Yes to contract renewals for electricity and gas, even if they include quadrupled rates. After four months of uncertainty and legal battles, the government intervenes to clarify the law against high bills. Approved by the Draghi executive with the Aiuti bis decree, the law provides that until March 2023 operators cannot adjust upwards contracts still in progress: the so-called “unilateral changes to the contract”, the ban on which is extended until June 2023 .
But the wave of price increases nonetheless arrived for all customers who had expiring contracts: in the free market most agreements last 12 or 24 months and at the time of renewal the managers offer much more expensive rates, because in the meantime the market has changed. Many consumers reported their stories to the Antitrust, which made a breakthrough at the end of October: with an emergency measure, the authority in fact ordered Iren (which immediately appealed to the Tar), Iberdrola, E-On and Dolomiti to extend all expiring contracts until April 2023. According to the Antitrust, in fact, even renewals “are fully covered by the prohibition” of the decree. In December, another hailstorm of identical measures had also affected Enel, Eni, Hera, A2A, Edison, Acea and Engie, i.e. 80% of Italian customers.
Bills, assistance to utilities from the State Council: possible increases on the way
But just when this story seemed to be turning for the worse for the energy companies, the pronouncement of the Council of State on the Iren affair arrived. Palazzo Spada has in fact agreed with the manager, suspending the decision of Antitrust which prohibited contract renewals and paving the way for all other companies in the sector. At this point, chaos ensued, with Iren’s customers now resigned to the increases while all the others with their renewals blocked, at least until the TAR or the State Council hadn’t given the green light to those too.
A situation so unsustainable that the two main contenders: energy companies and consumer associations, have agreed to ask the government to clarify this rule once and for all. Article 11 of the Milleproroghe, not yet converted into law at the time of writing, contains an amendment to the Aiuti bis decree: the prohibition “does not apply to contractual clauses which allow the electricity and natural gas supplier company to update the contractual economic conditions upon expiry of the same, in compliance with the terms of notice contractually envisaged and without prejudice to the right of withdrawal of the counterparty”. Therefore, if the renewal is announced three months in advance as required by sector regulations, it can be applied. However, one question remains: as it is written, the new law applies to contracts that expire from January onwards. What happens to all customers who had already received a renewal proposal, which was then blocked by the Antitrust? Unless the government makes the rule retroactive, these contracts will remain in a gray area.
Bills, the Council of State denies Antitrust: what changes now for consumers
by Federico Ant
It is clear that it is a standard appreciated by operators. This is confirmed by the fact that the analysts of the Milanese Sim Equityin their commentary on the main events in the financial markets, recorded the fact as “positive news for all the retailers who reviewed their expiring energy supply contracts during the second half of the year”.