Foshan Power Supply Bureau: Power Supply Service Improves Customer Experience in Rural Areas

Company Profile
Foshan Power Supply Bureau is a super large enterprise affiliated to Guangdong Power Grid Corporation, responsible for power grid planning, power grid operation and maintenance as well as power supply and service. It is the important hub for Guangdong Power Grid Corporation, even China Southern Power Grid. In addition, it serves as the critical portal of west-east electricity transmission project.
Foshan Power Supply Bureau sets up 13 departments and 11 subsidiary institutions, governing power supply in 5 districts, namely Chancheng, Nanhai, Shunde, Sanshui and Gaoming districts, with 2.72 million customers and 6,115 employees. In 2014, the heaviest load of Foshan power grid exceeds 10 million kw, with a power supply of 55.631 billion kwh. In this way, it has been awarded the most satisfied public service industry in Foshan, the favorite brand enterprise of Foshan citizens, and A level enterprise of national power supply reliability.
Challenge
In recent years, Foshan has accelerated its economic development, and the number of citizens has grown rapidly. As a result, the power supply business has shown a soaring tendency. Since over half of the permanent population lives in the city center, various kinds of public service resources concentrate there, for example, power supply service outlets. Therefore, it used to be difficult for rural residents and inhabitants living in remote communities to have access to power supply. It is the responsibility of Foshan Power Supply Bureau as a public utility undertaking to benefit more people with the improve life quality brought by electricity. Meanwhile, it is also a fierce challenge for business development.
Solution
In 2013, with an urbanization rate of 94.1%, Foshan boasted one of the highest urbanization rates in China. Nanhai District played a leading role in Foshan’s urbanization. Faced with the high speed urbanization of rural area, Nanhai Power Supply Bureau followed the changing trend, took advantage of rural power supply service outlets, town (street) administrative service centers and current diversified service platforms, set up a “dot-line-face” three-tier service network and built an integrated service system for urban and rural area to provide better power supply experience for rural area and customers in rural areas and remote communities.
 “Zero-Distance” Power Supply Service in Rural Area
In 2014, Nanhai Power Supply Bureau made joint efforts with village committees under inconvenient transportation conditions in remote are as to build power supply service centers. Special staffs designated by town(street) power supply stations and electricians recruited by village committees extended power supply service to the “last kilometer” of power supply to solve the problem. Specifically, the special staffs assumed the professional work, including power supply and rush repairs, and provided regular trainings for communities and electricians to enhance their service capability for its customers in the area. Electricians were mainly responsible for checking and repairing equipment of customers (The equipment was managed by customers, however, to handle the equipment breakdown required technological skills), and partly in charge of collecting inhabitants’ demand and checking customers’ information. Such service model connected various stakeholders and expanded the power supply service to the grassroots to make sure villagers’ problems could be responded and solved in a timely manner. Meanwhile, the power supply bureau gradually expanded the service, held a series of campaign, including safe power utilization, energy efficiency and environmental protection as well as visiting and helping customers in difficulty to provide intimate service with more comprehensive value for villagers.
 “One-Stop” Power Service in Remote Area
In 2014, Nanhai Guicheng Power Supply Bureau and street administrative service center discussed multiple times to decide to set up “power supply windows” in 35 community administrative service centers in Guicheng with staffs from the power supply stations working in shifts. In the meantime, power supply window and other administrative approving authorities worked together in the same location and provided power utilization consulting and make appointments to visit the inhabitants. Services of power supply windows were accepted by administrative service center employees and provided 8 types of common power utilization businesses. It not only made it convenient for inhabitants to do administrative businesses, but also helped them finish all related power businesses at one time. In this way, administrative service and power service combined achieved the “one-stop” goal to save inhabitants’ time for such businesses.
Achievements
Economic Benefits
In the joint building model, on the one hand, power supply bureau does not have to establish business halls or designate power supply staffs in remote areas to save construction and human resource investment. On the other hand, inhabitants in rural areas and remote communities could do their businesses without going on a long journey. Moreover, the latest information could reach the power supply stations more rapidly to ensure inhabitants receive the blackout notice, electricity bill and other information in a timely manner and cut customers’ transportation and time costs.
In addition, Foshan Power Supply Bureau could make the power network planning in accordance with the economic dynamics of village (community) enterprises and projects. It could cooperate with village (community) committees, give full play to resources advantages of local technicians, and create favorable conditions to promote local electricity network development and meet the power demand of economic development.
Social Benefits
By November, 2014, as the first enterprise to the administrative service center in Nanhai District, Nanhai Power Supply Bureau power supply service windows went to nine administrative service centers in Nanhai to form a service network combining 15 town-level administrative service center power supply windows and 13 power supply business halls. In this way, 42 power supply service stations covering every town (street) in the district were established and 120 rural service stations in rural administrative service stations were set up reaching 500,000 rural and community customers
Environmental Benefits
“One-Stop” service has significantly saved time for customers in remote areas, while the average distance saved by “Zero Distance” village power supply is 10 kilometers, which has effectively reduced the carbon emission from transportation. Meanwhile, the power supply bureau seized the opportunity of its village service, carried out energy conservation and emissions reduction campaign according to its annual plan to raise awareness of customers in remote areas.
Prospect
Foshan Power Supply Bureau will give full play to the comprehensive role of customers in village committee management in an all-round manner, coordinate with the three working groups of power supply capacity, power supply quality and customer relationship and strive to build a three-dimensional service system to carry out in-depth service. Moreover, it will further enhance its service capacity in terms of understanding customers’ requirements, guiding customers’ demand, solving customers’ appeals and satisfying customers’ demand, as well as carry out CSR practices with village characteristics. With the above efforts, Foshan Power Supply Bureau will provide high-quality services for rural customers with more economic, social and environmental value.