Madrileña Red de Gas achieved optimum results in the high-consumption market, and was able to uphold its commitment to the major developers to deliver the developments in progress in 2020. The company also worked on creating collaborative groups with suppliers and secured more active involvement from all the collaborators who make up the extended MRG business. Digitalisation, automation and self-service customer support were all strengthened and optimised in 2020. New channels were activated, such as support by WhatsApp, the virtual office is now firmly established, and new resources such as robotisation and making use of big data were also developed. In terms of its commitment to the environment in 2020, the year of decarbonisation, the company implemented a range of initiatives, including dismantling more than a hundred LPG plants.
2.1 RESIDENTIAL MARKET
The 2020 financial year was marked by the social and economic repercussions of COVID-19, and its influence was felt most keenly in the residential property expansion markets, an accurate reflection of societal trends in the Madrid area. Despite the severe lockdown in the first few months of 2020, MRG continued to secure new customer contracts, honouring our commitments while ensuring maximum protection for staff and customers alike, with strict measures and protocols in place.
Despite the severe lockdown in the first few months of 2020, MRG continued to secure new customer contracts, honouring our commitments while ensuring maximum protection for staff and customers, with strict measures and protocols in place
In the most severe period of the state of alarm in Madrid, various indicators were evaluated to measure the degree to which business would be affected and to ensure we could provide public administrations with regular reports, providing as much information as possible to help with future solutions. Home quarantines and customers preventing home visits in person led to more than 150 visits being cancelled, mainly in the months of March and April.
Given this difficulty in making home visits, the drop in registrations was worsened by a sharp reduction of new contracts, as in the Madrid region various limitations were placed on the activities of natural gas suppliers. All of these factors had a major impact on the targets set for expanding the residential market, leading to a gap of up to 1,500 supply points fewer than were expected in the first half of the year.
During the second half of the year we focused our efforts on reducing this accumulated shortfall, with the aim of recovering all of the contracts lost. By focusing on sales, and through our traditional channel of installer companies, Madrileña Red de Gas designed ad hoc campaigns in specific areas of around 20 municipalities and launched interesting price offers for end users with the aim of mobilising more than 7,500 potential supply points.
In addition, and given the limitations on making sales visits to people’s homes, posters and flyers were used to advertise. The results of these traditional campaigns were not as satisfying as was hoped for, which led us to implement new sales techniques, which proved to be a highly valuable learning process in terms of innovation and implementing improvements in the future.
Through our sales-based call centre, MRG began a project to reactivate as many supply points as possible in as short a time as possible. The result was the mass activation of more than a thousand new supply points in homes owned by a range of property development groups. We also implemented a campaign to recover lost leads. This collaboration paves the way for future opportunities for expansion, chiefly in new build and rental markets.
FWith a focus on recovering sales activity in new gas installations, Madrileña Red de Gas piloted a telemarketing project that meant we were able to reach potential customers in a safer, more direct way. This new initiative is helping us understand more about these customers and securing new points of supply.
The constant improvements to customer provision, the use of more optimised sales arguments in calls and collaboration with different businesses have all led to a significant improvement for the company and optimum results. The new collaboration contract signed with Unisono for 2021 is a great example of this.
2.2 HIGH CONSUMPTION
The high-consumption market is hugely important to Madrileña Red de Gas. Having teams specialised by market has led to more effective sales work, as our sales staff can provide support for different customer needs more efficiently depending on their profile.
Natural gas consumption increased by more than 210 GWh in the high-consumption market in 2020
Despite the hardships that the pandemic has brought to bear on this market, in 2020 natural gas consumption increased by more than 210 GWh, confirming its relevance as an energy source in the high-consumption sector, as cogeneration can produce electric power and usable heat in the same process, which is of particular interest to the industrial sector, as it means increased efficiency and sustainability, and important savings.
MRG obtained good results in the high-consumption market, which every is becoming more open to using natural gas in their installations. Businesses such as the pharmaceutical company Pharmaloop are committed to cogeneration for its own consumption, due to the greater efficiency in power generation and greater savings in primary energy and water consumption, giving the company a competitive edge through lower costs. Another notable example is that of La Santamaría, a leading food manufacturer of artisanal aperitifs that has gone from producing its products in its small premises in Santa María de la Cabeza to opening a factory in Valdemoro, where it has chosen natural gas rather than electricity. This decision has led to notable savings and a higher productive yield.
Institutions such as the Navalcarnero Penitentiary Centre also chose energy efficiency for their facilities, with improved performance following the changeover from gas oil boilers to natural gas boilers supplied by MRG.
Finally, in a year marked by COVID-19, at MRG we feel that we are part of the solution for all those sectors that have been affected, to whatever degree, and which have suffered or are still suffering the consequences of this health crisis. Since the start of the pandemic we have been working hard to provide support for the most heavily affected sectors. We developed special campaigns aimed at the catering and SME sectors, which we were able to work with to offer favourable payment terms for installing natural gas in their facilities.
In the Madrid region, 2020 was also the year of decarbonisation, the fight against climate change and the year of improved air quality, a commitment that MRG took on board with different public administrations, such as Madrid city council, with financial assistance for residents through the Madrid 360 ordinance on quality and sustainability. In a period of energy transition in which large numbers of residential properties continue to use contaminating fuels such as coal and gas oil, natural gas plays a decisive role in reducing emissions and improving air quality. However, the pace of boiler room conversions was not as strong as was hoped for in 2020, as the need to maintain social distancing meant that the members of property owners’ associations were forced to postpone their meetings in which decisions of this kind would normally be made.
2.3 NEW CONSTRUCTION
Despite the difficulties caused by COVID-19 in terms of holding free-flowing meetings with major developers, Madrileña Red de Gas used available technology to establish and remain in close contact with them, making it possible to continue collaborating and providing support where needed in order to meet the goal of delivering on developments in progress over the course of 2020.
Despite the uncertainties generated by the pandemic, individual gas supply points were provided by MRG in 3,990 homes, 24.5% more than was originally forecast. More than 30 boiler rooms were switched over to gas heating and hot water, a total increase of 2,800 homes. Madrileña Red de Gas also signed four collaboration agreements for third-party networks at a length of 2,560 m, to 1,151 potential homes.
Developments with individual gas supply points provided by MRG amounted to 3,990 homes, 24.5% more than originally forecasted
We also established a channel of communication by which we are able to provide developers, construction companies and subscribers with updates on technical, administrative and legislative issues, which has proven to be a highly popular initiative.
Finally, MRG is working on the study of an urban network project aimed at new urban planning developments that can provide domestic hot water, heating, cooling and even lighting. This will be developed in the north-west of the Madrid region, in a new sustainable environment within the municipality of Pozuelo de Alarcón.
2.4 LPG MARKET
In line with our commitment to reduce emissions, in 2020 we continued with our plan to convert LPG points to natural gas. Despite the four months of inactivity due to the lockdown, we transformed a total of 27 installations to natural gas, meaning that 700 homes that previously used LPG now pollute far less as a result of converting to natural gas. In performing these conversions, MRG put particular emphasis on the quality of the work carried out, with the aim of ensuring the complete satisfaction of our customers, who now have safer installations and lower emissions as a result of their cleaner and more environmentally responsible consumption.
Regarding new LPG networks, in the municipality of Los Molinos a trade agreement materialised with the company Xucrogas S.L. to transfer 61 new LPG supply points, which includes more than 3,000 metres of network and more than 60 connections. A commercial collaboration agreement was also signed with the company to convert more than 300 new supply points within the MRG distribution area.
In 2020 we also continued to move forward in the digitalisation and automation of new registrations, account holder transfers and disconnecting supply for our 22,710 LPG customers. Before 2020 the entire process was done manually, which took up more time and had more room for errors that can occur when managing procedures in this way. Digitalisation has meant a 70% reduction in the time spent on management and document validation. A 50% increase in documents needed for each procedure was recorded, along with a 70% reduction in errors associated with manual management and 100% autonomy in generating orders to be carried out in the field.
2.5 ENERTY
As in previous years, developing the company’s internal processes by using new digital tools and implementing improvements in existing tools continued in 2020 with the consolidation of Enerty. This tool is the result of the collaboration between AGREMIA (the Association of Installation Companies of Madrid) and Logalty, a company with expertise in digital transactions and certificates. Thanks to this ambitious project, we have eliminated paper certificates, providing transparency and legal certainty to the process of certifying installations. Getting rid of physical documents has led to greater efficiency in our processes, and the individual signing the certificates can now be uniquely and reliably identified. The certificate document has also been standardised, using the official model published in the “Technical regulation for the distribution and use of gas fuels”, ensuring full compliance with regulations and a more effective system of evidentiary documentation. It also meant an end to any possible data losses, with instant availability 24 hours a day and 365 days a year in any location. We are also now able to guarantee the longevity of stamped documents, as well as improving customer support by providing a copy of the certificate in real time.
Since June 2020, a total of 41 installation companies now benefit from the advantages provide by Enerty, with more than 600 digital certificates issued. Furthermore, MRG continues to work towards fully integrating Enerty into our systems and mobility tools, adapting it to work with other documents, such as anomaly correction confirmation certificate in annual regular inspections.
The excellent take-up of Enerty among installation companies provides new opportunities in other areas of expansion, such as electric certificates and certificates for other installation types.
2.6 VIRTUAL OFFICE
All our studies and the experience acquired over the past ten years lead us to confirm that customers want it to easier and quicker to interact with us, with greater autonomy, and to be able to do so where, when and however they wish. Madrileña Red de Gas is therefore committed to self-service, a key element to optimising our customers’ experience.
Madrileña Red de Gas is therefore committed to self-service, a key element to optimising our customers’ experience
After years of strengthening our virtual office and the interactive voice response (IVR) service with self-service processes, in 2020 we took a step further in enabling our customers to interact with us quickly and simply, meaning that now we are only a few clicks away.
We strongly feel that providing easier customer support makes for a better experience. We have improved and simplified the process of sending meter readings and managing appointments, so they can now be done without having to be registered with the virtual office.
As a result of these improvements, the process of sending self-service readings went from 65,000 recorded readings in 2019 to 525,000 in 2020, an increase of 800%.
The process of sending self-service readings went from 65,000 recorded readings in 2019 to 525,000 in 2020, an increase of 800%
The virtual office has also implemented new registration management processes, through a request reception engine that communicates with the system and can provide an immediate response when the customer makes the request online. For special cases the request is sent to the back office, where it is dealt with by the Madrileña Red de Gas team, who respond to the customer through the platform, providing a locator for the request and sending notifications by email.
Now the responses to these requests are quick, direct and real, as any intermediaries have been eliminated, providing further support to deal with and help our customers with a new registration right from the start. As a result, from receiving 51 supply requests in the first month of implementation, we now receive more than 750 such requests every month.
Today, 84% of requests have been processed, and 2% are still in process. The remaining 14% are for issues not related to new registrations, which are referred to the virtual office for existing customers.
Of the total volume of new registrations handled through the virtual office, 65% of the requests are in pre-built homes, and 18% are in new-build homes. The high-consumption market (made up mostly of commercial premises) accounts for 3% of these registrations, which because of their particular nature are handled using a personalised approach. The remaining 14% are online processes involving registrations for LPG.
As well as handling requests for new registrations for natural gas, the virtual office also services LPG contracts, account holder changes and disconnections. It is now simple and intuitive for customers to upload the necessary documentation, and once validated the registration or account holder change is completely automatic. As a result, 879 requests have been processed and the costs from the old telephone contract have been reduced, a real milestone in the MRG digitalisation policy.
As well as handling requests for new registrations for natural gas, the virtual office also services LPG contracts, account holder changes and disconnections
The virtual office has also been implemented for installation companies, so they can process registrations and have all the documentation and information on commercial campaigns available to them online. The channel will also soon be able to process technical documentation.
FFinally, in our work to improve and facilitate access to information to our extended company, we continue to promote the use of Frappe and the Reins digitised cartography tolls in 30 new SMEs.
2.7 COLLABORATORS
As a sign of loyalty to our most traditional channel, namely installation companies, in 2020 MRG maintained its public offer and a series of sales campaigns, which has enabled more than 300 installation companies to be signed up to the scheme in order to obtain significant sales contributions in installations carried out within their area of activity.
Eight new companies also joined our network of associated stores, with the aim of securing more active involvement from all the collaborators who make up our extended company. This enabled us to redesign and improve processes to ensure better communication with end customers and have information on their needs that is as accurate as possible.
2.8 SUPPLIERS
MRG works to democratise information about our service to customers, allowing transparent access to suppliers and end customers alike. With this aim, in 2020 we provided suppliers with a catalogue of web services that they can use to provide extra value for their customers.
Two-way working groups between MRG and suppliers led to a 33% drop in complaints transferred by suppliers
This collaboration, established though two-way working groups between MRG and the supplier, has been highly successful, leading to a 33% drop in complaints transferred to use from the supplier. These promising results are due to improved first-call resolution (FCR) for customers, the distributor and the supplier, as well as to improved quality of information, services and timeframes, for increased customer satisfaction, as well as to the increase in customer service autonomy from the supplier, which has reduced the volume of complaints received by the distributor. We have also improved coordination and communication to minimise the impact of occasional incidents.
MRG hopes to continue strengthening these collaboration groups in 2021.
2.9 REGULAR INSPECTIONS
MRG improved its inspection process in 2020 in order to continue to provide our customers with maximum support and apply all appropriate safety measures to protect our staff and our customers over the course of a year marked by COVID-19 and the lockdown restrictions.
A notable example is the safety protocol in place for operations in the field to ensure the safety and peace of mind of our customers, with 171,717 communications sent out providing information on the protocol.
Despite the difficulties resulting from the months of lockdown, the 2020 campaign of regular inspections ended with a success rate of 91.66%
Despite the difficulties resulting from the months of lockdown, MRG carried out its campaign of regular inspections (RIs). In total, 126,620 RIs were carried out, of which 103,505 were part of the standard campaign for 2020, which ended with a 91.66% success rate. The remaining 23,115 RIs were carried out with customers whose inspections were not up to date, and these were all brought up to regulation, a considerable achievement taking into account the fact that they all had to be completed within a shorter period of time due to work being halted during the months of lockdown.
A total of 27,928 appointment changes were also made, equating to 19.72% of the RIs planned in 2020, compared with 15.81% in 2019.
In terms of the commitment made to customers, we were able to honour that commitment in 99.8% of cases. We also improved communication in processes entailing higher levels of difficulty, such as instructions for sending confirmation of anomaly corrections or reminders of the end of the period to send in documentation.
Another notable aspect of inspections in 2020 was the implementation of more personalised processes, with the aim of ensuring greater customer safety. By sending them a photo and the details of the inspector in advance, customers now know which technician will be carrying out the inspection in their home. A security code is also sent to customers, who should ask the inspector for it upon arrival at their home.
By establishing the “last mile”, a link with information on the work that the technician should carry out before reaching the customer’s home, customers are better able to manage their time, as it allows for the arrival time of our inspectors at their homes to be adjusted as much as is possible.
In 2020 MRG also focused its efforts on improving the scheduling process, rising from it being used in 11.4% of operations in 2019 to 16.6% in 2020. Furthermore, with these improvements we increased FCR in our call centre – at the beginning of the year it was at around 50%, and is now at 80%, and this also notably improved the visibility and autonomy of the schedule by our extended company, as until 2020 they depended exclusively on this being managed by the company.
To achieve this, all the corresponding services needed to be integrated into the same area and collaborator company. Daily alarm systems were created to provide notification of overly busy schedules. Improving visibility for our extended company also provided greater autonomy when modifying scheduling capacity and made it possible to automatically assign work in the field to the technicians’ terminals when arriving at a new appointment, thereby optimising the administrative work and making it easier to shorten the time between when an appointment is changed and the chosen date. New key performance indicators (KPIs) were also introduced to view how the scheduling process is evolving, allowing customers to choose how they wish to be notified of the appointment and providing them with the chance to give their opinion by means of a survey on the alternative appointments offered and the possibility of continual improvement (the current score is 7.5/10).
Finally, in 2020 Madrileña Red de Gas bid to provide the services of regular inspections (RIs), home operations (HOs) and registrations in an integrated way, as a result of which it was possible to move from six different service providers for a single municipality with integrated service to a scenario whereby the activities are all integrated for the same supplier and for the whole of the area where Madrileña Red de Gas operates.
This was made possible by updating the scope of the services provided in RIs, HOs and registrations, once the service level agreements for the different field operations had been standardised. Our customer-driven focus continues, we are improving productivity in the field with time savings, kilometres travelled and improved agility in our customer support, and we continue to promote a cross-cutting vision of field operations, consisting of the three services and with greater collaboration and involvement between the different departments and managerial teams.
2.10 BIG DATA
One of the key projects in 2020 was the creation of a cloud-based data repository (data lake), where Madrileña Red de Gas information originating from different sources can be stored, the aim being to get the most utility out of the data we hold in the various applications used by the company.
Creating this data lake has given added value to the whole of the data analytics process: from extracting data to be added to the data lake through to using the various dashboards available for operative and managerial reporting.
This information is stored in the data lake as a unique record, following specific key field criteria, which means that, from a single record, relevant information can be obtained from different applications in our ecosystem, as well as compacting and collating information from different sources, making it easier for data to be searched, analysed and used.
EThis project has enabled MRG to take a qualitative leap in monitoring operations, creating more visual reports and dashboards that contain much more information and historic data, including key performance indicators of each unit, all updated and available for use on a daily basis. This allows the business area of the company to be much more agile in its decision making.
Before this platform was set up, reports were obtained once a month, which would take up around 36 hours of time spent on various resources; now they are obtained on a daily basis and take less than 30 minutes to produce. Information has also been homogenised between all levels and areas, focusing efforts on analytics rather than extraction, and freeing up 0.5% of the human resources working full time who worked solely on extracting information.
The platform was developed on Google Cloud with parameters of scalability and the ability to incorporate new data sources and analytics, so users can build their own reports and easily incorporate new reports depending on business needs.
The use of big data and the robotisation of certain processes means that all business units can spend more time on tasks that bring greater added value
2.11 ROBOTISATION
It is some years now since Madrileña Red de Gas started introducing robotised processes into our normal operations, with the implementation of robotic process automation (RPA) assisted by UiPath technology.
After this period of learning, evolution and incorporation of new process in robotic automation, in 2020 we had 11 critical business processes run on robotic automation, eliminating more than ten thousand hours a year of repetitive tasks, enabling all business units to spend more time on tasks that bring greater added value.
In 2020 we had 11 critical business processes run on robotic automation, eliminating more than ten thousand hours a year of repetitive tasks
Having come to the realisation that coordination between the different systems and hardware is fundamental, we’ve managed to stabilise all the robots. For every change or modification that is made in an application, or in a process that is affected by a robot, we analyse and determine its impact to anticipate the need for the robot to adapt when necessary.
We have also incorporated the use of assisted RPA to manage cases of fraud from the Directorate General for Industry. The large amount of data and necessary documentation from different sources and systems required a considerable investment of time. Given that claims of this kind tend to have a similar pattern, MRG chose to automate the response based on two standard case models: one for cases in which the fraud is detected in a joint visit with an authorised inspection organisation or an approved control body, and another for cases in which only Madrileña Red de Gas is involved in detecting the fraud.
The robot locates mail, by type, sent by the specific body in question, records it in the system, together with any attached documents, and decides on the type of response, including the data extracted after accessing the various documents and systems. The success of this robotised automation has set the standard for the Directorate General for Industry in the Community of Madrid, as it has led to a reduction of 90% of cases pending processing. In addition, the time devoted to dealing with these cases has been reduced by 60%.
The cultural change that has accompanied robotisation has also allowed multiple process and operations to be automated, such as customer support and managing suppliers
It is worth noting that robotisation has been and remains fundamental leverage in the transformation to providing added value for our customers, as it means we can devote all our efforts on improving the customer experience, working on excellence, optimising our processes and improving efficiency. The cultural change that has accompanied robotisation has also allowed multiple process and operations to be automated, such as customer support and managing suppliers.
2.12 CUSTOMERS
Customer-focused
One of the best markers of MRG’s outlook is how we look after our customers. Every step we take is aimed at refining processes, reducing costs and consolidating knowledge within the company.
This knowledge helps us continue to strengthen the relationship with our customers, directing commercial resources to campaigns that are right for that particular moment or applying our efforts to each customer, whether real or potential, as a challenge. The entire Madrileña Red de Gas team is involved in coming up with the right processes to provide personalised experiences for each and every one of our customers.
For that reason it is essential to ensure that the contact details of our customers are always up to date. Mobile phone and email contact details increase the degree of effectiveness in how we manage our customers. With such a wide range of initiatives implemented in 2020, such as promoting our virtual office, contact details being validated by our operators in the field and by the call centre, reviewing the information flow for contact details reported by suppliers following requests, data mining of historic interventions and communications to complement data or progressively replacing printed letters for customers for whom we have phone and/or email details, we are able to communicate with 62% of our customers by email, and we have the mobile number of 75% of customers, making us even more agile in the last mile when out in the field, as well as more efficient and environmentally friendly, having to produce less printed material.
Customers can successfully manage 70% of their most common issues or requests for information simply by using WhatsApp
The WhatsApp channel, which was a priority development for the company and which brings digital communication to customer segments that are not usually digitalised, has meant customers can now deal with 70% of their most common issues or requests for information simply by using WhatsApp. Meter readings are also now possible via WhatsApp, which is proving to be very popular, with more than 30,000 chats managed, accounting for 4% of all interactions with the call centre.
Another notable improvement in 2020 was to change service provider: we implemented an internal multi-channel management customer support tool and reorganised telephone support into four specialised levels:
- Level 1: quick support for simple requests.
- Level 2: support service with autonomy for resolving complex requests in the first call.
- Level 3: customer champion – specialists in business processes.
- Level 4: emergencies – a dedicated support service to provide the best response 24/7.
This new way of organising our support enabled us to harness artificial intelligence (AI) tools in the cloud, develop greater autonomy and agility to implement new support services for customers, increase integration between different platforms and increase feedback, and improve how customer support is channelled.
This helped bring about a 17% drop in service cost. The percentage of self-service use in the call centre quadrupled to 16%, customer support via calls through the WhatsApp channel was strengthened and there was greater autonomy in how call traffic is managed.
Additionally, in 2020 we initiated phase 1 of our cloud-based contact centre, based on the SaaS service by Amazon Connect, which in the future will be implemented with the incorporation of Amazon Lex AI services.
In 2020 we initiated phase 1 of our cloud-based contact centre, based on the SaaS service by Amazon Connect
This first phase of the project was a success: it gave us greater control of call traffic in the call centre (we can divert traffic from one call centre to another, depending on needs) and greater autonomy when designing, updating and interacting with the decision trees/recorded messages. This all led to shorter implementation times for improvements, agility in how trees/recorded messages are modified (previously it depended on the systems provided by the service provider and how they were managed), identifying customers by their phone number and conducting surveys after completed calls. We were also able to optimise our IVR options and obtain monitoring/KPI reports on the service.
Another initiative by Madrileña Red de Gas in 2020 was to optimise one of the company’s premium channels, the virtual office, which provides great added value for our customers, while also leading to major efficiencies in time and resources in our business units. Optimising our virtual office consisted of extending the help section and improving the existing chatbot. WhatsApp was also incorporated along with a direct section for incidents, which are given top priority. All these changes led to a 50% increase in the improvement of information and help provided, 40% greater customer autonomy when managing their regular inspections and a 50% improvement in how complaints are managed.
Continuing with customer support, another notable example of our ongoing progress was having a specialised back office to provide agile and dynamic resolutions to all requests not resolved by the front office. This was made possible by continual work between business units to identify scenarios of recurring requests to help establish patterns of management and reply, by establishing protocols to correctly categorise requests and by coordinating mass communications. This helps avoid the excessive volume of communications that can have a negative impact on the customer.
In these first ten years MRG had brought about a permanent transformation and adaptation with regard to customer support and the establishment of new channels for this specific purpose/p>
This led to optimum results: a 30% improvement in the information provided to customers when closing requests, a 15% increase in the automation of reiterated requests, or those with little added value, and the resolution of requests (information, requests for action and complaints) within ten days.
Looking back, we can conclude that in these first ten years MRG had brought about a permanent transformation and adaptation with regard to customer support and the establishment of new channels for this specific purpose. This transformation intensified over the past three years following implementation of the self-service capability and the increase in our communications on the impact of the process on how the customer’s supply points would be managed.
This was all made possible by the digitalisation and by going paper-free, by evolving the website and our virtual office, which now provides 24/7 autonomy for managing the most common requests, by extending our automatic support through call centre IVR, without the need to wait, and finally by ensuring our customers are always kept up to date on development, by providing them with more information through our process-related interactions.
Loyalty
Communicating with customers is a fundamental to Madrileña Red de Gas. Our aim is to anticipate their needs and for them to know who we are, to provide added value for them, because they are the company’s raison d’être.
With this premise, in 2020 we made a quantitative and qualitative leap in how we communicate with our customers. We sent 95% of new customers for supplies and/or account holder changes a welcome email, informing them of who we are and what our responsibilities and duties are.
We also strengthened digital communications on RIs, by text, email and WhatsApp message, anticipating their doubts, organising the visit with them, accompanying them throughout the process, from the weeks leading up to the inspection through to the actual visit and managing any anomalies and their resolution. These digital communications increased by 86%, with the subsequent reduction in emissions of more than 15,500 kg of CO2 as a result of paper savings. Compliance by our inspectors in RI appointments was 99.8%.
We also provided all our customers with online reports on their consumption, with the ability to compare it with their own records, their neighbours or the area where they live. We included tips to be more efficient, and provided monitoring of incidents, through text and/or email messages on the status and resolution of any incidents.
Ways to improve
We achieve this by means of a management model that guides us and forms the basis of our process of transformation and continual improvement. The priority objective in this for everyone at Madrileña Red de Gas is complete customer satisfaction. For MRG, correcting faults isn’t an option. They need to be anticipated, to prevent them from happening. This means that everyone at Madrileña Red de Gas becomes responsible and contributes, in some way, to building a more solid relationship with our customers, providing them with greater satisfaction and exceeding their expectations.
For Madrileña Red de Gas, our customers are everything. We believe that by providing them with a great experience in all their interactions with our company, we’re helping to make their day better
Before 2020, MRG measured customer satisfaction every two years. In 2020 we made a commitment to discover even more about what we could offer our customers. We implemented new surveys for reviewing new points of contact with customers, such as the virtual office and the optimisation of services such as WhatsApp. We also added “hot points” to our relationship with customers, such as their assessment of the complaints process or providing support in emergency situations. These new metrics are carried out using the CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Score), which provides us with an initial understanding of the overall state of our relationship with customers, including areas with more room for improvement, so as to gather more accurate information on the current situation of Madrileña Red de Gas.
These new inclusions of critical areas have also been applied to other indices, such as the NPS (Net Promoter Score), which although measured previously until 2020 had not been included in responses to customers.
We also added a new KPI metric for our relationship with customers: the CES (Customer Effort Score), as we want our customers not only to be satisfied with us and to recommend us to others; we also want their relationship with Madrileña Red de Gas to be easier, their dealings with us more agile, and for their requests not to involve any extra effort. Extending all these metrics is providing a much deeper understanding of the company and has helped to identify new areas for improvement in the relationship between MRG and our customers.
Readings and remote readings
In 2020 and despite the state of alarm, MRG gas maintained, and even improved, the ratio of actual readings obtained. We also reduced the number of customers for whom a reading was not taken in the past 12 months.
The year 2020 was a turning point for our customers in terms of the digital conversion of the meter-reading process, as it removed the traditional method of readings by means of a sheet of paper at the entrance to the building and strengthened our virtual channels, with more options for customers to provide their reading. A total of 54% of meter readings were provided through the 24/7 self-service channel. These new processes are more hygienic (they do not require users to write on the same sheet of paper), discreet (consumption levels are not revealed to other neighbours), reliable (fewer user errors) and quicker for the customer and for the billing process. They also allow for an immediate response to be given to questions relating to readings and COVID-19.
On the other hand and in relation to remote readings, since the start of the project to install Smart4K meters, which began in 2016, we have installed more than 3,000 meters, going from 17% to 31% of consumption metered remotely, reducing the number of incidents and ensuring greater accuracy when billing and in daily and monthly gas distribution.
Since the start of the project to install Smart4K meters, which began in 2016, we have installed more than 3,000 meters, going from 17% to 31% of consumption metered remotely
With the end of this project, Madrileña Red de Gas has gone from a scenario of only 150 mandatory remote readings > 5GWh/year to one that enables thousands of non-mandatory remote readings for lower consumption levels, ensuring the company is well placed for the tariff changes expected in 2021 that will enable remote reading for any customers who request it, above 300 kWh/year.
2.13 DISTRIBUTION NETWORK
During the period of home lockdown decreed by the Spanish Government, which included particularly tough restrictions during the months of March and April, Madrileña Red de Gas established a crisis plan that guaranteed the provision of all essential natural gas distribution services, such as emergency home support, repairing network leaks and critical maintenance in the gas distribution system, ensuring safety was maintained in customers’ installations, gas networks and auxiliary installations, and guaranteeing supply for every Madrileña Red de Gas customer.
This included some serious challenges, in terms of the health of our staff and our customers, to provide emergency support in a way that was fully safe. This is why MRG implemented all necessary prevention measures for staff in the field, in terms of personal protective equipment (PPE) and work procedures, and in terms of organisation: staggering arrival and leaving times in the workplace, or working from home if feasible, and continuous communication processes with a range of information on safety measures to prevent possible infection during emergency customer support visits.
Except for the influence of the restrictions imposed by COVID-19 in March, April, May and June, emergency support figures remained as normal, meeting support time targets within the ratios set by our customer quality system.
Once the restrictions were lifted, all pending non-critical activity was recovered, with the intention of continuing with scheduled activity, meeting all quality ratio targets in place in the MRG systems.
Digital transformation
In 2020 Madrileña Red de Gas implemented an ambitious digital transformation project of emergency support and network maintenance processes. This was carried out within the network operations unit, for which the Salesforce application was chosen, due to its cloud availability, scalability and ease of use and implementation.
This is a system of crucial importance to MRG. It needs to guarantee both the company’s operational continuity and the service for the customer, both of which are naturally critical aspects for our sector.
In 2020 Madrileña Red de Gas implemented an ambitious digital transformation project of emergency support and network maintenance processes
A project was devised that would meet the targets set for reducing operation times, increasing service efficacy and improving customer experience. Salesforce has replaced the previous application, which had been in place for more than ten years and was technologically obsolete, and has digitalised the network maintenance process, which had previously to a large extent been managed manually.
As well as meeting the objectives set, this system can be used from any location and on any device, which means that agents in the field can now use Salesforce as a mobile solution for managing field operations, printing work reports in situ for the customer or launching service satisfaction surveys, all without the need for any additional activities.
The new platform has also helped automate the communication process between Madrileña Red de Gas and contractors: the entire process has been digitalised and the assignment flow can be done online, optimising routes and leading to an increase in service quality and greater efficiency.
In 2020, MRG dealt with more than 8,800 emergency reports, in an average time of 3.5 hours, compared with 3.8 hours in 2019, an 8% reduction in the average time taken to resolve an emergency. And integration incidents between systems were eliminated 100%.
Distribution control centre
The MRG control centre continues with the process of modernising remote signalling equipment and continues to progressively adapt transmission technology to new existing resources.
With regard to managing transport and filling our satellite LNG plants, 2020 ended with no faults, despite the increase in the number of unloads due to higher demand among customers in areas where LNG is supplied. We went from managing 45 tanks a year to 72, a 60% increase, which was compressed into the months from November to February, when 50% of the requests for these tanks are made. Unload frequency was highest in the gas plants of Guadalix de la Sierra and Talamanca del Jarama, with 60 annual unloads and more than 12 unloads a month in the colder months, i.e. an unload every three days.
Maintenance
Madrileña Red de Gas has categorised the whole of its distribution network to ensure optimum maintenance management, enabling 100% compliance with the preventive maintenance plan established by regulations and the MRG internal regulation on the natural gas network; also included are the company’s auxiliary installations, five satellite LNG plants and 169 LPG plants. More than 15 thousand maintenance actions were scheduled in 2020.
AAdditionally, our computerised management systems help ensure that each and every preventive maintenance activity is carried out, as well as centralising corrective maintenance information to ensure correct decision making.
To guarantee enough supply to all our customers, the necessary steps were taken to ensure that all systems in our regulation and metering stations were operating as they should at their various pressures, with regulatory monitoring of the gas network and the biannual leak test carried out along 2,635 km of the network. Likewise, to check operational status more than 7,600 valves were operated and more than 1,300 tasks were completed that involved painting, cleaning and/or clearing out auxiliary installations, LPG plants and LNG plants. More than 3,600 actions were carried out on the equipment that ensures cathodic protection of steel pipelines.
As part of the Madrileña Red de Gas action plans for 2020, the necessary renovations, mesh work and corrective measures were carried out to maintain the safety conditions of the network and guarantee supply in the natural gas and LPG networks, replacing materials such as steel, cast iron and copper with polyethylene pipelines.
MRG maintenance initiatives in installations include dismantling 118 LPG plants, carried out in coordination with the local authorities in the various municipalities involved
In one initiative carried out in coordination with the local authorities in the various municipalities involved, MRG dismantled 118 LPG plants, which consisted of emptying out, burning and rendering inert 69 tanks. More than 70 journeys needed to be made to transfer the emptied gas to other MRG plants, preventing any emissions into the atmosphere. The waste collected in these dismantling processes was transported to the processing plants enabled for this purpose by the Community of Madrid, in compliance with our environmental commitment. All of this was carried out without disturbing the activities of our customers and their neighbours, with all precautions taken and with disinfection protocols performed during and after each job, so that the area was always completely disinfected once the work had been completed. By complying with the action protocols established by the Ministry of Health and our Occupational Safety and Health department, no cases of infections between workers were recorded.
With regard to a key activity in the company’s maintenance processes, with both safety and environmental consequences, throughout the ten years that MRG has been operating the evolution of leaks detected during tracking work has remained constant.