Increase in electricity and gas bills: what changes with the new government measures

The chairman of the board Mario Draghi announced new measures to limit the increase in gas and electricity bills. “In recent months, we have witnessed – said Draghi speaking in the Senate in view of the upcoming European Council – to a sharp rise in the cost of gas and electricity. These increases are mainly due to price movements on international markets. There energy demand on the part of households and businesses, it increased at European level and on Asian markets, and contributed to reducing stocks and available supplies. The government has undertaken to contain the rise in bills ”.

The premier recalled that last June the government had already intervened by allocating 1.2 billion euros in order to reduce system charges on the provision of services. Then, a few weeks ago, “we intervened further, with more than 3 billion, to calm prices in the last quarter of the year, especially for weaker groups of the population. These are immediate measures, which must necessarily be followed by other long-term measures to improve the security of supplies and prevent excessive price volatility ”.

But to avoid the increase in bills in the long term, emergency measures are not enough and Draghi pushes for the possibility of a European solution to the problem of supplying energy sources. “The Italian government – said the premier – has urged the Commission to quickly explore the shopping option e storage natural gas joint ventures on a voluntary basis with medium-term measures. This strategy can be useful to better resist shocks and develop industrial storage capacities ”. Beyond this solution, Draghi recalled that “our medium-term objective remains to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and substantially increase the use of renewable sources. We want to proceed with the environmental transition and meet the objectives of decarbonization that we have set for 2030 and 2050 ″.

In this context, however, Draghi reiterated, “the State must protect the weakest sections of the population from the costs of energy transformation and ensure that the timing of the transition is compatible with the adaptability of companies. Why the reconversion of our economic system to be successful, the support of everyone is needed: institutions, businesses, citizens. We must pursue an ambitious climate agenda and make sure that our choices are widely accepted and shared by the population ”.