Gas and electricity, the first bill translated into Chinese arrives in Italy

Electricity and gas bills for the first time in Chinese. Launching the translation is Polis Energia, which will provide the service throughout Italy. The company, active in the free market for the sale of electricity and natural gas since 2012, has launched a campaign to raise awareness among foreign users. In particular, precisely towards those who know only the Chinese language and who therefore have a significant language barrier. One might think that this service would be structured in the Tuscan city of Prato, where there is the largest Chinese community in relation to the resident population. But no. Polis Energia is launching the service throughout the country because there are many areas where the Chinese presence is strong: one of them is Milan, and a new sales point will soon be opened in the Lombard capital.

"We have decided to translate the bills into Chinese," said Polis Energia CEO Lucio Cerullo. "This is because there is a strong demand from the territories, a demand we have decided to focus on. The Chinese population in Italy is vast, covering the entire national territory'. He adds: 'We have entered into a commercial partnership with a Chinese telephone operator to improve the service experience for the community. We will also soon integrate with We Chat Start: the project will start in September'.

From the translation of bills into Chinese to We Chat, the most widely used instant messaging service in China, the equivalent of our Whatsapp: this is how Polis Energia has chosen to differentiate itself from its competitors. 'We thought of developing WeChat,' said Cerullo, 'because it is the communication channel favoured by that population. Some time ago, talking with the Chinese community, this very need came up and so we went to meet it. In addition, I must say that WeChat is convenient because it is not only an instant messaging app, but you can also make payments, such as bills in this case. That is why we decided to develop this project, which will start soon.

In the meantime, the company will soon open two sales outlets. In addition to the Milan area, another will be opened in the province of Varese. And from a financial point of view, Polis Energia ended 2023 with net profits in excess of EUR 962,000, a turnover of EUR 16 million, and an own profitability rate of 59.19%. There are currently 10,000 customers, but 'the numbers are growing and we aim to expand further,' it says.

In Italian, Chinese and more: 'We do not exclude extending the service to other communities,' Cerullo concluded. In fact, in the fac simile of the PolisEnergia bill you can see all the references in Chinese, including the consumption details of the bill. There is also a Qr-code to get other information, the customer's personal details, and the expiry date of the bill. And there are references to the company's Facebook and Instagram profiles.