(Finance) – It was presented today in Bari Southern report by Utilitalia and Svimez, which evaluates the economic and employment impacts of the utility sector (environmental, water and energy) in the regions of Southern Italy. This third editionFurthermore, it contains a detailed analysis of the impacts relating to investments financed by National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) in the South.
The PNRR effect for a decarbonized economy
Overall they are 6.7 billion euros of funds allocated to the regions of Southern Italy for a selected spectrum of lines of intervention concerning the water, environmental and energy sectors. A volume of investments capable of activating 10.8 billion euros of national production to which are added 3.3 billion euros of imports, for a total of 14.1 billion euros. In percentage terms, the share of production value “retained” in the South stands at approximately 45% of the national total. The activation of added value amounts, at a national level, to 4.4 billion euros, of which 46% in the South alone (2 billion euros, approximately 0.5% of the total GDP of the area). With reference to the employment impact, overall, the effect on the entire national territory is equal to 67,969 units, of which 49% are located in the Southern regions. In other words, for every million investments, 10 additional jobs are created, of which 5 in the South.
The challenges for utilities in the South and the proposals of Utilitalia and Svimez
Energy transition, circular economy and adaptation to climate change: these are the pillars on which the challenges and actions to relaunch the utility economy in Southern Italy are based. Southern Italy, moreover, has the greatest potential on a national scale for production from renewable sources (wind and solar). Among the proposals put forward: the adoption of a single text for authorizationsthe strengthening and qualification of PA structures, overcoming the issue of hydroelectric concessions, the redefinition of the methods of application of energy efficiency incentives and the planning of electricity networks resilient to new climate trends.
“Reducing the infrastructure gap in the South is essential to allow the country to achieve the objectives of the ecological transition and contributes to protecting the rights of citizens to benefit from a uniform quality service throughout the national territory and, at the same time, can trigger a positive dynamics of economic and social development. It is necessary to quickly make up for the delay accumulated in the southern regions with respect to the application of the national legislative and regulatory framework: as demonstrated by the positive experiences of the Centre-North and those of the industrial realities present in the South, interventions are needed that allow overcome economic management, to promote the structuring of an industrial service and to relaunch investments”, explains the president of Utilitalia, Filippo Brandolini.
Also for the general director of Svimez Luca Bianchi “the environmental energy supply chain already represents an important asset of the southern production system today. Looking at the new challenges of climate change and ecological transition, the southern utility sector can represent the privileged field for the implementation of policies that simultaneously impact the quality of the service for the citizen and on the prospects for sustainable growth in the area. However, it is necessary to increase public and private investments in the energy, waste and water sectors, aligning them with average European levels. The resources available for the next few years (PNRR and cohesion) represent an important opportunity to achieve this objective and cannot be wasted, but must be accompanied by interventions aimed at promoting industrial management of the sector”.
For the president of Acquedotto Pugliese (AQP) and vice-president of UtilitaliaDomenico Laforgia, “networking among managers is an important step to strengthen the system of public service companies according to an industrial logic. The Southern Commission of Utilitalia, which I coordinate, currently involves around 30 companies interested in establishing a network that acts as a real purchasing body. The current fragmentation is of no benefit to anyone. In small-scale management of water services, for example, investments are equal to around 8 euros per year per inhabitant compared to a national average of 56 euros. On the contrary I can give the virtuous example of AQP which is in full European average, with 80 euros invested per inhabitant in 2022. Soon we will be able to reach 100 euros, as per the objectives of the AQP Strategic Plan and in coherence with the Water Pact Utilitalia. Results that can only be achieved with industrial management on a larger scale and in collaboration with other territories, as Puglia already does today”.
“As a business system – he underlines Vito Grassi, vice-president of Confindustria and president of the Council of Regional Representatives and for Confindustria’s Territorial Cohesion Policies – we believe the time has come to act to move from a situation that the data portrays as an emergency to one of water efficiency. We are convinced that the representation system, if involved in a structured institutional path, can offer its contribution. A central role is played by investments, both public and private. It is essential to ground the interventions already planned, starting from those envisaged by the National Intervention Plan for the water sector, with a budget of around 2 billion, plus the 900 million envisaged by the PNRR. The PNRR also dedicates 3.95 billion to water resources. Beyond the resources, we believe that there are some guidelines on which to calibrate policy actions for the sector and which are the axes of intervention that we are examining in depth, also with Utilitalia. We need to achieve sustainable water service management from a triple perspective: social, economic and environmental”.
The critical issues: the infrastructural delay and governance problems
The South report once again underlines the historic critical issues that characterize the South regarding network services. In order to ensure rapid and effective industrial evolution and promote the full realization of investments in all relevant sectors, in fact, it is important to simplify the authorization procedures, as well as promoting industrial management that surpasses economic management in the water and environmental sectors. This would allow us to start an accelerated process of creating such infrastructures, thus helping to promote the development of the sector more efficiently. To overcome some of these critical issues, encouraging aggregation and partnership between industrial entities is a key strategy to maximize the advantages of economies of scale and share specialized knowledge. This approach can contribute to the success of industrial projects, guaranteeing planning capacity and the effective use of available funds, also through the promotion of business networks.