Consumption: from electricity to petrol, here is how much a family spends per year

The electricity bill for resident households with consumption between 1,500 and 5,000 kilowatt hours varies, in terms of expenditure, fairly linearly with consumption with a unit cost of between 32 and 36 euro cents per kilowatt hour. For non-resident users with low consumption (e.g. second homes) the unit cost exceeds 50 euro cents per kilowatt-hour. In terms of tariff components, the energy material quota came to weigh almost 70 per cent of the final energy price, system charges were only applied in three of the 2023 quarter due to the prolongation of the extraordinary regulatory interventions aimed at mitigating bill increases, while taxes, although decreasing, remained high due to VAT revenues.

For households that use natural gas for cooking, domestic hot water and heating through an autonomous system, the main factor affecting gas bills is clearly the geographical and climatic location, which strongly determines consumption for heating (assumed to be 1100 cubic metres in zone E, 700 cubic metres in Rome, 300 cubic metres in Palermo to which is added the part for cooking and domestic hot water assumed to be constant over the territory and equal to 300 cubic metres). Gas bills show a considerable expenditure differential over the national territory, partly calmed by lower unitary transport tariffs in the north of the country and fixed costs that have a greater impact on low-consumption users. Taxation in gas bills covers an important share of the final expenditure (in the order of 20% in 2022 and 2023 due to the reduction of VAT revenue to 5% compared to 10% and 22% depending on the consumption bracket in previous years) that is not homogeneous on the national territory (due to the different regional surtaxes applied) and depends on consumption (excise duties and progressive surtaxes). In 2023, the final unit cost had a significant reduction compared to the year before, the expenditure on energy reduced by 40%. In addition, through a series of regulatory provisions aimed at mitigating final bill costs, system charges were made negative and VAT rates reduced.

Expenditure on fuel in private household transport depends on the mileage (km/year), the type of vehicle and its power and fuel supply, which affects specific consumption levels and the prices charged for refuelling. Using the average consumption of the circulating fleet by fuel type and the final consumer prices, annual refuelling expenditures were simulated and compared for a mileage in line with the average circulating fleet (11 thousand kilometres per yearo) in the period 2016-22. Comparing the refuelling expenditure of 2023 with that of 2022, a significant reduction in the expenditure for refuelling from natural gas and electricity from domestic recharging emerges due to the reduction in raw material prices, while refuelling from public recharging with the reinstatement of the charges cancelled on a transitional basis until the first quarter of 2023 (particularly relevant for this type of user) had a more moderate reduction. With regard to petroleum products, petrol-fuelled vehicles increased slightly, while LPG and diesel cars decreased slightly.

The unit costs of the different fuelling types range in 2023 from 5.1 euro cents per kilometre for LPG to 12.7 euro cents/km for petrol vehicles. Decisive is the tax and parafiscal component applied heterogeneously on the different energy carriers, without which, for example, even LPG would have costs comparable to other cars with traditional fuels. For electric cars, it is necessary to point out a considerable variability of recharging costs (even greater than 100 per cent) on the basis of home recharging or from a public recharging station, which in turn can differ even further on the basis of the supplier, the type of recharging (low/quick/fast) and the type of subscription (flat/ consumption).