8. Society

8.1 Access to energy

Our raison d’être is the distribution and transportation of natural gas, as well as the distribution and sale of liquefied petroleum gases through pipelines. In short, our raison d’être is to facilitate access to energy in different municipalities in the Community of Madrid.

In our work, we understand that this entails an important commitment to homes, factories and special points such as hospitals, schools, universities, or security facilities. The arrival of natural gas to a municipality, as we have already mentioned, is an important step forward and a great boost to its economic activity. In companies and businesses its use favours competitiveness and efficiency, which translates into savings of between 30% and 50% that can be used to increase the productivity of the business or company in any sector. For thousands of households, it means an improvement in the quality of life, as well as an important saving in their energy bill, between 20% and 45%, depending on the consumption and the fuel replaced. In 2020 we have invested €8.7 million to expand the distribution network.

Our expansion strategy, in any case, is linked to our com¬mitment to sustainability, taking part in the development of new town planning initiatives.

Commitment to our customers and users

The quality of our service is a key strategic goal for us. Our per¬formance should be judged on the satisfaction of customers, whether direct or end users of the service.

Since our inception in 2010 we have evolved year by year in our customer service, by seeking excellence.

At the same time, we work to ensure that our maintenance sys¬tem ensures reliable and safe installations.

In 2020 we have moved forward in different projects to provide an excellent service from our ATR unit. We take advantage of the opportunities that technology offers us, aligning ourselves with user trends in order to respond to their needs.

• We have consolidated the WhatsApp channel as the channel through which the client can carry out 90% of their usual requests for information.
• We have carried out many initiatives to update the contact details, e-mail address and telephone number of the users, increasing effectiveness in any necessary contacts (appointments for operations, resolution of any requests, etc.).
• We have working groups with marketers to improve the service in four action areas:
  • Improve the First Call Resolution for the customer of both the distributor and the marketer.
  • Improve coordination and communication to minimize the impact of specific incidents.
  • Improve the quality of information, service and deadlines for greater customer satisfaction.
  • Increase the autonomy of the customer service of the supplier in order to reduce the volume of complaints reported to the distributor.
• In the midst of the pandemic, we have reorganized the telephone service into four specialized levels, changed service providers and implemented our own multichannel customer service management tool:
  • Level 1: Fast service for simple requests.
  • Level 2: Service with autonomy focused on resolving more complex requests on the first call.
  • Level 3: Customer Champion – People specialized in business processes who have the mission to solve the most complex requests.
  • Level 4: Urgencies – Service dedicated to give the best response 24 hours 7 days a week.

  With all this we have achieved: autonomy in the management of call traffic, boosting call handling through the WhatsApp channel, 17% reduction in the cost of the service and almost quadrupling the self-service % in the call centre up to 16%.

• Through a SaaS cloud solution from Amazon Connect we have improved our call centre.
• Automation in the management of files from official bodies has reduced the backlog by 90%.
• During this year and with the aim of improving the service provided to customers during the pandemic, to help enhance their autonomy, one of MRG’s Premium channels has been optimized: our Virtual Office.

From Operations Management we have worked to ensure the perfect state of our installations despite the difficulties that the pandemic and the state of emergency posed to the performance of maintenance activities.

During the entire period of the state of emergency decreed by the Spanish Government in March, which had special restrictions during the months of March and April, MRG established a crisis plan which guaranteed the performance of all the essential activities of the natural gas distribution service, such as attending to home emergencies, resolving network leaks and critical maintenance in the gas distribution system, operating without incidents.

100% of the Preventive Maintenance Plan established by current legislation and MRG’s internal regulations has been carried out on the network, including its auxiliary installations, the 5 satellite LNG plants and 169 existing LPG plants, carrying out more than 15,000 programmed actions. Our distribution network is classified for optimal maintenance management.

We have managed the correct operation of all the regulation systems of our RMS in their different pressures, guaranteeing an adequate supply to all our clients, the corresponding regulatory surveillance has been carried out on the gas network, performing the biannual tightness control over 2,635 km of the gas network, operating more than 7,600 valves to check their correct operation, carrying out more than 1,300 painting/cleaning/clearing actions on auxiliary installations, LPG plants and LNG plants, carrying out more than 3,600 actions on the equipment that ensures the cathodic protection of the steel networks.

The necessary renovations, meshing and corrective actions have been carried out to maintain optimum safety conditions and guarantee the supply of natural gas and LPG networks, replacing materials such as steel, cast iron and copper with polyethylene piping. All of this is part of the MRG action plans.

Actions in response to the exceptional situation caused by COVID-19

As part of the commitment that MRG has with customers and suppliers, in this year 2020 marked by the pandemic, we wanted to respond to the special effort that society is making to address the economic crisis that has arisen.

SMEs and self-employed contractors have been able to manage the temporary suspension of invoicing without difficulty by accessing our website (https://madrilena.es/preguntas-frecuentes/covid-19/).

Likewise, in response to the legislation related to COVID and in accordance with Royal Decree Law 37/2020, the supply of energy to vulnerable consumers has been guaranteed during the state of emergency.

Within the exceptional contingency plan that had to be carried out, MRG included a plan for suppliers, advancing the payment of invoices pending payment and paying in cash all new invoices that were presented duly certified and authorized. All of this was to alleviate any possible financial problems that suppliers might have.

8.2 Social commitment

The social commitment in this year 2020 has naturally responded to the economic crisis caused by the pandemic.

In addition to the 2020 special situation, MRG is involved in various projects on an annual basis:

• In June, Madrileña Red de Gas made a donation of €3,000 to Unicef, as part of the Coronavirus 2020 Emergency Campaign.

  This contribution made it possible to provide a global response to try to minimize the impact that this situation may have on the most vulnerable children, especially in countries with less developed health and protection systems.

• We made a donation of €2,000 through Viena Capellanes to provide food and drink to the medical staff who were working in the hospital set up in the IFEMA site.
• MRG collaborates with the Food Bank of Madrid and invites all employees to join in the collection of food and funds for distribution to the families who need it most. We conducted two campaigns in June and December.

  Madrileña Red de Gas donates the same amount raised by the contributions of its employees to this cause of solidarity.

• For each LPG customer who activates the electronic invoice, MRG donates 1 euro to the Food Bank of Madrid. A total of 4,717 customers have activated their electronic invoices.
• MRG collaborates with the Energy Foundation of Madrid. This year 2020 we have made a donation of €16,000.
  It is a non-profit organization belonging to the public sector, whose purpose is to contribute to the development of regional energy policy.

  The purpose of the Energy Foundation is to promote, encourage and carry out initiatives and programmes for research, study and support actions for knowledge, development and application of energy technologies, including renewable energy technologies, integrating environmental protection.