Alejandro Marichal: "It's the social policy we want: useful, direct, and humane. Energy can't be a privilege; it must be a guaranteed basic right, and this agreement turns that idea into real action."
Dimas Sarmiento: "Social Services will be able to suspend the planned power outage for six months, buying time to process aid, establish payment plans, and prevent debt from leading to social exclusion."
The San Bartolomé de Tirajana City Council, at the proposal of the Department of Social Services, has signed an agreement with Endesa to prevent electricity and gas outages for vulnerable families. This marks a decisive step toward more effective and modern social protection through the activation of this key tool that strengthens care for people in vulnerable situations. In turn, the Plenary Council approved in an extraordinary session the city's accession to the SEGISS platform, a digital system that will radically improve the management and processing of social assistance.
The agreement with Endesa is based on the use of the CONFÍA digital platform, a pioneering system nationwide that allows for urgent action in situations of energy poverty. In practice, explains the Councilor for Social Services, Dimas Sarmiento (CC): "This means that when social workers detect a family that cannot afford to pay their electricity or gas bill, an order is automatically activated to suspend the supply for a period of up to six months." During this time, the area's technical team evaluates the case and can process emergency financial assistance, establish a payment plan, or seek solutions to prevent the debt from leading to social exclusion.
The agreement also guarantees a secure, rapid exchange of information that complies with data protection regulations, facilitating an institutional response without bureaucracy, travel, and full traceability of the process. It is aimed at individuals and families at risk of social exclusion, seniors on minimum pensions, the long-term unemployed, women victims of gender-based violence, and people with disabilities.
Councilman Sarmiento emphasized that "this agreement is not just a piece of paper; it's a concrete tool that prevents a vulnerable family from being left without electricity or gas in the middle of winter." Alejandro Marichal, First Deputy Mayor of San Bartolomé de Tirajana, noted that the agreement allows Social Services to anticipate, protect, and provide a dignified response to critical situations. "It's the social policy we want: useful, direct, and humane." He added that "energy cannot be a privilege; it must be a guaranteed basic right. This agreement turns that idea into real action."
In addition to this agreement, the municipal plenary session approved the incorporation of SEGISS (Electronic Social Services Information Management System), a technological platform that will digitize files, reduce processing times for aid, and improve coordination among technical staff. This system will provide the department with a complete, real-time view of the status of each case, facilitating resource planning, eliminating unnecessary paperwork, and strengthening personalized support.
“Daily work in Social Services requires speed, clarity, and efficiency. SEGISS allows us to manage better, reach out more quickly, and provide more comprehensive support to those we serve,” Sarmiento added. “With this tool, everyone wins: the administration, the professionals, and, above all, the public.”
For his part, the First Deputy Mayor of San Bartolomé de Tirajana, Alejandro Marichal, noted that both measures—the agreement with Endesa and the adhesion to SEGISS—“reflect a clear strategy on the part of this Department to strengthen the foundations of social welfare in San Bartolomé de Tirajana. This is an intelligent social shield that combines institutional commitment, technology, and close attention to provide real solutions to those who need it most,” Marichal concluded.
