"The national energy strategy, in setting new objectives, must be able to translate into opportunities for development and for this reason the full competitiveness of the sector must be reconfirmed even under the guidance of regulatory instruments that push operators towards the public interest". This was supported by the president of the Authority for electricity and gas, Guido Bortoni, heard in the Senate's Industry commission.
With Bortoni's hearing, the commission concluded its investigation into the national energy strategy and in the next few days a document will be defined "which could represent – underlined the president of the commission, Cesare Cursi – the compass for future national choices in the field energy with particular regard to the promotion of clean energy and energy efficiency and the development of an adequate infrastructural network that guarantees the necessary development of the Italian economy".
In the hearing, Bortoni remarked on the “need for a better exploitation of renewable sources through a minimization of the charges linked to the incentives and an implementation of the interconnections which takes into account the necessary safety of the entire system. The primary interest is the flexibility in the regulatory activity by the Member States for energy efficiency interventions, in the awareness that the full integration of the European markets can produce a reduction in prices”.
And as far as Italy is concerned, a distinction must be made on the price front: for gas "the price is higher than the European average due to old take-or-pay contracts that will gradually be outdated", explained Bortoni. While, on the other hand, the network tariffs charged in Italy are in line with those of other European countries and any differences are linked to the investments made. Finally, the president of the Authority called for the strengthening of cross-border energy infrastructures, also with the use of community resources, "with a view that could lead to the creation of a gas hub in Italy".
