Utility bill hike: an extra 1 billion for shops, restaurants and hotels

Renewables, at 50 per cent, remain below the levels seen in Spain (56.9 per cent) and Germany (56.3 per cent). Given this dependence, any strain on gas supplies is passed on to the price of electricity to a greater extent than in competitor countries; a further burden is the component of charges and taxes, which rose by 33.9 per cent in Italia between 2021 and 2025 whilst falling in Spain and Germany.

These figures must, of course, be viewed in the context of developments over recent months and, indeed, over recent years as well. This is because, in addition to the ongoing crisis in the Middle East – which is keeping Brent crude prices close to $100 a barrel – the halt to Russian gas supplies is also having an impact on the energy market.

On the TTF, the price is currently 161.2 per cent higher than in September 2025, whilst oil is up 55.7 per cent since the start of the year and 62.6 per cent over the past twelve months. It is against this backdrop that Confcommercio’s Research Department outlines the most unfavourable scenario for 2027: with Brent crude consistently above $140, inflation would rise by 0.7 percentage points, household consumption would fall by half a percentage point – a reduction of 250 euros per household, totalling 6.5 billion – and the country’s growth would return to ‘zero point’, with GDP falling by three tenths. ‘“The worsening international situation and the continuous rise in energy costs are causing serious difficulties for businesses and eroding household confidence,” commented Confcommercio’s president, Carlo Sangalli, calling for measures to ensure that the increases are not passed on in full to energy bills.”

Sangalli sets out a number of priorities: tax incentives for energy efficiency, new measures regarding system charges, accelerating the roll-out of renewables and sustainable nuclear power, upgrading grids and storage systems, reforming the electricity price-setting mechanism, and promoting the uptake of aggregated energy purchase agreements amongst businesses.

According to Confcommercio’s Research Department, the risk is that high energy prices will compound an already fragile macroeconomic picture: GDP growth has slowed quarter-on-quarter throughout 2026 and, whilst household confidence has held up in the short term, it remains below the levels of a year ago. Against this backdrop, the rise in compulsory expenditure – including energy costs – risks further eroding the propensity to consume, precisely at a time when decisions are being made on the measures to be included in the next budget.