“Despite new records of the rise in wholesale prices recorded after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the data on price trends, despite a context of great uncertainty, lead to a drop in protection prices for electricity and natural gas, the first after 6 quarters (7 if we consider gas). The second quarter of 2022 will see a reduction for the typical family with a protection contract of -10.2% for the electricity bill and -10% for the gas bill ». This is what Arera, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, Networks and the Environment, communicates in the quarterly update of energy prices.
Household expenses 948 euros per year for electricity, 1,652 gas
Arera records the first drop in prices in 18 months, but “the difference in spending is still marked compared to the previous rolling year”. As the Authority explains on the occasion of the quarterly update of energy prices, “in terms of final effects, for the electricity bill, the expenditure for the typical family in the rolling year (between 1 July 2021 and 30 June 2022) will be approximately 948 euros, + 83% compared to the equivalent 12 months of the previous year (1 July 2020 – 30 June 2021). In the same period, the typical family’s expenditure for the gas bill will be approximately 1,652 euros, with a variation of + 71% compared to the equivalent 12 months of the previous year ».
Besseghini: extraordinary measures for extraordinary situation
“In an objectively extraordinary situation, with an ongoing conflict and unprecedented volatility on the energy markets and in light of the greater responsibility for verification and control attributed to it, the Authority has decided to adopt extraordinary measures in favor of consumers, both for the protected one for the free market ”, explains Stefano Besseghini, president of Arera. The Authority has in fact modified a tariff component that allows compensation of gas marketing costs. A reduction measure, to the benefit of all customers, which applies to the consumption range up to 5 thousand cubic meters / year.
The effects of the government measures
The overall reduction of bills, both for electricity and gas, is also possible thanks to the constant institutional collaboration with the Government and Parliament. The Authority can in fact confirm the cancellation of the general system charges in the bill in the next quarter, thanks to the provisions of the decree-law n.17 / 22, with which the Government – as well as confirming the reduction in VAT on gas at 5 % for the quarter – allocated the additional resources necessary for the intervention, making it possible to lighten the bill for almost 30 million households and over 6 million businesses. With the same decree, the Government allocated the resources that allow the Authority to confirm the strengthening of the social bonus for the next quarter and for a greater number of families in difficulty, thanks to the raising of the Isee limit level for access (passed from 8,265 euros to 12,000 euros, 20,000 euros if families with more than 3 children). The beneficiary families, with the so-called Ukraine bis decree, thus became over 3 million for the electricity bonus and over 2 million for the gas bonus.