Following the roadmap set out in target 9 of its Strategic Plan, Canal de Isabel II is strengthening its commitment to projects based on research, development and innovation. The current context
requires us to stay at the forefront of new technologies and look for utilities in all fields, which is why we are promoting the use of state-of-the-art technologies to develop new services and be more efficient in the processes we carry out.

Canal has come a long way in its digital transformation, and recently we have been making even better progress. For more than a decade we have been trialling the use of advanced remote meter reading technologies to improve our business and the service we provide to customers in the Madrid region.

We are currently carrying out a pilot project to standardise a system for remote reading of water
meters using new telecommunications techniques. This is the first project on this scale carried out in Spain and it involves participation by the main telecommunications operators and meter manufacturers.

This initiative will allow us to provide our customers with complete and detailed information about their water consumption detect incidents and leaks in indoor installations and improve efficiency in the management and operation of the distribution network.

AUTOMATION AND ROBOTIC SOLUTIONS

Canal is also working on automation technologies and robotic solutions for the water cycle. Advances in telecommunications technologies have enabled us to equip many of the company’s facilities with features that would have been unthinkable twenty years ago.

Automation at its best will soon become a reality in the Arroyo Culebro wastewater treatment plant, where, among other things, it will be possible to simulate the behaviour of the plant before putting certain processes into operation. It will also enable remote control, data analysis, predictive maintenance and operation optimisation in all aspects, including energy.

Likewise, a pilot project is being carried out at the Boadilla Wastewater Pumping Station that will provide the installation of, among other applications, artificial intelligence, augmented reality and remote process management, which functionalities are being implemented in more and more types of infrastructures such as wells, drinking water elevators and rechlorination plants.

In short, we are identifying water cycle processes that can benefit from solutions based on ICT or
robotics. In fact, one of our strategic objectives is to implement 15 such initiatives by 2022. Some are already being applied. For example, we have brought into operation an underwater robot with highdefinition imaging to check the bottoms of tanks, the state of the DWTP decanter reinforcements and other submerged parts such as valves and gates.