Monetization of Electricity in Umbria: De Luca Criticizes the Council
Thomas De Luca, group leader of the 5 Star Movement in the Legislative Assembly, expressed his concern about the decision of the Tesei council to completely monetize the electricity that Enel supplies every year free of charge to the Umbria Region. De Luca compared this move to that of a reverse Robin Hood, who takes from the poor to enrich the coffers of Palazzo Donini.
De Luca announced that the resolution will be discussed in the commission on Wednesday 19 June, where a binding opinion will be expressed. According to him, this decision is in clear contrast with the regional law of 6 March 2023, number 1, which regulates large hydroelectric diversions.
The new regional law, drawn up in a bipartisan manner, provides that concessionaires of large hydroelectric plants cede a significant quantity of energy, at least 50% of which must be allocated to public services or specific categories of users in the territories concerned. Furthermore, if monetization is opted for, the Region binds the use of the same resources equally to the territories.
However, the resolution provides for “full monetization” for all future years, without specifying any destination. During the discussion of the law in the commission, the aims had been to support the energy costs of hospitals or to combat the energy poverty of Umbrian families.
De Luca calculated that the value of this energy, multiplying the 220 kWh established by law by the 251,544.32 kW of average nominal power by the 0.12762 €/kWh set by Arera, amounts to approximately 7 million euros. Considering that in Umbria there are 38 thousand families in a state of relative poverty, according to Aur data, an energy income of 200 euros could be established for the most vulnerable families using only these resources.
De Luca concluded by stating that not only will he vote against this resolution, but he is also ready to support any initiative to challenge it in the appropriate forums, in the ways that the mayors deem most appropriate
