(Tiper Stock Exchange) – The gas bill for the standard family in protection for June consumption decreased slightly, which marks a –1.1% compared to May. This was reported by the Regulatory Authority for Energy, Networks and the Environment (Arera) explaining that the update it is determined entirely by the decrease in spending on natural gas.
The component of the gas price to cover procurement costs (CMEMm), applied to customers still in the protected market – reads the press release – is updated as the monthly average of the price on the Italian wholesale market (the PSV day ahead) and published within the first 2 working days of the month following the reference month.
The 2023 bill decree, for the second quarter, therefore again for June consumption, confirmed the reduction of VAT to 5% and the zeroing of general system costs, explains the Authority. For the month of June, which recorded a lower average wholesale price than in May, the price of the gas raw material alone is equal to 33.14 euros per MWh.
Gas expenditure for the typical household in the rolling year (July 2022-June 2023) is approximately 1,499 euros, gross of taxes, recording a -8.9% compared to the equivalent 12 months of the previous year (July 2021-June 2022). The typical family has average gas consumption of 1,400 cubic meters per year.
A decline which, however, does not satisfy the associations. “The drop in the price of gas is good, even if the reduction in tariffs will have a minimal effect on consumers’ pockets”. So the Codaconscomments on the update of the bills for the month of June communicated today by Arera.
With the new tariffs, the gas bill drops to share 1,265 euros per year per family, with a saving of around 14.5 euros per year per core compared to the prices in force in May – analyzes Codacons – However, it should be considered that 80% of gas consumption by Italians is concentrated in the winter months, a circumstance which minimizes the positive effects of the June drop on household spending.
“The real problem is represented by the gas prices that will be applied to users after the summer – underlines the president Carlo Rienzi – With the recovery of demand in the autumn period and the race for energy hoardings, there is the risk of a new surge in tariffs which would completely nullify the drop in bills in the last period and would lead to sharp increases just when the gas consumption is higher, with devastating effects on the pockets of Italians”.
“The reduction in gas tariffs ordered today by Arera does not satisfy us and, net of taxes, transport costs and other levies in the bill, the cost of the raw material is still too high”, he underlines Absolute users.
“The comparison with 2021, before the outbreak of the energy emergency, is impetuous – explains the president Furio Truzzi – If in June two years ago the expenditure on the bill for natural gas was 22.79 euro cents, equal to 31% of the total bill, today, with the new tariffs, we are at 39.96 euro cents (equal to 44.2% of the total bill), with an increase of +75% in two years. All this despite the fact that market prices do not register significant differences between June 2021, when the Ttf marked 0.312 €/Scm, and June 2023, with the PSV which stood at around 0.340 €/Scm”.
“The consequence is that Italians continue to pay gas bills that are unjustifiably too high, with the risk of having to suffer new substantial rate hikes due to market speculation” – concludes Truzzi.
The National Consumer Union speaks of “insufficient discount”. “Apart from the fact that by now the radiators are off and, therefore, any change would in any case have had no real effects for the pockets of the Italians, we hoped, precisely because the heating season is over and European stocks already account for over 70% of capacity, over 80% in Italy, in a more substantial decline” says Marco Vignola, head of the energy sector of the National Consumer Union.
According to the study of the National Consumer Unioni, if for a typical guardianship family -1.1% means spending just 15 euros less on an annual basis, 14.56 euros to be precise, the total expenditure in the next twelve months (not, therefore, according to the year sliding, but from 1 June 2023 to 31 May 2024, in the hypothesis of constant prices) remains high, equal to 1265 euros, which added to the 644 of the light, determine an overall sting equal to 1909 euros.
Furthermore, “if the price of gas now falls by 1.1%, compared to pre-crisis times, i.e. in comparison with June 2020, the increase is disproportionate: +40.1%. Compared to overall expenditure in 2020, equal at 975 euros, you are now paying a good 290 euros more, +29.8 percent”.