La climate crisis spares no one and there war in Ukraine brought the issue of energy and energy supply back to the fore, together with the issue of dependence on gas. How to deal with the energy issue? For Cesef - Agici Corporate Finance Economics and Energy Efficiency Management Study Center - the answer is "investing in energy efficiency", simplifying the interventions envisaged by the PNRR and supporting demand by imposing efficiency obligations for the PA and for energy-intensive industries.
According to the study center, the Ukrainian crisis has highlighted the fragility of the Italian energy system, but even in the event of a rapid resolution of the conflict, the uncertainties on the issue of gas supply and the dependence of fossil fuels from abroad is a problem that must solve. And to increase the country's level of security, it is necessary to "cut waste by investing in energy efficiency", that is, obtaining more and consuming less. In the opinion of the research centre, it would be necessary to lengthen its duration "for at least a decade" and reduce the excess bureaucracy that accompanies the Superbonus.
Energy efficiency to get out of the crisis: "We need a reorganization of the regulations"
A mountain of resources is made available with the PNRR but a reorganization of the regulations, including fiscal ones, and clear rules are needed to make energy efficiency the engine of the restart. The national recovery and resilience plan has provided for 191,5 billion euros for economic recovery and of these over 30 billion are dedicated to activities attributable to energy efficiency, mainly aimed at renewing the Superbonus 110%.
However, the report reads, not all the resources of the PNRR are easy to transform into effective investments. In fact, a significant portion of these resources, over 16 billion, must pass through local authorities which do not always have the tools or the appropriate skills to plan and design energy efficiency interventions. While it is essential to speed up the implementation of projects.
Superbonus: useful measure but we need to simplify and lengthen its duration
The still high instability and uncertainty of the framework of incentive mechanisms contributes to holding back investments, Cesef warns. For example, the Superbonus 110% - the maxi tax break associated with the transfer of credit and the discount on invoices - has certainly contributed to the economic recovery of the country after the pandemic crisis, but although it has been revised several times it has not yet resolved the issue of shortage of liquidity of the market.
Then there is the mechanism of tax deductions for building redevelopment. And here, Cesef observes again, "it is necessary to reform, not abandon the bonus system which has made it possible to obtain the most important result of decarbonization in the field of energy efficiency”. As? Introducing modular rates based on energy efficiency results and stabilizing the incentive for at least a decade is the proposal.
Superbonus: benefits and costs for the State
2021 was a crucial year for the implementation of the Superbonus. The measure resulted in important accompanied benefits but also huge costs for the State. While on the one hand the deduction activated 16,2 billion euros of investment, on the other hand it generated around 17,8 billion euros of lost revenue for the State. However, for the national economic system the measure has an overall positive balance (approximately 4 billion euro), mainly thanks to the increase in the turnover of companies and the salaries of employees in the sectors involved.
The dynamics of energy prices in recent months require a greater participation of final consumers. For this reason it is important - underlines Cesef - to obtain a simplification of the complex regulatory framework of the Superbonus and a long-term perspective of the measure capable of giving certainty to both operators and citizens. An "after Superbonus 110%" to avoid that "the interruption of the measure blocks investments and competition between companies with a positive effect in terms of cost reduction: deductions linked to the energy and anti-seismic performance of the interventions".
A sore point for Cesef is that in 2021 the sector is still quite fragmented, due to the slowdown in the financial and operational consolidation process due to the pandemic emergency. However, the report notes growing attention from utilities and large companies energy groups to the development of energy services and in particular energy efficiency, "above all to seize the opportunities that are presenting themselves, from the trend of electrification of consumption to the incentive of the Superbonus 110%".
Stefano Clerici: "Stimulating energy efficiency in the Public Administration"
Finally, to definitively unlock the enormous economic, environmental and social benefits associated with investments in energy efficiency, it is necessary to simplify the body of legislation at European level and define the timescales for project implementation, at least to support demand by imposing efficiency obligations for the PA and energy-intensive industries, in order to involve private subjects in the implementation of the interventions.
“But the implementation of projects must also be accelerated, integrating projects already underway with PNRR resources, with the use of instruments such as public-private partnerships, framework agreements and financing instruments from private funds. Finally, the tender procedures must be speeded up by introducing peremptory times and rewards for the Public Administrations that act in compliance with the times", observed the research coordinator Stefano Clerici.
