The run in the prices of methane practiced at the petrol stations ends up in the Antitrust radar. Assoutenti has, in fact, decided to submit a report to the Competition Authority to ascertain the speculations that have helped methane reach the record of 2 euros per kg at the pump.
“We know that today a full tank of methane costs motorists 100% more than at the beginning of the year, with pump prices going from less than 1 per kg to over 2 euros per kg in some areas of the country – explains the president. of the Furio Truzzi association -. The rush of the price lists, however, is not determined only by the increase in the price of raw materials on international markets, but also by the speculations affecting some areas of the country where the distributors of this fuel operate in conditions of monopoly or almost “. “In Italy there are in fact just over 1,500 pumps that deliver methane, but their distribution throughout the territory is by no means homogeneous: regions such as Emilia-Romagna, Sicily and Piedmont, despite having a similar population (from 4.3 to 4.8 million residents) have respectively 239, 52 and 98 methane distributors – analyzes Truzzi – Sardinia does not have any methane pump, in Valle d’Aosta there are only 1 active while Molise has just 5 “.
Precisely the lack of distributors in the territory means that in some areas of the country the operators operate under an oligopoly and in some cases of monopoly, and the absence of competition leads to speculations on final prices that harm consumers – assoutenti claims – All this while the registrations of methane cars increased which, in the period January-May 2021, increased by 27.5% compared to 2019, with the market share reaching 2.3% compared to the 1.5% of the first months of 2019. Assoutenti submits a report to the Antitrust, asking to open a lighthouse on the methane price lists in Italy and on the imbalances that characterize the Italian market and negatively affect consumers.