• On bills, Arera: rebound in electricity + 15.6% and gas + 11.4%

Share

29 December 2020High prices of wholesale raw materials, returning to the levels of a year ago, in the first quarter of 2021 lead to an increase in energy bills for the typical household in protection of + 4.5% for electricity and + 5.3% for gas.



This latter figure is also linked to the usual seasonality with the relative winter growth in demand.

This was announced by Arera, the Regulatory Authority for energy, networks and the environment.



As regards the effects on consumers (before taxes), the typical family still benefits from an overall saving of around 146 euros per year. 



The increases are due to the high prices of wholesale raw materials, which returned to the levels of a year ago, in the first quarter of 2021 lead to an increase in energy bills for the typical family in protection of + 4.5% for the electricity and + 5.3% for gas.

This latter figure is also linked to the usual seasonality with the relative winter growth in demand.

As regards the effects on consumers (before taxes), the typical family still benefits from an overall saving of approximately 146 euros / year. 



In detail - observes the Arera - for electricity the expenditure for the typical family in the current year (between 1 April 2020 and 31 March 2021) will be around 488 euros, with a variation of -10 , 2% compared to the equivalent 12 months of the previous year (1 April 2019 - 31 March 2020), corresponding to a saving of approximately 55 euros / year. 



In the same period, the typical household's expenditure for the gas bill will be around 950 euros, with a variation of -8.8% compared to the equivalent 12 months of the previous year, corresponding to a saving of around 91 euros / year. 



Social bonuses


But for families in need, from 1 January 2021 there is an important novelty: the social bonuses for discounting the bill will be gradually recognized automatically to those who are entitled to them, without having to submit an application .

In fact, in the fourth quarter of 2020, based on preliminary data, the single national price of electricity increased by about 15% compared to the third quarter, returning in line with the average level of the corresponding quarter of 2019. 



"Overall , the price and volume anomalies linked to the covid emergency, allowed households to save during the year with a residual benefit that will also continue into the first quarter of 2021 ", says the president of Arera, Stefano Besseghini.

The prospects of recovery of the economy and the wish that the health situation evolves for the better, need now more than ever to focus on those interventions and investments that can contribute to the improvement of the Italian bill. "



The analysis of Coldiretti 


The increase in energy tariffs weighs on household accounts but also on business costs and makes production and marketing more expensive in a situation strongly conditioned by the Covid emergency. This is what Coldiretti says in commenting on the increases in electricity and gas. which will start from January 1st as established by the Regulatory Authority for Energy, Networks and Environment (Arera) with an increase for electricity of 4.5% and for gas of 5.3%. 



The increase in energy expenditure has a double negative effect because - underlines Coldiretti - it reduces the purchasing power of citizens and families, but also increases the costs of companies that are particularly significant for

agri-food with winter.

The cost of energy - continues Coldiretti - is in fact reflected in the entire supply chain and concerns both agricultural activities but also processing and distribution. 



The food consumption of Italians dropped by 12% in 2020 due to the collapse of the catering channel which is not offset by the slight increase in domestic spending, according to Coldiretti's analysis of Ismea data.

The spending on food by Italians has gone back ten years to the values ​​of 2010 and to weigh - concludes Coldiretti - is the crisis of catering where the increase in bills aggravates a situation of suffering due to forced closures, economic difficulties, smart working and the collapse of tourism.