“Free” gas to all residents of Basilicata and a lighter bill since October: this is the Lucanian way to counter high energy costs. The president of the Basilicata Region Vito Bardi signed the regional law on "Environmental compensation measures for the energy transition and the repopulation of the Basilicata territory", approved in the Regional Council on 13 August.
Well, not really one zero gas bill, but in fact it will allow residents of the Region to have a good reduction in costs in the coming months, as a countermeasure to the considerable increase in energy costs that occurred in the last year (today gas futures, in exchanges in Amsterdam, have touched 315 euros, +8%).
The bill is reduced in Basilicata: what the law requires
The refund concerns the "gas material" item on the bill; therefore, the gas that is consumed by every household user and not all the other items that make up a gas bill: the payment of costs relating to system charges, meter management and transport will continue to be the responsibility of the individual users. The expense for the raw material, in the majority of occasions, is the item that has the greatest impact, which is why the Region has estimated that in this way the amounts of bills are expected to halve.
Furthermore, the law specifies that "the facilitation does not exclude the social bonuses envisaged by the urgent measures for the containment of electricity and gas costs envisaged by the state regulations in force". There financial coverage of the interventions is quantified at a maximum of 60 million euros for the 2022 financial year and at a maximum of 200 million euros for each of the 2023 and 2024 financial years.
Free gas in Basilicata: why don't all the Regions do it?
Because not everyone can count on a hydrocarbon field – the largest in continental Europe – namely that of Val d'Agri. Its exploitation began about 30 years ago by Eni. The six-legged dog manages 61% of the 24 identified concession wells, with the remainder owned by Shell. Precisely the two companies that have forged the1,3 million offset agreement euro with the region of Basilicata. The extraction process mostly follows these steps:
• Once the Petroleum, this is conveyed to the Val d'Agri Oil Center (Cova) for a first treatment;
• Then it reaches the Taranto refinery via pipeline.
• From this process, desulphurised, dehydrated and conditioned methane gas is also obtained, which is introduced into the national distribution network administered by Snam.
The bill is reduced in Basilicata: who is it waiting for?
"The free supply through reimbursement of the energy component of the price of gas supplied for domestic users of residents in the Basilicata region, of regional public administrations, excluding economic public bodies and investee companies, and of regional local bodies". The concession of gas material free of charge is envisaged for i Lucan citizens who own a pdr (release point), i.e. a meter classified for family and non-business consumption. For users with more than one PDR, the benefit will be granted only to the main residence.
- business users are excluded in such a way as to make the measure sustainable and also to avoid the configuration of State aid to companies. In addition to businesses, citizens of Basilicata who use pellet heating, donuts and fireplaces are excluded from the refund because they are not covered by the methane gas network.
The invoice operations will potentially involve all vendors operating in the area, with reference to approximately 181.000 supply points, corresponding to approximately 160 million cubic meters per year.
Finally, a control system will verify the consumption of each gas meter installed in the homes of Lucan citizens, not only in real time but also in a historical-statistical context, to avoid waste.
