First Covid, now the expensive bills: the strong general rise in prices and fuels is putting a strain on the economic resilience of Italian families, especially those who find themselves in a condition of energy poverty. According to the elaboration of the Studies Office of the Cgia of Mestre on the data of the Oipe 20201 Report, it is estimated that in Italy there are 4 million nuclei in difficulty. Families who find it impossible to procure a minimum basket of energy goods and services; that is heating, cooling, lighting, the use of household appliances. Given the scarce economic availability, these nuclei are often forced to choose: either they combine lunch with dinner or pay the bills. The families most at risk are those with a high number of members, they live in dated houses in a poor state of conservation, the head of the family is young, often destitute or immigrant.
At the territorial level, the most critical situation occurs in the South, where the frequency of energy poverty fluctuates between 24 and 36% of families in that territory. In Campania, for example, the range goes from at least 519 thousand nuclei in difficulty to almost 779 thousand, in Sicily from just over 481 thousand to 722 thousand and in Calabria from just over 191 thousand up to almost 287 thousand units.
Equally critical, for the Artisans, is the situation in other regions of Centrosud which record a medium-high frequency of energy poverty: between 14 and 24%. In this band there are Puglia, with a number of families ranging between 223 thousand and 383 thousand and Sardinia, with a range that varies from almost 102 thousand to just over 174 thousand. Among the regions that, on the other hand, are in the medium-low range (between 10 and 14% of frequency) Lazio, Piedmont, Liguria, Friuli Venezia Giulia and Valle d’Aosta. Finally, among the realities less affected by this phenomenon, where the fork fluctuates between 6 and 10%, Lombardy, Veneto, Emilia Romagna, Tuscany and Trentino Alto Adige.