There is no extension of the end of the protected electricity and gas market in the energy decree approved on Monday by the Council of Ministers. The bill rates set by the State and not by the competition will end on January 10, 2024 for gas and April 1 for electricity.
The provision, however, includes urgent provisions for the country's energy security, the promotion of the use of renewable sources, support for energy-intensive companies and the functioning of the retail electricity market.
End of the protected market: no extension
After months of postponements, the energy law decree it arrived in the Council of Ministers, but without the expected extension for the end of the protected market. The deadlines of 10 January for gas and 1 April for electricity, moreover, are among the commitments made by the EU within the Pnrr.
This being the case, therefore, by mid-2024, 9,5 million families and VAT numbers will have to sign a new contract both for the supply of gas and electricity. The Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security has announced that it will set up a table to study “soft” transition modes and not traumatic for families. However, the rule is not yet ready.
Energy Decree: incentives for energy-intensive companies
Businesses with high electricity consumption, such as those in the chemical, glass and textile industries (around 3.800) will be incentivized to install renewable energy systems: for the first three years the gse (Energy Services Manager, the public company for the promotion of renewables) will be able to anticipate the effects of the construction of these plants, guaranteeing renewable energy at a price in line with the costs of the technology: the anticipated energy can be returned in the following 20 years .
A fund for Regions and Autonomous Provinces is also created with 350 million per year until 2032 for compensation and rebalancing measures environmental and territorial with the installation of photovoltaic systems in suitable areas. The Fund will be fueled by the proceeds of the ETS Co2 auctions for 200 million per year, and with a contribution from producers of energy from renewable sources who have plants larger than domestic ones.
Porto Empedocle and Gioia Tauro urgent regasification terminals
The decree approved by the Council of Ministers also intervenes in the gas sector, establishing that they are released new concessions for the extraction of hydrocarbons, in exchange for the commitment to sell quantities of gas to the GSE, which will then supply it to gas-consuming companies. According to what is foreseen, they will be considered as "public utility, non-deferrable and urgenti” the works for the construction and operation of on-shore liquid natural gas regasification terminals: a rule that directly concerns future regasification plants Porto Empedocle, in Sicily, and Gioia Tauro, in Sardinia.
The decree also simplifies the procedures for authorizations for the storage of carbon dioxide in exhausted hydrocarbon reservoirs.
Nuclear: green light for self-nominations for waste storage
Another important innovation contained in the decree concerns the possibility granted to Regions and Municipalities to present self-nominations to host the national waste repository nuclear.
The law until now provided that the structure could only be built in the municipalities deemed suitable by Sogin, the public company for the dismantling of nuclear power plants. In recent years, however, different Municipalities not included in the Map of potentially suitable areas (Cnapi) have nominated themselves and the League has presented a bill to give them too the possibility of hosting the depot (which brings substantial public contributions and thousands of jobs). The Energy decree therefore changes the law in this sense: "to promote the possibility of quicker identification of the storage area", explains Mase.
Energy Decree, Pichetto Fratin: “Provision worth 27,4 billion in investments”
The Energy Decree also contains many other important innovations. It is “a provision that it is worth 27,4 billion in investments”, explains the Minister for the Environment Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, who adds: “We want to unleash the great potential of our country, to make it a reference in the Mediterranean for renewables”.
“The objective of the decree is to give some new regulations and restart a new system on the energy front, which allows us to look ahead and has a usability value. An important point with respect to the draft is to provide ports for offshore wind power, to equip at least two ports with a nomination mechanism to create the foundations for offshore wind power which determines large investments", said Pichetto Fratin, in a video link with the Italia Direzione Nord event at the Stelline Foundation in Milan
