The electricity bill in the protected market drops by 19.8% in the second quarter of 2024. Arera communicates this, recalling that this is the latest quarterly update of the protected market tariffs which – for non-vulnerable customers – is expected to end on June 30th. In terms of final effects, spending for the typical family in the rolling year (from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024) will be around 662 euros, returning close to pre-crisis levels and marking -47.7% compared to 12 equivalent months of the previous year when the price of energy reached its highest peaks.
In detail of the individual components in the bill, the final price for the typical family is thus 20.24 euro cents per kWh, including taxes, compared to 25.24 euro cents per kWh in the previous quarter. The change is linked to the overall decrease in spending on energy (-22.5%) counterbalanced by the increase in general system costs (+2.72%). However, the regulated network tariffs (transport and meter management) remain unchanged.
The drop in tariffs – explains Arera – is mainly justified by the downward trend that characterized the price trend of natural gas and electricity towards the end of last year and in the first months of the current year and which is undergoing a slowdown due to growing geopolitical tensions. The price expectations of the natural gas market for the second quarter of 2024, favored by a level of European stocks which – thanks to a relatively mild winter – is historically high at the end of the supply season, have translated into an estimate of the price of electricity equal to approximately €83/MWh.
As of 31 December 2023, almost 73% of domestic customers had chosen an offer in the free market, therefore, non-vulnerable domestic customers served under Greater Protection amounted to approximately 4.5 million. From 1 July – recalls Arera – all non-vulnerable customers will automatically switch to the Gradual Protection Service, with the supplier selected via auction in that area. This transitional service will be active until 31 March 2027 at the end of which, in the absence of an express choice, customers will continue to be supplied by the same seller on the free market. For vulnerable customers, however, Arera will continue to update the economic conditions of the Greater Protection on a quarterly basis.
