The passage for households to the free market in electricity and gas bills will take place in January 2024. By that date, therefore, domestic consumers and some micro-enterprises will have to migrate to the free market. If this does not happen, for those who have not identified a new supplier beyond the price protections, the assignment to the service with gradual protections will be triggered in order to guarantee the continuity of the electricity supply. Before that deadline, therefore, there is no obligation even if the number of particularly aggressive call center calls multiplying, inviting users to change, otherwise the service will be interrupted.
No stop of the supply in case of lack of choice
This is obviously an unfounded threat because, as mentioned, even if the consumer has not made any choice by that date, the gradual protection service will be activated. And domestic customers will have time to identify a new offer without suffering any interruption in the supply of electricity and gas. At any time, users can choose from the various offers available on the free market the one that best suits their needs by entering into a new supply contract.
The change of vendor can be activated at any time
The new seller will forward the request for termination of the old contract (withdrawal) to the previous seller. The withdrawal, or the choice of a supplier from the free market, can be exercised at any time, does not involve additional charges and takes place without interruption of the supply in progress.
The portal of the Authority to find your way around the offers
To make an informed choice, users have access to a series of tools developed by the Authority for Energy, Networks and the Environment, starting with the Offer Portal, which allows you to compare offers in a simple and reliable way. the supply of electricity and gas available in the locality where the user is located. For each of the available offers, the Portal calculates an estimate of the annual expenditure based on the consumption indicated by the user or estimated by the system based on the conditions of use and indicates the main characteristics of the offer.
Membership of buying groups
There is also another possibility if the consumer wants to obtain savings on their bills by changing supplier: joining a purchasing group aimed at domestic final customers and small businesses that undertakes to provide information and assistance to members according to the guidelines of the Authority. These groups were created with the aim of selecting one or more vendors for the supply of electricity and / or natural gas to the final customers gathered in the group. They are promoted by an “organizer” through campaigns that can be periodic or permanent, during which individual end customers can join the group. And, after selecting the most advantageous commercial offers, the buying group proposes them to its members who can enter into their own supply contract with the seller under the established conditions.