Energa and Microsoft joint forces in an innovative offering

Energa is the first in Poland to introduce an offering combining sale of electricity and Office 365 services. This is the outcome of the partnership cooperation of the Energa Group with the global leader in the area of new technologies – Microsoft.

Energa and Microsoft’s new proposition is addressed to the household segment. In the offering, under the name Energa 365, the customer obtains a guarantee of a fixed price for electricity for as much as up to 3 years and the possibility of purchasing of one of two Office 365 subscription options for only 1 zloty (Office 365 Personal or Office 365 Home), with a subscription license valid for 12 months of activation.  This is the first product of this kind in the energy market in Poland – combination of electricity and online services of a new technology industry leader in a single package.

Office 365 gives you access to full versions of the well-known Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, Access, Publisher), enriched, among other things, by 1 terabyte (TB) of online OneDrive space and credit in the popular Skype application. The service makes it possible to access online documents not only on the computer but also on a smartphone or tablet, including iPad, practically from any place. Office 365 in the Home User version can be installed at the same time on 5 computers (both PC and MAC) and on mobile devices.

- Cooperation with Energa on this completely new approach to building their offering is an exceptional opportunity in the Polish market to popularize the technologies that make it possible to increase personal efficiency, to simply make our lives a bit easier, or better organized – says Przemysław Szuder, Operations Director at Microsoft Poland. – With Office 365 applications and digital access to information on their account, users can, among other things, control their expenditures better, use their files or pictures whenever they need them, and simply save time thanks to efficient tools.  Energa’s customers will also obtain access to 1 terabyte of space on the virtual drive called OneDrive, which will enable them not only to comfortably store all data but also make their, for example holiday pictures, available to their family and friends in a simple way.

As part of the offering, Energa’s customers additionally obtain access to the Electronic Customer Service Center (eBOK), and thus an option to use a convenient eBOK account which makes it possible to check invoices, payment dates, balances etc., as well as an electronic invoice and on-line payments. In addition, customers automatically have the possibility of joining the Payback bonus program which makes it possible to collect points for timely payment of electricity bills, and payment for electricity with the points collected from all Payback Partners.  

The offer to purchase Office 365 together with electricity is addressed to new and existing Energa customers.    

- Energa’s and Microsoft’s joint proposition combining electricity with the Office 365 service is an innovative offering for energy market customers.  Energa’s customers choosing our offering not only obtain a unique product but also become ambassadors of the use of legal and secure computer software. We expect the offering to enjoy significant interest and this is not our last word. We are working on the next product and service proposals for our existing and new customers – emphasizes Leszek Nowak, Energa Obrót’s CEO. – They will be available in Energa’s dynamically developing sales network and in all remote access channels and in the e-Store through our website.

Apart from the new sales offering, Energa’s sales segment is also implementing a new service solution, including a billing system and new, simpler invoices.  The forecast billing, until recently based on four-month or six-month cycles, will be replaced by a two-month billing

cycle based on actual consumption. The Group has been withdrawing from forecasts from the beginning of the year. Now the change covers all households. The new billing method is based on readings taken by the company’s employees and remote readings from intelligent AMI meters which the company has installed for over 400 thousand users.

The new billing system is accompanied by introduction of new, more legible and functional invoices. The new billing document now contains a simpler presentation of key energy consumption and payment information. Such transparent invoices are already sent to half of Energa’s customers – both individuals and businesses. By the end of the year they will be joined by the remaining customers in the Group's distribution area.  By the end of 2016, in turn, the company is planning to introduce such invoices across Poland.

The Energa 365 offering on the existing terms and conditions is valid till the end of the year. It is available on the website www.energa365.pl, in points of sale and in the mobile direct sales network.  For more information call the Telephone Customer Service Center at 555 555 555 or visit www.energa.pl.

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The ENERGA Group is the third largest integrated distribution system operator (DSO) in Poland in terms of volume of energy supply. Its distribution network consists of power lines with a total length of over 190 thousand km and covers almost 77 thousand km², i.e. about 25% of the area of Poland.

In addition, the ENERGA Group is one of the three largest electricity suppliers in Poland in terms of the volume of electricity sold to end users.

The ENERGA Group concentrates on development of intelligent solutions.  The first phase of the actions in the direction of development of an intelligent network, started in 2010, entailed introduction of an intelligent metering system (AMI). As part of the program, to date over 400 thousand meters have already been installed. Thanks to them the transmission of information on energy consumption becomes computerized. The number of remote readings from AMI meters for billing purposes exceed in Q2 2014 one million, and in mid year it is likely to exceed 2 million.

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Microsoft is the leader in the new technologies industry – provider of devices and services for consumers and institutional and corporate customers which help them fully realize their potential.

Among the flagship products offered by Microsoft is the Windows operating system. Together with the premiere of Windows 8 – already available in the latest version Windows 8.1 – the company launched the first, touch-operated operating system from the Windows family, which works on traditional computers and devices with touch screens and on PC tablets. Simultaneously with the launch of Windows 8 Microsoft introduced the first computer with its logo – Microsoft Surface. The Windows operating system is available also for mobile platforms – Windows Phone and server platform – Windows Server.

A key position in the company’s portfolio is occupied also by Microsoft Office, the universally used set of applications supporting communication and productivity.  It is available under the name Microsoft Office 2013 in the form of traditional software installed on the device.  At the same time, under the name Office 365, it is available as a set of applications online or installed on the device, together with additional services in the cloud which support the mobile style of work.   In addition, the company's offering comprises solutions supporting management from the Microsoft Dynamics family.

Microsoft is also a leader in providing solutions in the form of cloud computing services and is the only supplier that has a comprehensive offering of both infrastructure, programming platform and applications in the cloud.  The entire environment makes up a coherent platform, Cloud OS, working on the basis of, inter alia, Microsoft Azure.

The could solutions offered by Microsoft can be delivered to customers in the public cloud model but also in private or hybrid cloud model, which combines both models, tailored to the customer’s needs.

Microsoft Corporation was established in 1975 in the USA. The Polish branch was established in 1992. In its subsidiaries across the world Microsoft employs nearly 100 thousand specialists from different fields, including approx. 350 people in Poland.