If the trend in public services is like that of 2020, Italian utilities will not run excessive risks. Above all for the investments and for the economic value that they can generate gas, electricity and other essential services. The pandemic has had a significant impact on the businesses of companies, but local ones have still been able to make investments and distribute dividends. The companies of water, environment and energy gathered in Utilitalia in 2020 have in fact carried out investments for 4,5 billion, of which over 600 million in decarbonisation, 300 in digitization and more than 180 million in the circular economy.
The data
The data of the Sustainability report "Italian Utilities for the ecological and digital transition 2021" indicate the total mass of new investments in 14% of revenues. The economic value generated and distributed to stakeholders was 11 billion euros. In short, local companies, even in the most complicated economic situations, manage to create value and keep up with the strategies of the transition. The study contains the results of a field survey which represents 83% of sector employees and involves 37 million users of the water service, 24 million of the environmental services, 12 million of the gas distribution and over 6 million for the distribution of electricity. The economic value of the year takes into account what is distributed to workers, shareholders and conceding bodiesi. Overall services are improving as demonstrated by the experiment dubbed «Utilitalia15» which focused on the 15 companies that have shown greater attention to sustainability. These are companies that have around 25 billion euros in revenues.
The networks
In the general framework of the tariffs administered by the Arera and of the expenditure for the improvement of public services, local companies have intervened, among others, on the water networks. «Network losses in Italy settle at 40%, but the figure drops to 35% in the case of local companies», explains Utilitalia in the report. The economic values of 2020 make it clear that the perspective of these companies is changing. On the one hand there are the government tools and actions to enhance services and infrastructures, on the other hand the relationship with the local authorities who ask for greater efficiency and quality for their citizens. This in spite of the controversy over the appointments of the top management of the companies that periodically enliven politics. A specific challenge concerns the South where the construction of a circular economy system still faces many obstacles and where local companies can find space to redevelop essential activities.
