Customers

In 2020, PGE Dystrybucja, a company licensed to distribute electricity and providing electricity supply services within PGE Group, distributed nearly 35,700,000 MW of electricity on an area of 122,400 km2 (approximately 38% of Poland’s territory).

PGE Energia Ciepła generates and supplies heat to approximately 2 million customers in large cities such as: Cracow, Gdańsk, Gdynia, Wrocław , Rzeszów, Lublin, Bydgoszcz and Kielce. The company is also present in Toruń, Zielona Góra, Gorzów Wielkopolski, Zgierz and Siechnice, where it also distributes heat to end customers. In these cities, heat is supplied to consumers via district heat networks with a combined length of 640 kilometres.

The Covid-19 pandemic had an impact on both PGE Group and its customers. Understanding the serious impact that power outages may have on society and the economy, PGE Group decided to suspend its debt collection activities aimed at customers with arrears in the payment for supplied electricity as of the second quarter of 2020. At the same time, in order to minimise interruptions in energy supply in the particularly difficult initial period of the pandemic, from mid-March to mid-June 2020 PGE Dystrybucja carried out primarily technical works to ensure safe operation of the grid, so that the supply of electricity remained uninterrupted, in particular to facilities important for the security of the state and its citizens (hospitals, water treatment plants, sewage treatment plants, etc.). For this purpose, modernisation, investment and maintenance works were limited, with focus on ensuring uninterrupted energy supply.

At the initial stage of the pandemic, out of concern for the health of employees and customers, a decision was made to close the network of PGE customer service outlets. Some employees of the PGE Obrót Customer Service Offices reinforced the manning of the Contact Centre, which took over all customer service tasks. To ensure the continuity of operations of the remote channel, a decision was made to apply a distributed work system – call centre consultants were given the option of remote work. It was possible thanks to the full commitment of all employees of the IT units at PGE Group companies, who had to reconfigure the PGE ICT network within a very short deadline. All Customer Service Outlets run by PGE Dystrybucja were also shut down. Customers were served on a case-by-case basis by appointment, under a full sanitary regime. PGE Centrum, operating in Warsaw under the brand name LUMI, also closed its customer service outlet.

In parallel, an internet campaign was carried out to inform customers about the transfer of all services to remote channels and the possibility of entering into an agreement without having to leave home. During this period, an upward trend in the use of this possibility was observed. The number of enquiries related to agreements and offers submitted through the remote channels of PGE Obrót increased from the beginning of the pandemic, i.e. from March 2020, to the end of December 2020, by 69% compared to the entire year 2019, i.e. to an average of 31,000 enquiries per month.

The maintenance of service provision continuity would not have been possible without changes to the applicable processes and previously prepared improvements concerning, among other things, the conclusion of agreements. In PGE Obrót, the process of entering into energy sales agreements on a remote basis was prepared, based on secure digital signatures. The company also promoted the possibility to sign documents by means of the following:

• a trusted profile (a free service made available via the ePUAP platform),
• a qualified signature (a commercial service),
• the eDO App, an application for the holders of an ID card with an electronic layer.

Thanks to IT systems developed over the years, the companies and district heating divisions belonging to PGE Energia Ciepła were able to remotely manage the operation of district heating networks, receive and record customer requests and provide comprehensive customer services during the 2020 pandemic. An important system used in the provision of customer services is telemetry, which allows remote monitoring of the operation of nodes and consumer installations. The telemetry system also provides information on the location of disturbances in the functioning of the network and nodes, so it is possible to react remotely and quickly in advance, even before a disturbance is noticed by the customer.

The pandemic caused lasting changes in customer behaviours that have and will continue to affect the development of the service provision area at PGE Group. Despite the opening of the traditional customer service outlets, many customers continue to choose remote channels. The PGE Obrót Contact Centre handled 75% more calls in the fourth quarter of 2020 than in the same period of 2019.

PGE provides its services to customers in the areas of distribution, electricity sales and heating.

Despite the many challenges that last year brought to all energy sellers, the Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) in the case of PGE Obrót remained at a high level, among both G tariff and C1 tariff customers.

Tariff G customers

PGE Dystrybucja has been monitoring customer satisfaction with its services for six years. Their analysis covers the connection process and contact with the emergency service. PGE Dystrybucja also monitors satisfaction with direct contacts with company electricians.

The 991 emergency hotline response rate was, on days without weather-related mass emergencies, approximately 92%. Customer satisfaction rates are also very high. The Consumer Satisfaction Index (CSI) concerning contact with the 991 emergency hotline amounted to 91% and to 93% in the case of contact with the PGE Obrót hotline. It resulted from the high standard of work and commitment of all consultants who, especially during the period when the direct service network was shut down, accepted significantly more calls from PGE customers compared to previous years.

One of the priorities of PGE Obrót is to provide services to people with various disabilities. Nearly 80% of PGE Obrót customer service outlets are equipped with ramps for wheelchairs or are located on the ground floor of buildings. Additionally, people who have problems with access to customer service outlets may use remote channels. For the comfort of people with disabilities, appropriate standards have been developed depending on the type of a customer’s disability. All brick-and-mortar customer service outlets of PGE Obrót are also equipped with magnifying glasses for the elderly and visually impaired. Thanks to this, they can easily and independently read documents and familiarise themselves with the content of an offer or an agreement. PGE Obrót has been granted the OK Senior certificate. The certification process and the OK Senior Quality Label may be used by an entity which offers high-quality services and products intended for the Customer 60+. Moreover, in 2020 PGE Obrót was once again awarded the Customer Friendly Company certificate.

The development of remote channels is consistent with the new business strategy of PGE Group. The area of customer relations is one of the main elements of PGE Group’s development in the coming years. The integration of contact channels, as well as the improvement and unification of service provision standards will be the foundation for further development of the retail area focusing on ensuring energy and heat comfort for customers. An important element will be support for customers planning to become energy prosumers.

Besides the development of remote channels, PGE plans to rebuild the network of direct service outlets so as to be even closer to customers and better meet their expectations. PGE wants to provide customers with products and services through friendly and always available service and sales channels. PGE’s ambition is to achieve the CSI of 85%. The competencies of employees and integrated product and service solutions should make it possible. In the long run, PGE Group wants to become an energy integrator for its customers.

PGE Group continuously pays attention to its customers’ welfare and warns them about unfair practices of some energy suppliers who often impersonate proven and reliable brands such as PGE. To this end, it conducts its own educational and information campaigns in both the traditional and internet media. In this respect, PGE Group also actively cooperates with local government administration units and the police.