We had a chat with Carina Rotegård, who is in charge of debt collection at Ustekveikja Energi AS, as power prices were climbing to historic heights. Ustekveikja originates at Hardangervidda and follows the waterway all the way to Ustaoset. “The name has been debated, but a local name was finally chosen when the company was established in 1992. For those who speak this dialect, the name is simple, and we love it. For others, the name is something they remember,” says Carina Rotegård.
These days, people tend to call about their electricity bills. “We find that more people are getting in touch with us. The pandemic did something to people. Everyone was in the same boat, and the threshold for getting in touch became lower. You had to be active and call more often. This has continued now that electricity bills have risen higher. They get in touch, sooner than before, even before they receive their bill. Some are looking for predictability. Others simply want to check if they are getting the best deal, and can keep up with changes in the market,” says Carina Rotegård.
Considerate follow-up
Those who don’t pay receive special follow-up from Kredinor. “The solutions we’ve found through Kredinor Care have been extremely positive for us. We view it as a more considerate follow-up, where you enter a dialogue with the customer to find solutions. This means that fewer customers than before have ended up on the settlement list. The few people who end up there know we have undergone solid and thorough assessments. That makes it easier for us to manage.
Important to help customers
Of course, we would like to keep our customers, but in the long run we can’t have customers who don’t pay. Kredinor helps them understand this, which saves our customer service both time and resources. Customers find it positive that Kredinor gets in touch. “Although they’re in a difficult financial situation, they understand that Kredinor is there to help them. We have noticed that when they call us, and we give them the option of having Kredinor call them back, they have no problem with this. They understand that we just want to help them, so that they can find a solution and pay what they owe. We would like to avoid the customer being forced into the mandatory electricity supply scheme, as this would be more expensive for them. Many customers are not aware of that. So part of Kredinor’s job is to inform them of this.”
Ustekveikja is a simple name for those who speak the dialect. And it’s a name that others remember, says Carina Rotegård
Good customer service – our pride
The reason why customers choose Ustekveikja is simple, according to Carina Rotegård: “Clearly, it’s the size of the company, the fact that we’re still so small that our customer service is just a phone number away. 95 per cent of our customers get a direct response from our customer service representatives, without having to go through a phone menu when they call. We are proud of our customer service. The fact that we’re a full-service supplier in the market means that we can handle all kind of customers based on their needs.”
Ustekveikja Energi AS is owned by the municipality of Hol and has 37 employees. The company supplies over 2 TWh (1 TWh = 1 billion kWh) annually to private customers, as well as big and small businesses all across the country
Customer service key account manager Heidi Hagen Stensrud and the case management team, are integral to the partnership with Ustekveikja, according to Carina Rotegård.
A solid environmental platform
Ustekveikja says they will continue to have a strong emphasis on the environment going forward. “We have always had a strong focus on the environment, which is now more relevant than ever before. We also have a solid platform, and we want to be a provider that offers a broad range of services, where we not only deliver solutions tailored to local customers, but also to individuals and businesses across the country.
And we are really good at customer follow-up. We also know that should we need Kredinor, our customers will receive the same excellent follow-up that we provide ourselves,” says Carina Rotegård.
This interview was also printed in Kredinor’s customer magazine, which was published in December 2021.
