(Tiper Stock Exchange) – Electricity bill for the standard family under guardianship substantially unchanged (+0.4%) in third quarter of 2023. This is what we read in a note published by Arera. For the next quarter confirmed the strengthening of electricity and gas social bonuses up to 15,000 euros for families with an ISEE level (30,000 euros for large families), as envisaged by the Government in the decree approved at the meeting of the Council of Ministers on 27 June. Intervention that joins those relating to gas, with the confirmation of the zeroing of general charges and the VAT reduction to 5%, as well as for heat and district heating management.
The prices of raw material seem to have relatively stabilized in the first half of 2023, after the strong growth recorded in 2022. The performance of energy markets saw wholesale gas prices drop sharply in the current quarter, thanks to an abundant supply compared to demand, which made it possible to reach a level of European storages of over 70% of capacity. The Descent of the prices however, it stopped in the month of June, also due to some critical issues due to the unavailability of some Norwegian production infrastructures. For the quarter summeryalthough there are no particular tensions in the European market, the increase in temperatures and the consequent increase in demand could lead to a rise in prices, especially if the demand for LNG from the two main Asian importers (China and Japan) should show signs of a strong recovery .
In this context, in the second quarter of 2023, despite a sustained CO2 price, also the wholesale electricity prices (PUN) have moved downwards: recording, based on preliminary data, a drop of around 27% compared to the first quarter of 2023. Current forecasts indicate substantial price stability for the third quarter of 2023. “We are in a very delicate phase and very difficult to ‘read’, in view of next winter. The recent increase in some indicators tells us of a market that has not yet found its normality. – says the president of ARERA, Stephen Besseghini – Energy saving and efficiency solutions remain fundamental which, as consumers, we can adopt to influence demand and therefore prices”.
On the basis of the calculation method introduced last July by the ARERA (resolution 374/2022/R/gas) the price of gas for customers still under protection, for gas consumed in the month of June, will be published on 4 July 2023 (second working day, after the end of the reference month).
There price dynamics wholesale in the last year and their continued high levels are still reflected in the overall expenditure on the electricity bill. In terms of effects finals there spending for the typical family in the rolling year (between 1 October 2022 and 30 September 2023) it will be approximately €1,150, +7.3% compared to the equivalent 12 months of the previous year (1 October 2021- 30 September 2022). Therefore, the support provided by the energy social bonuses in support of families is still relevant. These are paid directly in the bill to all eligible families, provided they have an ISEE valid during 2023 and within the threshold of 15,000 euros (30,000 euros for large families with at least 4 dependent children). In this regard, it is recalled that theISEE has a validity coinciding with the calendar year and it is therefore important to resubmit the Single Substitute Declaration (DSU) to obtain the certification for 2023.
In the detail of the individual components in the bill, for electricity the change of +0.4% in the final price of the typical family, which is thus 23.85 euro cents per kWh, is substantially linked to the slight increase in the PE component covering of electricity purchase costs (+1.7%), to which is added a slight increase in component PD covering dispatching prices (+0.7%), with a reduction in the PPE component for the equalization fee (-1.3%) and a reduction in general system charges (-0.7%). The regulated network tariffs (Transportation, distribution and metering) remain unchanged.
“We can only be disappointed by the increase in tariffs which, albeit modest, comes at the worst time for Italians – declared the president of the Codacons, Carlo Rienzi – The 0.4% increase in bills is equivalent to a higher expenditure of +2.6 euros per year per family compared to current rates, but it must be borne in mind that in the warm months families make greater use of household appliances which consume a lot electricity. The impact of Arera’s decision on the pockets of consumers who still fall within the protected market will therefore be decidedly higher”.
“A delusion. Given the reduction in the price of the Pun recorded in the second quarter compared to the previous one and in the price of gas in the wholesale markets, we were hoping for a decrease. Instead there is an increase which, however minimal, is triggered right now when, due to the switching on of the air conditioners, there are peaks in electricity consumption. In short, bad news”, said Marco Vignola, head of the energy sector of theNational Consumer Union.
“If we compare the new tariffs that will take effect in July with those in force in the same quarter of 2021, families find themselves paying electricity bills that are 4.2% more expensive on average, with an increase in expenditure of around +26 euros per year to core – analyzed the president of Absolute usersFurio Truzzi – This is despite the fact that the PUN, i.e. the index that makes it possible to evaluate the price on the wholesale electricity market in Italy, returned in June 2023 to the same values as in June 2021, i.e. 0.084 €/kWh, and despite all the interventions to lighten bills adopted in the last two years by the Government, factors that should have led to a reduction in tariffs for the third quarter of 2023″.