the network performance targets set for the year.

“It is very pleasing that the deployment of strategies and technologies over the past few years is delivering such a high level of security of supply to our customers.”

To view Unison’s interactive Annual Report, please visit www.unison.co.nz/Annual-Reports. 

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