Serbia can learn a lot from the mistakes of the large companies in Western Europe and EPS can avoid them by learning from them says Tоmаž Оrеšič, the Executive Director for electricity supply affairs in power utility EPS Group.
The biggest advantage of the “Electric Power of Serbia” is a great experience, market knowledge and above all the relationship with the customers and the fact that EPS produces electricity in Serbia, said Mr. Tоmаž Оrеšič, the Executive Director for the electricity supply in the “Electric Power Industry of Serbia” in an interview for “EPS Energy”.
Оrеšič says that the major changes are happening now in the electricity market , and that, in the last 20 years, since the liberalization of the markets started in Europe, there has never been so intense simultaneous changes. The new business modules are being created, the share of renewable energy sources increases, the electricity wholesale prices are at the lowest level possible and all this is a serious of challenge to existing electricity producers. Serbia can learn a lot from the mistakes of large Western European companies and EPS at this stage can avoid them by learning from them, says Оrеšič.
What are the most important tasks faced by the function of the retail electricity?
The most important thing is that EPS is ready for entering of the serious competition to the electricity market for households. And now, the competition is very much present and active in the segment of large commercial and industrial customers and EPS is already seriously struggling in that market. The competition will never be smaller, but it will only become greater. A serious competition in the segment of households will begin, in the same way that it happened in other countries in the region where the market liberalization previously occurred. Entering the competition in this segment should not surprise us, and while this does not happen, we need to build and improve internal procedures in EPS in order to be more prepared to welcome the intensification of competition in that part of the market as well.
Considering the experiences from the region and Europe, where EPS should pay the most attention to be successful on the open market?
Although at this point it might seem far away, the new technologies allow new services at the market. With this new services, EPS can increase revenues and at the same time to raise the level of customer satisfaction and retain their loyalty. The relationship between the customers and suppliers is the future. It is very important for EPS to maintain a dominant role in the market. In the future, EPS will be even more exposed to competition because everything that they produce, they also must sell in the market at the more favorable conditions, and it’s no longer so easy. At the same time, the wholesale prices are falling and the competition enters the retail market, so that the relationship with the customers and keeping the leading position are the key elements in the market for EPS. It is necessary to follow the modern trends of business much more and listen to customer needs, since now customers have a choice and that’s way it’s important to have an appropriate business strategy for customers. Now, the whole system of EPS is exposed to market competition. All the employees, from coal production and power generation to distribution and sales, regardless of whether they work in the field or at the counter, everyone should know that we have the same story. We all equally depend on how successfully we will keep the customers and how much will that customers be satisfied with our service. Customer satisfaction is our common goal.
What are the biggest challenges in the relationships with customers?
The biggest challenge is that customers continue to recognize EPS as a stable and competitive supplier and to keep the confidence of quality and new services and constant communication. The area of energy efficiency is very much important, which should inform the customers and offer them services in this area. It is important to maintain the trust of customers, but also the way in which we will manage to preserve that trust. More significantly is to raise the confidence to a higher level with many new services with which we will constantly improve our cooperation and keep our customers satisfied and loyal to EPS. Now, when the customers have the right to choose, their loyalty to EPS is absolutely the biggest challenge.
