(Finance) – Un search engine on the ARERA website to quickly and easily find, by entering the name of the Municipality, the supplier to whom request the return to Greater Protection for electricity. The need – explains ARERA – arises from the fact that from 1 July domestic customers who will still be served under Greater Protection will automatically move into the Gradual Protection Service and vulnerable domestic customers will continue to be served under Greater Protection even after this deadline. Customers who are in the free market may therefore wish to return to the Greater Protection service.
THE domestic electricity customers who are in the free market, in fact, they have the right to return to the Greater Protection service until 30 June 2024, by contacting the operator of the service in the Municipality where the supply is located. To help customers who do not know the name of the operator of the Greater Protection service in the area where they wish to change the supplier, ARERA has created a search engine which in just a few clicks allows you to find the supplier and the link to the pages that contain instructions for returning from the free market to the protected market.
“Well, excellent news. Considering that, according to Arera’s estimates, in 2024 the free market will cost 15.15% more than the enhanced protection service, equal to a cost of 135 euros, it is good that the procedure for returning in protection is simplified and facilitated – he comments Marco Vignola, vice president of the National Consumers Union –. Unfortunately, many consumers make the mistake of contacting their seller on the free market and often the answers they receive are not only wrong, but incorrect, i.e. that the protected market is over and it is no longer possible to return to it, which is clearly false. Instead, for electricity they must contact the operator who carries out the enhanced protection service in their municipality. Now this search is made easier. We would also like to remind you that returning to protection by 30 June 2024 is the only way to ensure the activation of the Gradual Protection Service which allows for a very advantageous fixed annual discount, equal, at the time of the auction, to 131.40 euros per year compared to the protected market”.
The search engine on the Arera website was insufficient for Assoutenti to easily find the supplier to request the return to Greater Protection for electricity. “It is fine to provide information and tools to users, but we believe it is absurd that customers of the free energy market cannot move directly to the Gradual Protection Service, but must necessarily return to the protected market – explains the honorary president and energy expert of Assoutenti, Furio Truzzi –. On the subject of energy bills, we have already asked Arera for three fundamental things: correct information on the nature of the contracts because, despite the offers portal made available by Arera, out of over 2 million choices made in 2023 only 15% of consumers choose a more advantageous contract, while 85% have faced the same or worse rates, also thanks to wild calls from call centers. Secondly, real protection of vulnerable customers who will remain in the enhanced protection market even after July 1st, paying a higher rate than other users who will mandatorily switch to the gradual protection service on that date. The third request is the sharing of a legislative proposal to be presented to the competent parliamentary commissions and to the Government to remedy the distortions created between the free market and the Gradual Service following the auctions”.
Codacons – commenting on the search engine and the instructions published by Arera to facilitate the return of consumers to the greater protection regime – said it was ready to assist users who will be denied or hindered in their right to return to the protected energy market by June 30th, and makes it known that it will report the incorrect behavior of the operators to the competent authorities.
“In view of the advent of the Gradual Protection Service we invite users to pay the utmost attention, and to contact Codacons to report anomalies or problems in the return from the free market to the protected one – explains the president of Codacons Carlo Rienzi – We will monitor the correct operation of energy companies, and suppliers who adopt behaviors that are harmful to consumer rights or hinder the exercise of users’ rights will be reported to the Antitrust and the Public Prosecutor’s Office. We invite consumers from now on to report disservices and problems related to the return to greater protection to Codacons”.