Hot summer for electricity and gas bills. First the surprise increases, decreed by the Energy Authority starting from 1 July, then on appeal by Codacons to the Lombardy Regional Administrative Court which suspended everything. We therefore return to the prices of the second quarter, at least until the court ruling is definitive. In between the controversy about exorbitant costs of dispatching, the service Terna uses to balance the impact of renewables – discontinuous by nature – on the stability of the national electricity transmission grid. A price increased much more than usual between April and June, with peaks of up to 600 euros per megawatt hour, so much so that Confindustria itself, which was the first to raise the alarm, jumped out of its chair. Just before the approval of the new disputed tariffs for the third quarter of 2016, it is to be provoked that all consumer associations leave the table with the Authority.
The situation alarmed the Minister of Development Carlo Calenda who asked for an account by 24 August at theAuthority chaired by Guido Bortoni with a dry but severe press release to which the Authority has tried to respond but without being able to dispel the doubts. In all this other difficulties have emerged, on aggressive trade policies of the main operators - Eni, Enel, Edison, Acea - stung in mid-June byAntitrust with a super fine of 14,5 million euros which, however evidently, were not enough given that on 1 August the competition guarantor has again placed under observation by Eni, Enel, Acea; he added to the patrol too HeraComm, Geko (formerly Beetwin); initiated three new proceedings against Estra Energie, Estra Elettricità, Enegan and Iren Mercato in addition to having again solicited Green Network for non-compliance.
In a nutshell, a massacre in the extremely delicate electricity sector (above all) which makes us reflect seriously on the risks that consumers could run in view of the new, full liberalization of the energy market. That, just to give an example, hasn't released the yet simplified bill 2.0, desired by the Authority itself starting from 1 January 2016 to make invoices more understandable to customers. It does not appear that she was sanctioned. The date of the full market opening, initially scheduled for January 1, 2018, was postponed to June 30 of that year based on the provisions of the competition bill which was approved on Tuesday in the Senate committee and will go to the classroom in September, almost two years after its presentation.
It is an important step that will allow the market to make a leap in quality and also to select the best operators. A delicate passage in which the weak link is the 35 million households (25 in electricity, 10 in gas) who are still under the guardianship regime and who will have to make the leap forward. Who will watch over their interests? Someone already has the answer ready: so far it is the Antitrust that has taken charge of the "dirty work" - hitting large or small energy groups in the event of abuse - while the sector Authority has limited itself to supporting , but nothing more. Overly malicious interpretation? Can be. Above all, there is one way to deny it: Authority Energia, if you're into it hit a beat.
