Italy allocates €3 billion to help with energy costs

The Italian government has approved measures worth about €3 billion to help businesses and enterprises cope with high energy costs (electricity and gas) caused by the difficult geopolitical situation. This was reported by Energia Italia.

The amount is divided between €1.6 billion to support households and €1.4 billion for businesses.

In particular, the government has provided for a reduction in system payments for small and medium-sized enterprises, which will reduce bills by about 20%. In addition, it was decided that the state will abandon part of the VAT on energy, using the excess funds to contain tariffs. In addition, the government has also created a mechanism that will allow the use of an additional €3.5 billion from the social climate fund based on future price trends.

Measures also include the introduction of a transparency obligation for operators to make bills clearer and easier to understand for consumers.

Italian Minister of Economy Giancarlo Giorgetti clarified that the financing of these measures will not increase the state deficit. The funds will come from the Energy and Environmental Services Fund to avoid an increase in public debt.

In January of this year, the average monthly wholesale day-ahead electricity prices in the EU increased in most markets. In Italy, the price increased by 4.6% month-on-month to €141.36/MWh. In the first month of the year, the European market saw a rise in gas prices and a price rally in the carbon market.