(Finance) – TheArera in updating the conditions of protection service vulnerability announced that for the month of March 2024, the reference price of gas for the typical domestic customer it is equal to 101.50 euro cents per cubic meter (+1.1% on February).
“The 1.1% increase in prices is equivalent to an increase in average spending of 12.5 euros per year per family compared to the February rates, with the average bill of vulnerable customers who, considering a consumption of 1,100 cubic meters per ‘year, stands at 1,116.5 euros per year – comments the president of AssoutientsFurio Truzzi – 2.5 million vulnerable families will suffer the increase, and on the free gas market the situation is even worse: here competition between operators is struggling to take off, and the average tariffs charged to customers are still significantly higher today compared to those of vulnerability”.
“Vulnerable gas users today pay bills that are 43.6% more expensive on average than three years ago”, commented the Codacons. “Beyond the new tariffs, it must however be considered that starting from April 1st, Italians will face new increases in electricity and gas bills, this time linked to adjustments to system charges and the end of extraordinary bonuses. The social bonus for electricity and gas has in fact returned to the ordinary regime, with the ISEE thresholds set at 9,530 euros and 20,000 euros for large families (with over three children) – added the Association -. From 1 April the incentives will then increase for renewables charged on the bill (“Asos” component) which rise by 17% to around 3 cents per kWh, while the charges to finance the electricity bonus, the safety of nuclear power, the tariff concessions for the railway sector and the support for system research (Arim) increase by 26% to 0.9 cents/kWh, with an overall impact on the bill of +105 euros per year per family”.
“Negative data, but expected. It reflects the rise in the price of gas in the wholesale markets. A speculation, given that, despite the fact that we have now reached the end of the thermal season, the stocks in Europe are still full. The regret is that the an increase of 12.50 euros on an annual basis, however low, could have turned into a saving of 127 euros if the system charges and the old VAT rates had not been remitted at the beginning of the year. Without these tax increases, in fact , gas would have collapsed by 14%” says Marco Vignola, vice president ofNational Consumers Union.
According to the study by the National Consumers Union, for the new typical user who consumes 1100 cubic meters of gas, +1.1% means spending 12.50 euros more every year. The total expenditure in the next twelve months (not, therefore, according to the rolling year, but from 1 March 2024 to 28 February 2025, in the hypothesis of constant prices), thus rises to 1117 euros, which added to the 546 of the light of the typical family, determine a total blow of 1663 euros.
(Photo: photoiron – stock.adobe.com)