Energy Consumers Australia Forum20 February 2019

Gerard Brody, CEOEthical implications of data: exacerbating inequality?

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OUR VISION:a just marketplace,

where people have power and business plays fair

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The “go to” solution of policy-makers

Problem: poor market outcomes

Cause: lack of engagement?

Solution: consumer engagement strategies

Consumer engagement

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BUT ENGAGEMENT IS DIFFICULT:Only a proportion of people will

engage, and providers can use data to distinguish between customer groups

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The aim is to increase customer value from this

passive group via increased margin.

- Retailer strategy document

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Result: different market outcomes between active & disengaged consumers

• Loyalty penalty can confuse or mislead

• Harmful distributional effects

• Increased average prices

ABILITY TO DISCRIMINATE:Optimisation. Personalisation. Redlining.

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Reduce reliance on consumer engagement

Default settings

Price controls

Re-thinking vulnerability

Fair conduct obligations

Competition/market power issues

Better policy solutions

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