(Tiper Stock Exchange) – ARERA has extended to 1 April 2023 the activation date of the Gradual protection service (STG) for micro-enterprises and for non-domestic customers (e.g. condominiums) who – starting from 1 January 2023, as required by the competition law – can no longer be supplied with the enhanced protection service.
Arera communicates it, specifying that “in the period between 1 January 2023 and 1 April 2023, micro-enterprises and non-domestic customers who have not yet chosen a seller on the free market, will still be served temporarily by their enhanced protection operator, under the same conditions, with continuity of supply”.
“The decision – reads a note – was made necessary by the deferment of more than two months of the dates for carrying out the insolvency proceedings which should have assigned the service at the beginning of October 2022. The Authority had already postponed the timing for the tender procedures due to the IT attack suffered by the GSE group at the end of August”.
“With the publication, by Acquirente Unico, of the Tender Rules updated with the new dates, three months are necessary from the publication of the related results for the transfer of customers to the new Gradual Protection operators. In the period between 1 January 2023 and 1 April 2023, micro-enterprises and non-domestic customers (e.g. condominiums) who have not yet chosen a seller on the free market will still be temporarily served by their enhanced protection operator, under the same active conditions, thus guaranteeing the continuity of the supply”. However it is forbidden “in this period, non-domestic customers to request a return to the enhanced protection service if they already have a contract under free market conditions”.
“The extension of the protected energy market for condominiums and micro-enterprises to April 2023 is insufficient” Thus in a note the Codacons. “In recent days we had raised the alarm for condominiums which, starting from January 2023, would have suffered the stop of the protected light market – explains the president Carlo Rienzi -. A change that would have caused chaos in the condominium sector, already “today in serious difficulty” in paying energy bills. The problem, however, is that the high bills will make their effects felt also in 2023 and, considering the astronomical tariffs in force on the free market (+329% on a annually in October), we believe Arera’s provision is insufficient”.
“Excellent news, but that’s not enough. After our complaint that the condominiums were inexplicably considered micro-enterprises, for them the date must be the same as that of the families, i.e. January 10, 2024 and not April 1, 2023”. This is the comment din the National Consumer Union.
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