EDESUR Ranks Second among Electric Utilities in the Region

EDESUR Ranks Second among Electric Utilities in the Region
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic Nov 3, 2011

The electricity distribution company EDESUR Dominicana scored substantial improvements in various categories related of client satisfaction in comparison with similar companies in the region, according to an annual evaluation of 48 electric utilities in Latin America and the Caribbean. The study of the electricity sector was carried out by the Commission for Regional Energy Integration (Comisión de Integración Energética Regional—CIER).

With respect to energy provision, the increase was 16 points, from 31.4% in 2010 to 47.0% in 2011.

The annual review, known as the CIER Survey, measures seven components or attributes of company performance: clarity in billing, electricity delivery, information and communication, condition of power lines, client services, company image and corporate social responsibility. The average score obtained by EDESUR this year combining all categories was 48%, which placed the company in second place among the eight fastest-growing electric utilities in the region.

EDESUR Dominicana was bested in the survey only by DISPAC (Colombia), which obtained an index of 63.11%. It outperformed ENERTOLIMA (Colombia), which came in at 47.77%; EDELSUR (El Salvador) 19.59%; ESSA (Colombia) 14.48%; AES (El Salvador) 12.96%; EEP (Colombia) 11.97% and Light (Brazil) 9.64%.

EDESUR improved by 16 points in the category of perceived quality, rising from 31.0 in 2010 to 46.0 this year.

The measure includes all the attributes evaluated in the survey and demonstrates the perception of clients with respect to the service delivered by the electric utilities. However, an examination of the individual measurements for each of these characteristics illustrates the considerable improvement obtained by EDESUR in the annual survey.

In the category of clarity of its billing practices, EDESUR achieved a significant improvement in the client perception, rising from 28.6% in 2010 to 50.9% in 2011, an increase of 22 percentage points. With respect to energy provision, the increase was 16 points, from 31.4% in 2010 to 47.0% in 2011.

With respect to communication between the company and clients, the perception improved 10 points, rising from 21.6% in 2010 to 31.7% in 2011. Similarly, the perception of clients on the condition of power lines in the EDESUR concession zone also increased from 32.9% to 46.2%, a 13-point improvement.

Client services was a particularly noteworthy area of improvement for EDESUR in the perception of its clients, according to the CIER survey. Year to year, this category registered a rise of 14 points from 35.6% in 2010 to 49.7% in 2011. The company’s image also improved by 12 points from 30.7% in 2010 to 42.5% in 2011.

In the category of corporate social responsibility, the survey indicated that EDESUR bettered its 2010 score of 34.3% in client perception to 39.2% in 2011.

The improvements in these seven attributes measured by CIER reveal that EDESUR’s clients appreciate the results of the initiatives and projects the company has undertaken to offer electricity-related services that are fully commensurate with their expectations. Among these initiatives is the rehabilitation of the grid in various zones and sectors of the National District and Santo Domingo province as well as in various municipalities of the southern region.

The CIER results also provide evidence that clients appreciate EDESUR’s improvements in energy delivery, particularly the increase in the number of communities and clients with 24-hour service, the improved punctuality in the delivery of bills, speedier delivery of needed information and improvements in the state of power lines and client services.

CIER’s report shows that the efforts of EDESUR in this period have led to an important improvement in the company’s image among its clients, an important indicator of success during the period of administration in question.