Overwhelmed by the first wave of the global Pandemic: managing essential public services in the epicenter of the COVID-19 emergency in Italy

This case study presents a real-life situation of complex emergency management by A2A Group facing the first wave of the global pandemic in the first quarter of the 2020, committed to guaranteeing business continuity and the provision of essential public services for the citizens affected by the pandemic. A2A Group is the largest Italian multi-utility operating in the generation, sale and distribution of electricity and gas, dis-trict heating, waste collection and recovery, electric mobility, public lighting, and the integrated water service. A2A Group had to face the epidemiological emergency and the consequent crisis since the end of February 2020, starting with the first cases of contagion in Italy and the first 'red areas'. The contents of the case were compiled using secondary sources and interviews with the key crisis management players at A2A.The case intends to raise the level of managerial competence for the management of complex emergency situations within public and private institutions, focusing on: i) the governance model, the organizational model, and roles in crisis management, ii) the decision-making processes activated during the crisis and iii) the operational processes and tools adopted to manage the crisis.