Access to energy is part of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and is also central to the sustainability strategy of Enel and Enel Américas. Committed to this vision, Edesur, the electricity distributor of Enel Argentina, launched the program "Energía que Suma", aimed at reaching vulnerable neighborhoods to expand and formalize access to electricity in the metropolitan area in the city of Buenos Aires.
The project is developed by the Sustainability Management Department using a comprehensive approach for each of the problems that arise in the field. The project’s implementation is carried out by community agents who have visited each neighborhood and are familiar with the most urgent needs.
Ambitious goals
During 2019, nearly 1,751 homes were already visited by company representatives, including customers and non-customers. The goal is ambitious and plans to reach 15,000 families.
Actions such as the normalization of supplies have been carried out, which consists in regularizing customers who had illegal connections and carrying out the installation of meters and the verification of the safety of the installations.
In addition, guidance has been given on supply management, helping clients understand all the business mechanisms to activate additions and changes in their account. Special payment plans were even offered to regularize balances.
This involves customized solutions for each case. Based on the data collected by the agents, a social map is prepared to establish an action plan according to the needs of each area.
The "Energía que Suma" program aims to help more and more people to formally access electric service and to use it in the most efficient and productive way possible.
Education is also a key factor
All actions are complemented by workshops on responsible energy consumption, with training sessions on energy efficiency in the home, and guidance on reading the bill, obtaining a social rate, and community dialogue.
The link between the contractors of works that require resources to provide the service through the involvement of the community that offers skilled and unskilled labor, and the offer of opportunities of additional training to ensure the quality of the service contracted, are also key factors.