Do your electricity and gas bills change? Not yet but the day of full price liberalization is approaching, which will start on 1 July 2020. This is why the Energy Authority (Arera) from 1 January will send a message to around 17,3 million electricity customers and 12,7 XNUMX million in gas – which still enjoy the Authority's “umbrella” of protection – to explain that it is good to start preparing and getting informed.
“From 1 July 2020, supply contracts like yours, with prices updated by the Authority (ARERA), will no longer be available. You can already change contract or supplier in a simple and free way with the guarantee of service continuity: check the offers available in your area on the "Offers Portal”, where it can also evaluate proposals with standard contractual conditions of the Authority and free price (PLACET offers). For more information, consult the website www.ilportaleofferte.it or call the toll-free number 800 166 654.”
This is the message from Arera that we will read in January and it is useful to retrace the steps leading up to the "day X" of the free market postponed several times (the last one this summer with the Milleproroghe decree).
WHY HAS THE LIBERALIZATION OF ENERGY BEEN POSTED?
It is the fear that domestic customers are poorly informed and that companies may raise free prices, at least in the start-up phase, that prompts the new Lega-M5S government to be cautious. But Italian consumers, who have already experienced the free price regime in fixed and mobile telephony - with enormous price advantages - are less unprepared than one might think. Postpone the end of guardianship regime, in which the Authority sets the rates for customers who have not already switched to the free market (gradually but constantly increasing), also means delaying the contestability of customers and, likewise, the resulting advantages.
To give a concrete example, just think that the Enel group today has a domestic customer base of 25,3 million electricity customers and expects that this will drop to 18,4 million in 2021 - according to the latest projections presented with the update of the business plan 2019-21 – precisely as a result of the greater competitiveness triggered by the total opening of the market. Not only that but the group (it has an 85% share of the electricity retail market) will invest 4,8 billion (out of the 27,5 billion planned for the period) precisely to offer new services to consumers. Even the other companies are stepping up their programs so as not to be caught unprepared. The market is expanding the offer. In a second time it is foreseeable that customers will select the best and most reliable operators: the number will therefore tend to decrease in the medium term.
WHAT POINT ARE WE AT
In energy we are not at year zero. Liberalization throughout Europe started at the end of the 90s and was implemented in Italy in 1999. Since July 2007, the Italian market has been liberalized in the sense that everyone can freely choose which operator to get supplies from. If he doesn't make a choice (and 61,4% of domestic customers, around 17,3 million, have not done so) it is Arera that sets the price every three months. The proportions are reversed if companies and industries connected to medium and high voltage are also included in the calculation. The fact remains that free customers are already 11,8 million in electricity and 7,5 million in gas.
What will the government do now? Paradoxically, the Arera is obliged by the Competition Law to carry forward information on liberalization which the government, however, threatens to slow down at every step. In this too, Lega and M5S are divided: in fact, the League realizes that the current tariff system is very onerous for traders and artisans; the pentastellati are instead in favor of bringing the tariffs – like services in general – under public control. What will happen between now and July 1, 2020 is therefore all to be verified.
NEW COUNTERS AND FREE OFFER
But what would change with the new regime from 1 July 2020? It will always be the State, through the Arera, to dictate the rules to which the operators will have to adapt, but it will no longer buy energy for families, everyone will have a contract with Enel, Eni, Edison, Sorgenia, etc. and he can cancel or change it just as it happens today for cell phones and home phones. If we then consider that about 50% of bills are "blocked" by charges and taxes decided by the State, it is clear that only the remaining 50% would be subject to competition. In the meantime, an acceleration to greater clarity will come from the new digital meters – currently being installed in Italy – which allow constant monitoring of one's consumption.
This is why information will be fundamental and it will be necessary to act in time. Here are some useful links:
- to compare offers is there the certified portal of Arera and the Single Buyer. You need to get your electricity and gas bills from the last year, enter your zip code and follow a simple path that allows you to get an idea of what's on the market in your area.
- for those who don't trust there is the offer PLACE "a predefined offer aimed at families and small businesses at pre-established contractual conditions defined by the Authority, but at prices freely established by the seller, in accordance with a clear and understandable structure".
- finally, you can also consult the Consumer Helpdesk website to find out which tools can be activated in the event of disputes.
