Creating Value for Customers (Charter I)

We act in accordance with the Daigas Group Charter of Business Conduct to contribute to the realization of a sustainable society.

The Daigas Group’s business began more than a hundred years ago with gas lamps. Since then, the Group has continued to meet the various needs of its customers by developing uses for gas in cooking, hot water, heating, power generation, and more. We also use our strong relationship with customers as a basis for expanding into new territories such as industrial gas, real estate, information communication, new materials, and home services. The Daigas Group considers its meaning for society to be in striving to improve the livelihoods and businesses of its numerous customers, based on its aim to become a corporate group that helps customers both on the livelihood and business fronts for their “further evolution”.

Within and beyond the Group

Maintenance and expansion of customer base (Number of customer accounts)

We are committed to achieving our vision by engaging in business activities in accordance with the Daigas Group Corporate Principles.

In addition to the organizations responsible for “Customer Health and Safety” and “Improving Customer Satisfaction and Service Quality,” the organizations in charge of customers are responsible for implementing the initiatives.

The number of customer accounts means the number of gas and electricity supply contracts, safety, warranty and other service contracts, etc. In FY2022, the number of customer accounts was 9.81 million due to the development of new services, expansion of alliance partners, etc.

Aiming to maintain and expand its customer base, in FY2022, the Daigas Group worked to provide value-added products and services tailored to customers' lifestyles and needs by expanding its range of pricing plans, such as Style Plans and With Plans, and its services related to household affairs and residential facilities. We also increased new contracts in the overseas energy business through collaboration with local partners.

We believe it is important to strive to improve our security and service quality as well as appropriately provide customers with information regarding the safety aspects of our products and services so that they can use them in a safer and more convenient manner.

Within and beyond the Group

Customer relationship management initiatives (Customer satisfaction)

The Daigas Group is committed to improving the quality of security and service in each customer contact operation by adhering to our “Customer Security Operation Rules” and “Product Safety Voluntary Action Plan” in accordance with the Product Liability Act and the Gas Business Law.

In addition to the organization responsible for “Customer Health and Safety,” the General Manager of the Energy Solution Business Unit plans the basic policy for customer satisfaction improvement activities in accordance with the "Customer Service Rules," and the head of each organization in charge formulates and implements specific measures.

Since FY1989, Osaka Gas has conducted the Customer Satisfaction Survey with the aim of improving customer satisfaction. The survey covers five duties that directly deal with customers: opening of gas lines, repair of gas appliances, sales and installation of appliances, regular security patrols (gas facilities inspection), and response to telephone inquiries (at the customer centers). We ask our customers to respond to a questionnaire after completing each duty, and we analyze the customer responses received. Customer satisfaction is graded on a scale of one to six, and the “overall satisfaction rate” is the ratio of responses in the top two grades to the total number of responses.
In FY2022, we received 27,350 questionnaire responses, and the overall satisfaction level for the five duties was 92%.
We will continue to offer customer-oriented services in response to the opinions revealed in the survey.

Aiming to provide a higher level of service, we create a manual for each duty and share it among employees, as well as raise awareness of managers and customer service staff through training intended for them. In FY2022, we conducted an additional trial survey in order to collect an even wider range of customer feedback and to encourage more responses to the questionnaire.
In addition, in consideration of safety amid the continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, we continued to take thorough infection control measures, such as obtaining prior permission to visit customers' homes for work that requires work inside their homes, taking visitors' temperatures when they arrive, gargling and washing hands, and wearing masks.
We will continue to make the most of feedback given by customers during customer satisfaction surveys.

The Daigas Group announced the Long-Term Management Vision 2030 in March 2017 and the Medium-Term Management Plan 2023: Creating Value for a Sustainable Future in March 2021. Ensuring the safety of city gas as well as gas and power generation facilities is of the utmost priority for the Daigas Group, which maintains a target of zero serious accidents and more than 10 million customer accounts, and aims to enhance the resilience of customers and society. To that end, we consider it important to work towards enhancing safety and improving preparedness for accidents and disasters.

Within the Group

Maintenance of safety and quality levels (Number of serious accidents)

The Daigas Group is committed to ensuring the quality of city gas, our primary product, its stable supply, and the safety of our gas and power generation facilities all by adhering to our “Security Rules” in accordance with the Gas Business Law.

The Daigas Group has established a system to ensure the safety of power generation facilities, city gas supply, and gas appliances encompassing all facets of the Group’s power generation business as well as city gas value chain processing, supply, sales, and consumption of gas. The Head of Security and the individuals heading the security operations of each business unit as well as Osaka Gas Network Co., Ltd.^* supervise safety and security matters concerning their respective business.
In addition, the Executive Security Council, comprising the Head of Security; the individuals heading the security operations of each business unit and Osaka Gas Network Co., Ltd.^*; and the general managers of the relevant departments, convene safety and security meetings five times annually to plan security initiatives and assess the achievements made in the relevant term. In line with the annual plan, each business unit and Osaka Gas Network Co., Ltd.^* systematically promote initiatives to ensure security and improve safety.
In addition, from FY2023, based on legal separation, we established the "Safety and Disaster Prevention Committee" as a company-wide committee to centrally manage and promote measures for events related to safety, disaster prevention, and gas supply stability, with the aim of building a system that exercises governance across the company during normal times.

Promotion structure until FY2022

The Safety and Disaster Prevention Committee was established in FY2023.

In FY2022, we continued achieving zero serious accidents by implementing quality control of city gas in the production business and safety inspections of gas facilities in the supply business in accordance with laws, regulations, and internal rules.

To ensure that our customers can use gas with peace of mind, the Daigas Group strives to ensure the quality and stable supply of the city gas that it delivers and the safety of its production and supply facilities.

At LNG terminals, the quality of city gas is checked on a daily basis to ensure that it meets the standards, etc. set by Osaka Gas in accordance with laws and regulations, and the amount of gas held in gas holders and the gas supply pressure are centrally controlled in real time.

To ensure the safety of pipes, pressure regulators, and other supply facilities, we conduct inspections at the frequency and in accordance with the details specified in the “Security Rules.”

We conduct various drills, safety activities, and education to improve disaster and accident response capabilities.

For the Daigas Group, which aims to enhance the resilience of customers and society, we believe that it is important to systematically upgrade our processing facilities, build gas pipeline networks, and take disaster prevention measures in accordance with meticulously devised plans to ensure a stable city gas supply, thereby strengthening our ability to secure greater stability in the gas supply.

Within the Group

Improvement in resilience of energy supply (Building resilient facilities)

The Daigas Group is committed to ensuring the stable supply of city gas and the safety of its gas facilities by adhering to the Group’s “Security Rules” in accordance with the Gas Business Law.

We have the same security promotion system as that for "Customer Health and Safety."

In accordance with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's "Gas Safety Upgrading Plan," we are working to increase the percentage of earthquake-resistant construction, which indicates the ratio of earthquake-resistant pipes to the total, and to subdivide supply blocks to keep gas shut off due to emergency measures (to prevent secondary disasters) to the minimum extent possible. We believe that energy resilience can be improved by taking both measures: increasing earthquake resistance as a preventive measure against earthquakes and minimizing damage and achieving early restoration in the event of an earthquake.
The percentage of earthquake-resistant construction in FY2022 is approximately 89%, and the number of earthquake blocks increased to 709 due to the subdivision of supply blocks.

With "Service First" as its corporate principle, the Daigas Group has been striving to provide a stable supply of services. In terms of earthquake measures, we are taking various measures based on the lessons learned and experience gained from the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, the Great East Japan Earthquake, and other disasters.
Osaka Gas Network Co., Ltd. is working to improve the earthquake resistance of gas facilities as a preventive measure (promotion of the spread of earthquake-resistant facilities), including the introduction of highly earthquake-resistant gas pipes, such as polyethylene (PE) pipes, to minimize damage in the event of an earthquake. We are refurbishing aged gas pipes and introducing pipes with superior resistance to earthquakes and corrosion according to the plan. We are actively proposing the repair of old buried gas pipes at customers' sites that pose a risk of corrosion. We have completed measures for cast iron pipes (pipes requiring measures) ahead of schedule from FY2021 to FY2016. We continue to implement measures for cast iron pipes (to be maintained and managed) and pipes for preventing corrosion and deterioration.
In addition, as part of emergency measures (to prevent secondary disasters), we have established a gas shutoff system to prevent secondary disasters caused by gas leakage in the event of an earthquake or other disaster.