Six years ago, CEZ Sale became a dual supplier of electricity and natural gas, with a reduced portfolio of clients in the gas component, but a positive outlook appeared after the respective market was liberalized, told to energynomics.ro Mirela Dima, CEO of supply company member of CEZ Group. The attractiveness of the company in the sale of gas derives from the fact that it focuses not only on price, but also on advisory services to reduce risks and increase efficiency, she said in the interview.
When did CEZ Sale started to supply gas? What results had so far, and which are the minimum targets?
Sale CEZ entered the gas market almost six years ago as a dual product provider – electricity and gas. Initially, the results were not as expected, mainly because of the sourcing complexity. With the actual market opening and shifting of market conditions, the outlook has changed significantly in a positive way.
As for any business initiative, we have set goals for natural gas we sales, the most important of which being the comfort we wish to provide to our energy customers, becoming for them a unique partner for two of the most important utility services.
Have you had previous attempts? What went poorly?
CEZ Sale has never been out of the natural gas market, we just limited the activity to a reduced customer portfolio until we were sure that the liberalization trend has stabilized and we have really a business in our hands.
As I said, the main goal is the customer, the promises we made in respect to the client. Therefore, despite conditions not very favorable to us, we did not want to disappoint our customers, so we continued to supply gas to them.
The supply of gas is a mature sector. There is room in the market for a new player, taking into account the declining consumption?
There’s always room for a new player, if it comes with something attractive to customers. And I am not necessarily referred only to price. We do not intend for the moment to develop gas and electricity supply separately. CEZ Sale core business is and will remain electricity. To merge the two, our services are related to advice to reduce risks and increase efficiency in the use of both types of energy.
Why would a customer choose gas supply services provided by CEZ?
CEZ offers safety and professionalism in the services it provides to its customers, whether is electricity or natural gas. Our watchword is partnership, and fairness is what we value most. Our clients can rest assured that we are very responsive to their needs and we offer them solutions that increase the safety and comfort.
It is helpful the energy supply experience in gas affairs? How different are the two sales?
Experience in the electricity sector is very useful because there are not significant differences between the two utilities services. Technicalities can be learned quickly enough, but what matters are, firstly, the skills to identify areas in which the supplier can add value to its customer relationship.
Sale CEZ intends to act using all trading instruments provided by the centralized market. However, in the case of services, the highest efficiency for both parties is the direct negotiation, where all contractual details can be discussed at length. We insist once again, more important than the price of a service is the contract that ensures proper operation of the relationship between the parties.