According to information released by the State Secretariat of Finance (SEF / SC), Santa Catarina ended 2020 with a positive revenue of 2.3%, even in the crisis scenario caused by the pandemic of the new coronavirus. Data from SCGÁS show that Natural Gas, which supplies industries, vehicles, businesses and homes in Santa Catarina, had a considerable participation in this economic recovery. The input registered growth of 47% in the daily average sales since April, a result higher than the growth of the national average.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Company has implemented measures to help its customers, which has encouraged the consumption of natural gas during the crisis. For the industrial sector, which had to stop its activities in mid-April, the distributor applied an extraordinary commercial policy and did not charge the penalties, interest and fines provided for in the contract with the industries due to the reduction in consumption. In addition, it gave the possibility of postponement and installment payment of invoices. Therefore, bad debt was reduced from 18% to less than 3% in the most critical period of the crisis, today, it is below 1%.

For the Commercial and Industrial Commercial Manager, Rafael Barreto Nicolazzi, the policy practiced by SCGÁS contributed so that the industries could “go through the crisis maintaining their activities, until they return to the normal level of production, and in some cases, until they increase their level of production , as was observed in the industrial segment throughout the second half of 2020 ”.

Another factor that helped the recovery in the period was the average reduction of -13.5% in the natural gas tariff in July. In the vehicular segment, this reduction was the most significant, with a drop of -14.2% in the tariff applied to service stations.

To help drivers whose services were affected during the crisis, SCGÁS approached companies, workshops, service stations and representatives of the CNG (Natural Gas Vehicle) unions and, through a campaign, showed the advantages and competitiveness of the product. The result was a 40% growth in CNG consumption since April and an increase of 2,366 vehicles with registered CNG kits in the state. According to data from Denatran, until November, the CNG fleet in the State was over 109 thousand vehicles.

The President of the Company, Willian Anderson Lehmkuhl explains that the company offered the urgent and necessary flexibilities that the market demanded. "The policies adopted by SCGÁS throughout the year were recognized by customers, contributing to companies in Santa Catarina at the worst moment of the economic crisis, helping in the cash flow so necessary for the maintenance of activities and employment".