In the daily refrain of a budget law that will help families and businesses, what will bonuses and reliefs produce in the coming months? Energy is certainly the hottest topic. Without taking it too far, when the government says it is also working on the "reform of the energy market" to protect the weakest groups, there are numbers that cannot be overlooked. Will the end of the protected market be postponed beyond January 2024? It would be yet another slip, but a study of Cgia it seems designed to tell those who govern that the time has come to get to the bottom of things, into the living part of society, towards those who just can't afford to pay for gas or electricity.
It is an analysis of the country's energy conditions, according to which 2,2 million families they live in "energy poverty“. In absolute values, there are 5 million people who live in "unhealthy" homes, poorly heated in winter, poorly cooled in summer, with poor lighting levels and with very limited use of the main white appliances. A cross-section of the identity, unfortunately, of a part of the national community. Since the publication of the data two days ago, there has not been a country evolving on an energy and environmental level. The bonus policy is a half answer, not the solution that should keep pace with a transition that in theory should leave no one behind.
The families most at risk are those with a large number of people, in precarious economic conditions and give us the snapshot of an increasingly unbalanced country. The situation at a territorial level it is more critical in Calabria, where there are more than 300 thousand people who are poor in energy. Followed by Puglia, Molise, Basilicata and Sicily. Needless to say, the regions least affected by the phenomenon of poverty are Lombardy, Liguria, Marche and Emilia Romagna. They enjoy a more balanced system with the GDP being a third of the GDP of all of Italy.
North and South increasingly separated
"These are data that are quite worrying - explained the CGIA - also because they are undersized, referring to before the energy shock that erupted at the beginning of 2022". It is confirmed in this way that the swing in prices of energy products does not reach families. Not to everyone in the same way, evidently. Compared to the pre-Covid period, the budget of an average family remains very high. If the price of natural gas in 2019 was 16 euros/MWh, in August this year it reached 34 euros/MWh (+112%). It hit that part of society that has accumulated debts with energy companies.
The crux of such a discrepancy between Italian families lies not only in the ability to rebalance the differences between North and South, but in the desire to truly bring more than 2 million families out of such a high poverty threshold. Their discomfort weighs on the entire Parse. What effect will the government's maneuver with the concessions or VAT cut on gas for three months have on the thousands of Calabrian citizens and gradually on everyone else? A chamomile effect, because after Christmas we will be back to square one.
The condition of minority - says the CGIA - will increase "if they will not be extended the aid put in place by the Meloni government with the 2023 budget law". The study precedes the provision being issued which is essentially a stopgap decree, the short wave of a confused sea, with the South disheartened.
Another increase in bills is expected for October which will accentuate inflation, while the blacklisting of the poor in electricity and gas could mark an undignified record after a year of "government by doing". The 300 billion announced are not structural measures that i less wealthy classes they claim. On the other hand, if the transition to a more virtuous energy system is being built, it will be very difficult to have allies with the 5 million Italians who are poor in essential services. They will be the thorn in the side of anyone who wants to make Italy a more sustainable country.
