Measures taken by Canal de Isabel II within the framework of the covid-19 health emergency

The goal of the measures is to guarantee the continuity of its service and prevent the spread of the virus both in its workforce and society in general.

• 1,000 employees currently work in the continuity of supply and sanitation services.

• 300 employees remain at home on retainer as backup in order to support the aforementioned employees if necessary.

• 1,350 employees are already working remotely from their homes.

• All commercial offices remain closed and all processes will be done via telephone or email.

• Canal will supply bottled water to healthcare professionals in hospital ICUs.

Note: this information expands upon the measures announced by Canal de Isabel II on 13 March 2020. The prior release may be consulted here.

In order to guarantee the continuity of the services provided in the Autonomous Community of Madrid and to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, in accordance with the measures taken by the Ministry of Health and the Regional Ministry of Health of the Autonomous Community of Madrid, Canal de Isabel II has implemented a series of measures in different aspects of its management.

Furthermore, in order to collaborate with the work of healthcare professionals, Canal will supply bottled water to the ICUs of Madrid’s hospitals.

Measures regarding continuity of services

• Resizing the workforce and having employees on retainer as backup in order to ensure the continuity of supply and sanitation services. Those infrastructures that could support others if necessary are included in the framework of the company’s contingency plans.
• 1,000 employees currently work in business continuity and 300 have been assigned to remain at home on retainer as backup in order to support the aforementioned employees if necessary
• All scheduled supply cuts have been cancelled. The maintenance and conservation brigades will be dedicated to incident resolution: rupture of pipes, problems in sewage networks, etc.
• In Operations Management, responsible for managing and maintaining the supply and sanitation system, Canal has established groups of people for each of the 21-infrastructure conservation and maintenance areas who will remain in isolation in their homes should there be any cases of infection among the staff of these centres. Approximately 300 people are in this situation.
• In the Control Centre, in order to ensure operations, three working groups have been established which are acting separately in different locations.
• In Automation and Telecommunications 12 separate teams are simultaneously working with each other at all times.
• The Water Quality Laboratory continues to monitor that the water supplied complies with the regulations in force. Should it be necessary, the supply of reclaimed water is suspended so that the analysts in this area can devote themselves to controlling and monitoring the quality of drinking water.
• In Information Systems two separate groups have also been established in order to guarantee the provision of services between them.
• Canal de Isabel II and its subsidiary Canal de Comunicaciones provide mobile digital communications services (TETRA) to the Autonomous Community of Madrid’s security, emergency and rescue services: in total, more than 5,000 terminals distributed among Madrid 112, BESCAM, firefighters, SUMMA 112, forestry agents and the Autonomous Community of Madrid's Winter Roads Maintenance contingent. In order to provide this service, essential personnel are working remotely, and field technicians have been divided into separate mobile teams.

Measures in the commercial sector

• Sales offices have been closed and the same service is being provided via telephone: customers can make an appointment to receive a call from a sales manager on 900365365 or via the virtual office www.oficinavirtual.canaldeisabelsegunda.es.
• Likewise, Canal will continue providing customer service via the following channels:

  • The free telephone 900365365, for sales processes, Monday-Friday from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm, and 24 hours a day 7 days a week to register breakdowns and incidents.

  • Its virtual office www.oficinavirtual.canaldeisabelsegunda.es.

  • Via email clientes@canaldeisabelsegunda.es

  • Meter reading has been suspended, and will be substituted by an evaluation system.

Measures in the areas of prevention, conciliation, teleworking and the organisation of human resources

• 1,350 company employees are already teleworking. We’ve been able to provide this service to this group of people within 72 hours, giving first priority to employees with conciliation needs and groups at-risk.

• The activity of interns, vocational training students and partial retirees has been suspended, and they will remain at home until the end of the measures taken in the Autonomous Community of Madrid. All employees who, for medical reasons, are included in one of the special at-risk groups due to their previous pathologies are also at home.

• All selective processes have been postponed.

• Crowded areas (cafeteria, auditorium, etc.) at the headquarters have been closed to employees and the external public.

• Cleaning and disinfection of offices and facilities has increased.

• A daily communication and reporting system has been established to provide all necessary information and support to employees, including all instructions and recommendations from health authorities, as well as established action protocols.

• There is ongoing coordination with Spanish subsidiaries (Canal delegation in Caceres, Canal Gestión Lanzarote, Hispanagua, Hidráulica Santillana and Canal de Comunicaciones) in order to monitor and take measures in line with the Company.

Measures in the social and leisure areas

• The Ríos Rosas, Plaza de Castilla and Tercer Depósito Parks are closed to the public.

• Sporting activities in Ocio y Deporte Canal are cancelled.

• The Fundación Canal exhibitions are closed to the public and its group activities (Canal Educa, tours of the facilities, forums, concerts) are cancelled.

• Visits by delegations or external personnel to the company’s facilities and infrastructure are also cancelled.

Canal de Isabel II joins the call of institutions to the individual responsibility of citizens, and works to continue providing the highest quality service to the Autonomous Community of Madrid.