The eleventh Hera Dossier, dedicated, is available online from this week to the free energy market, uA highly topical issue on which citizens do not always have clear ideas and are often disoriented among the many offers. Precisely for this reason, the multi-utility's web dossier deals specifically with competition, protection and prices.
Some data on the free market
In fact, almost 20 years have passed since, in 1996, the first directives of the European Union gave impetus to the liberalization of the electricity and gas sectors, historically with a monopolistic presence. These measures have opened up and harmonized the European energy market, ensuring fair access to infrastructure, transparency, consumer protection and lively competition.
In recent years the switch rates, ie gods switch to the free market, have also grown a lot in Italy and concern about a quarter of domestic customers. As far as electricity is concerned, the Authority's data indicate that in 2014 the volumes of energy sold on the domestic free market grew by 11,2% compared to 2013. In the sale of gas, the growth in volumes on the domestic free market it was more contained (+1,1% on 2013) but offset the clear contraction in volumes sold under the protected market regime (-23,6% on 2013). Finally, in absolute terms, 2014 TWh of electricity on the free market and 186,1 million cubic meters of gas were sold in 42.528, again on the free market.
The customer at the center
La competition generated by the opening of the markets has meant that today's customers can choose from the many offers available, also and above all relying on the quality of the after-sales relationship system put in place by the proposing company. For a citizen, not being able to make a transfer, not having clarifications on a bill or waiting months for a meter change are elements that can generate costs, wasted time and difficulties.
The Hera Group, aware of the high value that customers are attributing to after-sales service, in recent years has increasingly invested in staff training, improvement of IT platforms and enhancement of contact channels, both remote/virtual such as the call center and the website, both physical in the area, with a network of over 120 branches. A customer relationship system that is unique on the national scene, in terms of quality and quantity of communication channels, and is subject to periodic checks by external companies to assess the degree of satisfaction of those who use it.
Hera: in SUPPORT of those in difficulty
The last few years have been characterized by an unfavorable economic scenario. To protect the less well-off income groups, measures have been activated by the Authority to combat economic hardship: these are social bonuses, introduced by law, which allow those entitled to have discounts of up to 20% on electricity it's gas. In the same spirit, Hera has voluntarily introduced further measures to support its customers in difficulty, such as for example the district heating bonus and the installment of bills, with the possibility for some categories (layoverage, unemployed, mobile workers) to distribute the installments over 6 months without interest.
To communicate all the tools put in place, the multi-utility has published "SOStegno Hera": a practical and complete guide that illustrates the opportunities to contain expenses on gas, electricity, district heating and water, dedicated to those who are in a of physical and/or economic hardship. It can be downloaded from the Group's website or requested from customer branches in the area.
