On Wednesday 19 July, Italy came close to reaching a record in electricity consumption, with the Terna grid recording over 59 GW in the afternoon, dropping to nothing from the previous peak in 2015.
The huge demand for energy is generated by the heat wave, which calls for intensive use of air conditioners. The problem, notes the Consumerismo No Profit association, which is spreading a “blackout alert” at the same time.
In fact, the chronicles of the last few days are full of news of these disservices. “From Bolzano to Palermo, the heat is causing anomalous energy blackouts throughout the peninsula”, explains Consumerismo. The association retraces some of the most sensational recent events, such as in Rome “where many passengers were stuck inside the metro for about half an hour, without air conditioning and without a telephone line. In June alone, there were 462 power outages, while in Naples the underground lines went haywire due to the asphalt reaching very high temperatures which damaged the underground cables , cutting off electricity supplies to families and shops forced to close early, right up to Palermo, where for days there have been continuous interruptions and blackouts that are putting a strain on the city”.
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According to e-Distribuzione data, of the hundreds of daily outages of this period, the victim is above all “Sicily, with continuous suspensions of energy supplies throughout the region”.
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User rights
Luigi Gabriele, president of the association, on the basis of what is happening, recalls that “the legislation provides compensation for the victims of supply interruptions, based on precise parameters that vary according to the size of the municipality of residence”.
The association therefore reminds you when the indemnities can be triggered:
Municipalities with less than 5,000 inhabitants: interruptions exceeding 16 consecutive hours; Municipalities with more than 5,000 but less than 50,000 inhabitants: interruption exceeding 12 consecutive hours; Municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants: interruptions exceeding 8 consecutive hours.
In the event that there has been an outage exceeding the expected standard, an automatic indemnity of 30 euros is triggered, increased by 15 euros for every 4 hours of outage up to a maximum of € 300, which will be recognized in the bill by your supplier on behalf of the area distributor. These indemnities – Consumerismo concludes – do not preclude the possible possibility of making a claim for damages in cases where there is damage to devices/appliances or the impossibility of being able to carry out work.
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