Social aspects of an electric grid company’s sustainable development

Ural State University of Economics, Yekaterinburg, Russia

^* Corresponding author: izakovan@gmail.com

Abstract

Sustainable development of the energy sector requires its transformation and strengthening the role of consumers. Consumer satisfaction is becoming a significant social aspect of the sustainable development of an electric grid company. A company can enhance its sustainability by meeting the customer needs to the greatest extent and by establishing a system of partnership relations. The article presents a methodology for studying and identifying key satisfaction factors. The authors propose using a set of methods: survey, factor and frequency analysis, Net Promoter Score, as well as analysis of customer reviews. The object of the study is PAO Rosseti Ural, a Russian electric grid company, with a sample of 435 respondents. The JASP software package was used to carry out the analysis and identify the most significant factors influencing consumer satisfaction. The Net Promoter Score (NPS) index calculation showed a lack of customer loyalty to the company. Frequency analysis and analysis of customer reviews allowed identifying the main difficulties for the consumers of the company’s services. The authors have also identified priority channels for managing customer requests and feedback and developed recommendations to increase the level of customer satisfaction and enhance sustainable development of an electric grid company.