Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, He announced that the Minister of Economy and Finance on Monday Giancarlo Giorgetti will bring to the Council of Ministers the decree on Dear bills. A decision that Giorgetti himself had announced in recent days: “In the coming weeks it will be necessary to adopt a measure in relation to the trend of energy prices,” he said.
Giorgetti stressed that the increase in rates is not determined by the executive, but by external factors and speculative dynamics, on which the government maintains attention high. In addition, it highlighted the need for a “reflection on what the transition to the free market of users of the electric market is meant”.
Government plans
The government is evaluating different measures to reduce the cost of energy, including the elimination or reduction of the price difference between the Italian wholesale market and that of Amsterdam.
Currently, electricity In Italy it is more expensive than many other EU countries, with an average of 143 €/MWH in January. The proposal is supported by Confindustria, who at the end of January had expressed strong concern about the weight of the bills on companies, but would like to limit their application to the production sector. However, critical issues related to European state aid regulations could arise.
Another hypothesis to study is the suspension of taxes on CO2 emissions For manufacturers from fossil sources, with the aim of reducing generation costs and, consequently, energy prices. There is also discussion of the clarification of the system charges, one of the main items of the bill, unrelated to consumption, or the reduction of VAT on the gas to 5%.
Step back on the free market?
In his intervention in the Senate on the dear-Bollop, Minister Giorgetti underlined the need for a “reflection on what the transition to the free market of users of the electric market is meant”.
Other exponents of the League, starting from the secretary Matteo Salvini, also expressed more or less marked criticisms on the end of the protected regime and the transition to the free energy market. A position that appears in contrast with the support of the party at the PNRR developed by the Draghi government, in which liberalization and competition include among the strategic objectives.
Consumer associations: “Well, but the cut of taxes is not enough”
“Well, we can only be happy that the government is repenting, even if with a year and 11 months late, since it has started to remove the discounts since April 2023. Better late than ever! – says Marco Vignola, vice -president of the National Consumer Union – Now, however, serious and concrete acts are needed since we are paying the gas 78.7% more Compared to pre-crisis times, that is, comparing the prices of the vulnerability protection service of January 2025 with those of January 2021 “.
“You have to restore the credits for businesses, to prevent inflation from returning to taking off, while for families you have to Lower VAT on the gasif not 5% as Draghi did, at least 10 percent. As for families in economically disadvantaged conditions, the ISEE thresholds introduced by dragons must be restored, that is, 15 thousand euros against the current 9,530 euros “concludes Vignola.
Codacons also waits to read the content of the decree on the dear-bralle, but “what is certain is that the cut of taxation, such as the restoration of VAT discounts on the gas, cannot represent the solution to the problem of energy rates, considering that Today between light and gas the expense stands at 2,237 euros per family “, specifies the association.
