Individuals, companies, but also suppliers and public authorities: Sibelga is improving its services for the benefit of all Brussels customers.

Actively listening to customers

With the aim of constantly improving its services, Sibelga carries out satisfaction surveys among its customers and partners every year. Some of them are carried out systematically at the end of certain requests (for example, following a request to open a meter) and others are sent periodically (for example, to Sibelga’s professional customers).

Analysis of the responses makes it possible to monitor trends and, if necessary, to identify concrete points for action. In addition, negative feedback is the subject of special attention and follow-up.

It is worth noting that the satisfaction rate for meter work in 2021 is particularly high: 87.8%, compared with 82.4% in 2020! As far as professional customers are concerned, 93% are satisfied with Sibelga’s services, with a satisfaction rate of 78.1%.

In addition, a site survey was launched at the end of the year. Its aim is to measure the feelings of local residents about work carried out by Sibelga on the public highway. “Construction sites cause inconvenience for local residents. They don’t always understand why we are working in their street. We have put in place a number of measures to improve communication about our worksites. This survey will enable us to see whether our efforts are bearing fruit in the near future,” explains Ives Goovaerts, head of the Studies and Construction department.

A coordinator for complex sites

Some of the sites on which Sibelga works are particularly complex, long-lasting and require a wide range of interventions.

For example, during the construction of a new apartment building, Sibelga technicians may have to intervene on several occasions: to connect the building to the gas and electricity, to install individual meters for each apartment, to open these meters when the residents move in, etc.

These interventions involve various Sibelga departments. Until recently, the customer responsible for such a project could interact with more than ten or, in some cases, twenty or so Sibelga staff.

To make life easier for customers and to monitor these large-scale projects, a coordinator of complex worksites took up his duties on 1 January 2021. David Cavenaile, a former foreman, is now in charge of this key role. As a facilitator, he ensures that the client’s requests are passed on to the relevant departments and that the site is monitored in its entirety.

In 2021, David Cavenaile has begun to monitor a dozen complex projects that will last two to three years. Eventually, he should be able to track about 20 of them in parallel. “This first year required a long learning period to fully understand each link in the chain, to set up a working method and to centralize information on the sites,” he says.

The implementation of this new role will enable Sibelga to provide an even better service to its customers and to optimize the efficiency of operations on these sites.

Et si vous pouviez vérifier en un coup d’œil sur votre smartphone si le coût de votre consommation d’électricité est bien ligne avec votre budget ? C’est le principe d’une application mobile, mise au point par Sibelga et testée en partenariat avec le CPAS de la Ville de Bruxelles dans le cadre d’un projet pilote à destination de ménages précarisés. Cette application, liée à un compteur intelligent, permet, à J+1, de suivre l’évolution de ses consommations d’électricité.

Une trentaine de familles suivies par le CPAS ont pu tester cette application en 2021. Les premiers retours sont encourageants, même si les contraintes liées à la situation sanitaire et la réduction des visites domiciliaires n’ont pas permis de tester l’application à plus grande échelle.

« Les participants ont souligné que cette application leur permet d’avoir une meilleure vision du coût de l’énergie et de leur prochain décompte annuel. Les assistants sociaux ont quant à eux notamment constaté que l’application permettait de briser la glace et de susciter la discussion avec les familles autour de l’énergie et des habitudes de consommation », souligne Sandrine Wanet, responsable Expérience Client chez Sibelga.

Open dialogue with irregular clients

In anticipation of the end of the winter period, Sibelga’s customer service has contacted around 2,000 customers benefiting from winter protection personally and by telephone. As a reminder, the winter protection measure, entrusted to Sibelga by the Ordinance on the organisation of the electricity and gas market in the Brussels-Capital Region, aims to prevent residential customers without an energy contract with a supplier from finding themselves without energy in winter. During this period, Sibelga temporarily provides them with gas and electricity at the social rate.

The aim of this call was not only to invite them to conclude a contract with a commercial supplier so that their energy supply would not be cut off at the end of the winter period, but also to inform them of the possibility of appealing to the CPAS for help. “We managed to reach about 1,000 customers. For this group, the rate of regularization is twice as high as for the customers we were unable to reach. In addition, almost 15% of the people wanted to be contacted again by the CPAS,” explains Olivier Demanet, Head of Customer Management at Sibelga’s customer service department.

This is the first time that Sibelga has organized such a call campaign, in addition to the mail sent to these customers. This initiative follows Sibelga’s participation in a working group set up at the request of the Brussels Minister for Energy and the Environment and led by Brussels Environment.