Annual Report - EDP

: performance :3.6. customerand product3.6.1. edp customersEDP Group ended 2012 with 9,866,839 electricitycustomers and 1,090,874 natural gas customers.In 2012 in mainland Portugal there wasa significant migration to the free market – morethan 700,000 – as a result of the terminationof the regulated electricity and natural gas tariffs.Almost all domestic customers – 4.7 million forelectricity and 1.1 million for natural gas – have atransitional period of 3 years, up to the end of 2015,to change to a free market supplier. Economicallyvulnerable consumers, having the right to adhereto types of contracts offered in the market, maychoose to have contracts with the Suppliers ofLast Resort (www.edpsu.pt/pt/destaques/Pages/TarifaSocialeAsece.aspx).At the end of 2012, EDPmaintained its leading position in the liberatedelectricity market in Portugal, both in terms ofcustomer numbers – 80.2% of the total number -,and consumption figures – 42.1% of supplies.EDP CUSTOMERS BY TYPE OF MARKET (No.)2012 2011Portugal spain Brazil (1) Total Portugal spain BraZil (1) TotalElectricityLast Resort 5,031,323 277,527 2,933,715 8,242,565 5,771,900 316,728 2,831,205 8,919,833Free Market 853,119 770,903 252 1,624,274 281,609 698,815 137 980,561Total 5,884,442 1,048,430 2,933,967 9,866,839 6,053,509 1,015,543 2,831,342 9,900,394GasLast Resort 262,993 87,595 n/a 350,588 270,053 110,773 n/a 380,826Free Market 55,559 684,727 n/a 740,286 1,523 677,087 n/a 678,610Total 318,552 772,322 n/a 1,090,874 271,576 787,860 n/a 1,059,436(1) Excludes generation internal consumption and supplies.The end of the regulated tariffs for electricityand natural gas in Portugal was processed in twodistinct phases:º º on 30 June, for electricity consumers withcontracted power equal to or greater than 10.35kVA and for natural gas consumers with anannual consumption of more than 500 m 3 ;º º on 31 December, for electricity consumerswith contracted power of up to 10.35 kVAand natural gas consumers with an annualconsumption of up to 500 m 3 .DISTRIBUTION OF CLIENTS IN THE REGULATEDMARKET BY TYPE OF USE1%1%8%3%No. CLIENTSBY TYPE OF USE87%Customer ombudsmanElectricity and gas customers in Portugalcontinued to avail of the Customer Ombudsmanservices in 2012, via the website www.provedordocliente.edp.pt. Information about theassignments of the Ombudsman on see page 155.Over the course of the year, the Ombudsmanreceived 1,519 requests for examination ofcomplaints, 94% of which related to electricity.Most of the requests (75%) were regardingmatters related to supply and meter readings/billing/payment. Of the total number ofcomplaints, 86% received a reply by the end of theyear. The Ombudsman upheld complaints in 35%of cases and disagreed in 25% of cases. 40% didnot deserve concurring opinion or dissenting: in23% of cases the advice was partially concordantand in 14% of cases, the matter had been resolved;however, in 3% of cases, the Ombudsmanrequested additional information from the EDP,informing the customer of this due diligence.At the end of 2102, improvements to the processwere introduced with the aim of raising overallcustomer satisfaction levels, essentially throughreductions in response times.RESIDENTIAL INDUSTRIAL OTHERSAGRICULTURALCOMERCIAL74A World Full Of Energy