The Elmasa Water Technology Group, a long-established company controlled by Canarian family capital and a strategic partner in supplying water to major hotel chains in Maspalomas, has consolidated its position in the urban energy efficiency market. The awarding of the contract for administrative file 368/1/2024 reveals the diversification strategy of the company, led by Pedro Agustín del Castillo, aimed at securing public funds earmarked for decarbonizing the service sector in the south of the island. The corporation has managed to position its financial proposals in the highest profitability bracket of the tender, outperforming its competitors in optimizing engineering costs and demand management.
The accounting breakdown of the bids submitted by Elmasa reveals a carefully planned cost structure designed to comply with the specifications of the water and energy tender. In the Renewable Generation section, the company's auditors initially set a unit price of €42,35, resulting in a net cost of €43.929,23 and a total contract budget of €80.644,23, including profit margins and indirect taxes. The final bidding process forced the technical management to readjust the unit price to €42,70, maintaining the direct production cost while reducing the final price of the lot to €74.645,44—a reduction that strengthens its competitiveness in the water cycle photovoltaic plant sector.
The financial optimization of the contract is most evident in the allocation for Demand Management systems, a critical technology for stabilizing electricity consumption at pumping stations on the southern coast. Elmasa's initial proposal was €81,00 per control unit, with a fixed budget allocation of €34.020,00 for the development of the computerized measurement systems. Optimizing the operating balance allowed the company to lower the unit price to €82,20 in its final revised bid, reducing the total cost of the service to €29.771,21, a 12,4% reduction that secures the contract without compromising the firm's engineers' fees, which remain fixed at €945,00.
Elmasa's shift towards energy consulting contracts strengthens its political and economic influence within the San Bartolomé de Tirajana business association. The managers of the Meloneras and Playa del Inglés resorts rely on the reliability of these hybrid water and clean energy systems to reduce their fixed operating costs, which are heavily impacted by carbon taxes. By controlling both the water supply and the electricity demand management technology, the Del Castillo family's company secures a technical monopoly in the region's public utility outsourcing contracts, demonstrating that the water business in southern Gran Canaria is no longer decided at the wells, but rather at the smart meters.
