Coming soon a new decree Aid? Electricity and gas bills burned in the streets, businesses at the crossroads between price increases and closures. It is the photograph of an Italy hit by the high energy bill with which the new center-right government will have to deal with. The latest update of the energy tariffs released last week by Arera (the Energy, Networks and Environment Regulatory Authority) foresees an increase in electricity which will touch the share of 59% in the last three months of 2022, while increases of 60% are expected for gas.
The surges of light and gas have been partially calmed by the Draghi government, which intervened with 8 decrees to redistribute 66 billion this year. Another 10 billion was bequeathed to the incoming government which could soon approve a new Aid decree to support citizens with the staggering increase in bills. But they won't be enough. And above all, it will be necessary to understand whether the price race will also stop as a result of the European decisions on the cap on the price of gas, on the table at the next summit of European heads of state and government in Prague on 6 and 7 October.
The Meloni-Cingolani dialogue
Meloni shares the line of the Minister of Ecological Transition Roberto Cingolani, with whom the leader of FdI and her staff have been in contact for days. “The priority is to stop the gas speculation. Continuing endlessly to offset the cost of bills by giving money to those who are getting rich on the backs of citizens and businesses would be a mistake," said Meloni. So no to the road taken by other states like the Germany"yes instead to do everything to increase the production of energy, both with regasification plants and with the extraction of gas, and by removing the bureaucratic constraints that prevent the full use of renewable sources".
Unhooking the price of gas from the TTF, Cingolani: "Plan within 48 hours"
It starts with the proposals of the former prime minister, such as the gas price ceiling and decoupling, partly announced by the minister in view of the next European summit on Thursday: "We will make the proposal within 48 hours" to unhook the gas price from the TTF , the gas trading point which acts as a hub for the whole of Europe, «linking it to slightly more stable stock exchanges», identifying «a European index» which establishes a range of variation (it could be, for example, a weighted average of the most of the world: Brent, Henry hub, Chinese and Australian LNG), so that the European price is not too different from that of the rest of the world.
The decoupling of energy from renewables from the price of gas
Another measure Meloni is working on is the energy decoupling produced from renewable sources from the price of gas. A measure that, according to Meloni, "can be done with a national law", without the green light from the EU. To finance the measure it is planned to use i 20 billion of the European structural funds (those of the 2014-2020 programming that Italy was unable to spend as it failed to present adequate projects).
And it is precisely on the basis of the work of Cingolani and Draghi that Meloni is waiting before fine-tuning his moves, which could also include a fourth aid decree with covers yet to be studied. Let's see what they might be news on bills, discounts and bonuses against the expensive bills on which the prime minister is moving in pectore.
Aid Decree quater? New measure to counter the increase in bills
For the new Parliament, the first provision to be converted into law will be the Aid ter decree of 14 billion launched and introduced by the Draghi Government. However, it will be difficult to introduce other measures with the very short time between the installation of the Chambers and the formation of the new executive. Here, then, is the idea of a aid decree quater, the first provision signed by the centre-right coalition which would follow the line of the former prime minister, ie "without any budget deviation". Which instead Salvini asks repeatedly.
According to press reports, the first decree law of a possible government led by Meloni could count on a budget of 25 billion euros and which will be "in absolute continuity with the last three of the Draghi executive". In detail, 10 billion will come from the lower deficit in the Note of the update to the DEF (NADEF). As many from the "extra tax revenues of the last four months of the year", in particular the VAT. Then there is a billion that could come from taxes on extra profits for renewable companies and another 5 billion from the tax on extra profits from energy companies.
Tax credit, 150 euro bonus and excise cut
According to the newspaper, the Meloni government will use 4,7 billion to finance the renewal of the tax credit to the energy-intensive businesses in which Draghi has also added shops, restaurants and bars. Another 3 billion will go to finance the 150 euro bonus for around 20 million workers and pensioners, including the self-employed, with an income of no more than 20 euros. About 2 billion will be used to extend the discount on fuel excise duties of 30,5 cents, starting from October 17 until the end of the year, but the extension could also jump considering the decrease in the cost of fuel in recent weeks.
In the Aiuti decree the moratorium in the event of unpaid bills
Another hypothesis also emerges. A moratorium for unpaid bills by households and businesses, without interruption of electricity and gas in the event of at least six months of unpaid bills. In addition, the Sace fund, a credit insurance company controlled by the Ministry of the Economy, should intervene, also extended to small energy supplier companies, which risk going bankrupt due to customer insolvency.
"Free" redundancy fund
In the event of a further worsening of the energy crisis, a new cycle is assumed layoffs “free like the Cig Covid”, concludes Repubblica.
