Consumption is down, but gas and electricity prices are up and the percentage of emissions is up. This is the picture that emerges from the quarterly analysis of the Italian energy system carried out by ENEA and which also highlights the trend for the whole of 2022.
Reading the report, it emerges that the year that has just ended will not only be remembered for the crisis in the gas-electricity markets but also for the year that “closed with a 12 percent contraction in energy consumption in the last quarter, which in average annual terms translates into a drop of over 3 per cent, slightly lower than the European average which registers a -4 per cent».
The question drops
«As in the rest of the Eurozone, the collapse in energy consumption in the last quarter was caused by a contraction in demand and adaptation actions in industry (production of intermediate goods -6%), an exceptionally mild climate at the beginning of the 2022-2023 season heating and consumption containment measures – underlines Francesco Gracceva, the ENEA researcher who coordinates the Analysis – . From August 2022 to February 2023, the reference period of the National Containment Plan, gas consumption was 19 percent lower and electricity consumption was 4 percent lower than the average of the last five years.
Prices
The data relating to prices and increases compared to the previous year is significant. Specifically, in 2022 the average price of electricity, compared to 2021, grew by over 100%, while that of gas increased by 57%. «The price crisis has not been accompanied by a crisis in the physical availability of resources, thanks to the record imports of liquefied natural gas into Europe and the drop in consumption, as well as the mild climate at the end of 2022 – continues the researcher -. Starting from the last few months of the year, all of this has led to a marked reduction in gas prices, following on from those of electricity, but the equilibrium of the gas market remains fragile. Beyond the short term, high prices remain a serious threat to the competitiveness of European industry, just think how in the two main manufacturing countries of the European Union, Germany and Italy, the industrial production of the most energy-intensive goods was strongly negative in 2022″.
The emissions
In terms of primary sources, the drop in consumption is the result of a lower use of gas which registers -10 per cent and renewable sources -12 per cent, even in the face of a greater use of oil which grows by +5 .5 percent and coal by +29 percent. And, despite the reduction in energy consumption, it is precisely the increased use of coal and fuel oil in thermoelectric power, with a percentage of plus 60 per cent, which (offsetting the strong contraction of natural gas), determined, according to experts, an increase in CO2 emissions. As regards the Ispred energy transition index (the index which evaluates the three crucial dimensions for an energy transition: decarbonisation, security of supply and energy price), the 54 per cent drop «is due in particular to the “prices” and “decarbonization” components. Positive signals emerge on the low-carbon technologies front, in particular for electric mobility: the most updated data on patents for accumulators and recharging systems show for Italy a slight recovery of the accumulated disadvantage compared to the most important European countries, with a improvement also in the commercial exchange of electric vehicles.