It’s almost time for the end of protected market of electricity, with the deadline long established at June 30th, but the bill dossier is troubling the government. In recent days, the League presented a resolution to the Productive Activities Committee of the Chamber for postpone the transition to the end of the year to a free market.
Until 2027, a “transitional phase” during which citizens who have never changed electricity supplier will be subject to a system of gradual protection for three years. But for now, the government has blocked the initiative for several reasons.
Salvini aims to stop the free market
First, the tenders to assign the supplies have already concluded. Second, the gradual transition to the free market is an objective of the PNRR that Italy must respect in relation to Europe. And third, there is a question of method: the League’s initiative is seen as interference with Arera, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, Networks and the Environment, which manages the transition.
But the Northern League does not want to give in and aims to have the proposal voted on Wednesday afternoon. The resolution contains other requests, such as allowing those in the free market to still join the market with gradual protections during the three-year period 2024-2027, as indicated in the text first signed by MP Alberto Gusmeroli, president of the Commission called to express its opinion. In addition to the technical aspects, Matteo Salvini’s party tries to intercept the discontent for the transition to the free market, which has seen price changes that are not convenient for several users. The resolution highlights the “information and practical difficulties regarding electricity bills” and “the activity of call centers which, with a particularly aggressive commercial policy, provide citizens with information that is not always adequate and precise”.
How much do prices change between the free and protected markets
What the League is therefore doing is allying itself with consumer protection movements, which argue that the transition to the free market, at this moment, is not beneficial to citizensbut only for utilities.
Theirs is not just an instrumental controversy: they support their theses with data provided by Arera herself. In a recent meeting with consumer associations, in view of the July 1st deadline, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, Networks and the Environment showed a series of graphs that highlight the advantages for those who remained in the protected market. According to data from last March, offers on the free market include a tariff of 0.33 euros per kilowatt hour for fixed price contracts and 0.32 euro/kwh for variable price contracts. While the tariff for the protected market is significantly lower, a 0.22 euros/kwh.
For Assoutenti, this means that “the average electricity bill for a family in the free market with consumption equal to 2,700 kWh per year stands at 891 euros per year in the case of a fixed price and 864 euros for the variable price, against an average of 594 euros per year in the protected market”. The tariffs on the free market are therefore “more expensive on average by 47.7%“, with a greater expense which, for fixed price contracts, is close to 300 euros.
Transition to the free market, what to know
With the start of the free electricity market scheduled for next week, approximately 5 million users will be involved. The number of customers in the protected market is double, but half of them will remain in this regime because they are considered “vulnerable”. This category includes users over 75 years of age and those with an ISEE not exceeding 9,530 euros (20,000 euros if the family unit has at least 4 dependent children and beneficiaries of Law 104).
By June 30, “undecided” consumers will be transferred to the gradual protection service and will be contacted by a new supplier, who will inform them of the new service conditions, including economic ones. This transition phase will last just under three years, from 1 July 2024 to 31 March 2027, during which each customer will be assigned to the seller selected by the Regulatory Authority for Energy, Networks and the Environment (Arera) based on their area of residence. By this date, even those who currently have a free market contract will be able to request to return to the protected market and then automatically move to the one with gradual protections.
