Tuesday 16 / April / 2024
ePAEW – Public Authority of Electricity and Water receives eGovernance award
Times News Service
Muscat: The Public Authority for Electricity and Water has won two awards in the first Oman Tech Awards 2016, under the patronage of the Information Technology Authority.
The Public Authority won the silver award in the Website category and bronze award in the Social media – Facebookcategory.
The finale of the event was held on May 2 at Barr Al Jissah Resort, under the patronage of His Excellency Dr. Rasheed bin Al Safi Al Huraibi, Chairman of the Oman Tender Board, in the presence of other dignitaries.
HafedhAl Hassni,Communications Manager at the Public Authority for Electricity and Water,noted, "This win comesas a translation of the efforts made by the authority in e-transformation as per the royal directives of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said. The Public Authority for Electricity and Water (PAEW) is always trying to keep up with the rapid progress in the field of information and communication technology by using the appropriate tools and techniques to be a front runner among governmental entities, thus providing stakeholders with 24x7 accessible services through various channels. This is in line with PAEW’s mission of being a world class utility.”
The website was evaluated based on five criteria, includingconcept and creativity, technical and functionality, as well as ease of being found, content and structure, visual design solutions and aesthetics and interactivity.
Prior to issuing the award, a panel of judges reviewed the strategy, utility of the website in the category of business and its innovative use of components. Officials noted that thePublic Authority website excels in structured organization of content, ease of navigation, consistency in design, as well as itshierarchy and an intuitive interface. The Public Authority brand identities are maintained throughout the website to ensure consistency in design and color.
The latest version of the Public Authority website www.paew.gov.omwas launched in 2013. It provides important information about the authority, such as the roles and tasks the Public Authority undertakes to ensure providing high quality, sustainable and reliable potable water and power services to all people in Oman. The Public Authority website is designed to ensure ease of navigation and usability, making sure visitors can access the information they are looking for.It is updated on a daily basis with press releases, announcements, tenders, and career vacancies. Various publications and multimedia material providing customers with best ways of saving water and other campaigns undertaken by the authority are available on the website.
In December 2015, The Public Authority launched the first phase of eServices Portal “Diam” at www.paew.gov.om/eServices. It acts as a single window for providing all services offered by the authority. Currently, the Diam portal offers services, such as providing various reports regarding usage, billing and payments.
Reporting leaks, a water cost calculator and requesting a new connection provide truly interactive experiences for the end user. The Diam portal also offers an online chat system, enabling customers to interact with an agent to enquire or solve any problem they face during their visit to the portal.
Social media channels are evaluated not merely based on the number of likes but, rather,fivecriteria.
The authority uses various channels to provide services and communicate with its customers. As a popular medium of communication among the youth of Oman, the Public Authority made its presence felt in all major social media channels. The authority has strategically created accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube and LinkedIn. These @Paew_Oman channels interact with the community in providing tips on saving water, as well as important announcements covering community events and conferences. The Public Authority twitter account has more than 52.5K active followers, while the Instagram account has more than 17.5K followers. The Youtube channel has more than 45 videos posted, focusing on awareness campaigns and interviews.
Another important channel for communication is the 24x7 Call Center. The Public Authority actively advertises its Call Center Number 1442 in all its marketing materials, enabling customers to easily recognize it. The Call Center mainly receives complaints, inquiries and suggestions, which are handled by qualified Omani staff who direct each call to departments and track the call till a customer is provided with a proper reply. The Call Center team is connected with various departments and all governorates in Oman to easily provide replies to callers.
PAEW regularly conducts campaigns to familiarize the public with all eChannels offered by the authority. The Public Authority held a campaign under the slogan “Reach Us – Your satisfaction is our priority”at the end of last year to promote the electronic channels and social media channels used by the authority. It received a large response from the public, enabling them to learn about the various channels available to easily get in touch with The Public Authority.
