Canal de Isabel II has reduced the water bills of companies and workers affected by COVID by almost 4 million

About 29,000 companies, sole traders and individuals have benefited from these bonuses

• In April, the company amended its fee schedule to collaborate with companies, sole traders and individuals affected

• The discounts in the set fee for companies and industries affected by the lockdown will last until June 2021

08NOV2020 -  About 29,000 companies, sole traders and individuals in the Region of Madrid have benefited from the bonuses approved by Canal de Isabel II as an economic support measure in the context of the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. To date, the public company has allocated more than 3,940,000 euros to these discounts, which, in the case of contracts for affected industries and businesses, will continue to apply until mid-2021.

The Regional Minister for the Environment, Planning and Sustainability, Paloma Martín, has shown the Region of Madrid’s commitment to water management, “which is based on guaranteeing the supply to all Madrid residents, including the most vulnerable groups, as shown by the deductions the regional Executive has applied to water bills for individuals, companies and sole traders.” Martín recalled that “these bonuses, as a result of the pandemic, are added to those that are already applied regularly.”

Since the beginning of April and retroactively to the beginning of the state of alarm declared on 14 March, Canal launched extraordinary discounts to support freelancers, companies and industries affected by a significant reduction in their activity in the framework of the state of alarm, users affected by a temporary redundancy plan and those facilities that, as an exceptional measure, have been requisitioned for health or funeral purposes. These discounts were shared on Canal’s website and social media, as well as through an advertising campaign in the media.

In the case of supplies to be used for commercial and industrial purposes affected by a significant reduction in their activity, the fixed part of the rate (service fee) was discounted in full for the entire duration of the state of alarm: that is, they only paid for actual consumption during the period, without fixed fees.

From 21 June, the end date of the state of alarm decreed in March, and until 21 December, these contracts continue to receive a 50 % discount on the fixed fee. After this period, they will have a 25 % discount on the same item for another six months. Over these months, a total of 14,742 contracts have received this discount.

For their part, domestic users affected by temporary redundancy plans caused by the state of alarm who received no salary complements other than the temporary furloughs benefit, and sole traders whose activity has significantly reduced due to the declaration of the state of alarm could temporarily take up the company’s social rate.

This rate, according to which 100 % of the variable part of the bill is discounted up to a consumption of 25 cubic metres every two months (the average consumption for a family of 4), as well as 50 % of the fixed fee, provides an approximately 79 % reduction in water bills. More than 11,500 people affected by temporary furloughs and about 2,500 sole traders received these discounts on their water bills after applying for them to the public company.

Finally, all those facilities that the Public Authorities prepared to be used temporarily for sanitary or funeral purposes during the management of the health crisis caused by COVID-19, received a 100 % bonus on both the fixed fee and variable fee on their water bills while they were being used for these purposes: this meant a total of 267 discounted contracts.