Transportadora de Energía de Centroamérica S.A. –TRECSA– is a Guatemalan subsidiary of Grupo Energía Bogotá (GEB) which provides management, development, operation and maintenance services for energy transportation infrastructure. Through electrical infrastructure and state-of-the-art technology, the company transports reliable and safe energy to Guatemala.
Business Excellence magazine had the opportunity of interviewing Mr Mauricio Acevedo, General Manager of the company. According to Mr Acevado, "Trecsa carries out the development, operation, and maintenance of projects with integrity, guaranteeing the availability of our assets under high standards of Quality and Business Continuity."
Trecsa's history and values
The company was established in 2010 to execute the Energy Transportation System Expansion Plan, PET-01-2009. The plan aimed to strengthen the country's electrical system. Eleven years later, Trecsa is currently the most significant private energy transport company in the country. It has a market share of 28.8% because it has made multiple investments in energy projects based on the existing infrastructure.
"In Trecsa, we have a simple, timely, and permanent process which allows us to know the needs and expectations of the population. For this reason, we have a team of social managers who know each community's culture, language, traditions, customs, and leaders, which allows us to be close to the various stakeholders. Trecsa's most important asset is their employees, as they are the engine that carries their energy. Connecting organizational goals with personal goals can probably be one of the biggest challenges for organizations. However, it is not an impossible task".
"Trecsa's most important asset is their employees, as they are the engine that carries their energy"
Trecsa is the largest operator of 230 kV lines in Guatemala, with 28 power substations. It has 1120 megawatts of power in operation and 692 kilometers of transmission lines that run through 17 of the 22 regions of the country. The latter provides direct development to 269,700 people with shared value projects that the company has executed in its areas of influence.
Trecsa has a higher purpose, which is to improve lives with sustainable and competitive energy. To achieve this purpose, the company uses a series of values that are their framework for action:
1. Teamwork with individual responsibility
2. Empathy
3. Life first
4. Focus on results
5.Integrity
Aligning all of the company's processes and procedures to their corporate values is paramount. It allows them to humanize the organization and connect Trecsa's objectives with each individual who works for the company.
"The company is also committed to equitable gender representation in all company processes, including decision-making"
The company is also committed to equitable gender representation in all company processes, including decision-making. The aim is to have different ways of perceiving and interpreting reality, formulating problems and their decision alternatives, and reaching a consensus on the actions required.
Grupo Energía Bogotá, Trecsa’s mother company
These core values are also a part of Grupo Energía Bogotá, Trecsa's parent company. Grupo Energía Bogotá (GEB) is a Latin American multinational company. They are leaders in the electrical power and natural gas sectors in Colombia, Peru, Guatemala, and Brazil.
GEB focuses on the growth and development of large companies in the territories where it operates. GEB's strategy focuses on the large consumption centers in the region (Central America, Southeastern Brazil, and South Pacific). The group has developed three strategic business groups in these locations. They are Urban Energy Solutions, Interconnection for Market Development, and Low Emission Generation.
"GEB focuses on the growth and development of large companies in the territories where it operates. GEB's strategy focuses on the large consumption centers in the region"
Trecsa fits into the Interconnection for Market Development business group, which seeks to connect significant energy sources to consumption centers through electric energy transmission lines and gas pipelines.
The effects of Covid-19 on Trecsa
This leadership model was not exempt from the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in Guatemala. Trecsa put in place a series of elements to mitigate the effects of the crisis. The first key element was the timely activation of the Crisis Committee, which defined two necessary actions:
1. Preserving the lives of employees and contractors;
2. Guaranteeing the continuity of the electric power transmission service, respecting the dispositions of the President at all times.
The Crisis Committee established twelve other protocols for attention and response to Covid-19. The goal was to take the most appropriate measures to contribute to the well-being of the employees and ensure business continuity. Furthermore, the Committee defined specific roles and responsibilities that provided the proper implementation and compliance with these protocols.
"The company established that the Electric Energy Transportation Operation Process is the most critical process for the organization"
Electric energy is one industry that cannot stop providing its services with the standards, continuity, and quality established by law. That's why the company confirmed that the Electric Energy Transportation Operation Process is the most critical process for the organization. For this reason, they sought to keep it fully functional by activating the Backup Control Center. The latter is isolated from the rest of the central headquarters, protecting the lives of the control center operators.
By having clear roles, responsibilities and identifying the most critical process of the organization, the company was able to implement a holistic strategy for Covid-19 alleviation. “In just one week, 68% of their employees were working from their homes. 24% continued in fieldwork related to maintaining lines and substations with their proper biological protection equipment. Only 8% had to go to the offices to attend the Control Center”. This was how the company ensured that our processes and services continued without interruption.
A company with environmental sustainability at its heart
Regarding the company's approach to environmental sustainability Mr Acevedo said their "commitment to the environment starts with an integrated management system policy. Trecsa declares our public commitment to the quality of customer service, the protection of life and health at work, care for the environment, and the strengthening of relations with the community".
Mr Mauricio Avecado told us before the development of each project, an exhaustive exercise of identification, evaluation, assessment of environmental aspects and impacts is carried out. All this to prevent pollution and protect the environment during the development of activities.
At the moment, the company's primary focus is the development of local suppliers. They also wish to continue to seek opportunities and investment from PET-01-2009 infrastructure and evaluate other projects in the Central American region.
"Our suppliers have grown in the development of their internal processes and procedures, of international standards, through the experience gained in our power transmission projects." The truth is the impact of foreign investment in the energy transmission industry ultimately boosts the economy both in the area of influence of the projects and the local labor force. In other words, if Trecsa grows, so does the whole region.
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