Energy prices at highs despite demand at lows: it costs us 64 billion

Energy bills at their highest and energy demand at their lowest is the strange combination that emerges from the speech by Alessandro Gilotti, president of the Unione Petrolifera, during the association's annual assembly.
“In 2012 the energy bill exceeded 64 billion euros, the highest ever, thanks to a weak euro” explained Gilotti, adding that the incidence of oil “fell to 53% compared to 90% in 1980”. On the demand side, the latter has regressed to the levels of 20 years ago, with a "particularly conspicuous drop in fuel sales" claims the president.
The Unione Petrolifera then goes on to estimate the future energy burden for the country, which, in the hypothesis of a strengthening of the exchange rate (approximately +1,8%), a retreat in the quotations and prices of the various sources, as well as a the drop in consumption, which continues to be significant for fossil fuels, could settle in 2013 between 53 and 54 billion euros, with a reduction of 10 billion on the current energy bill.