Energy bill down 42%. Curb on gas spending

Underlying this is a mix of factors consisting of lower energy consumption induced by favourable weather conditions and the slowing macroeconomic environment, as well as falling prices. The result: Italy's energy bill, which quantifies the balance between expenditure on imported energy and revenues from exports, stood at around EUR 66.5 billion in 2023, a drop of EUR 47.8 billion from the year before. When driven by rising gas prices, the bar reached an all-time high of EUR 114.3 billion. This is a higher level than in the immediately preceding years (in 2021, due to Covid, expenditure fell to 23.4 billion) but not very dissimilar to the value of eleven years ago (64.9 billion). And 84% of the lower outlay on 2022 was due to the halving of costs for gas (-54% compared to 2022 for supplies from abroad) and electricity (-51% for imports from other countries). While, looking ahead to 2024, forecasts quantify at about 56 billion (10 billion less than 203) the expenditure to be incurred for the peninsula's energy supply.

This is the picture drawn yesterday by Gianni Murano, president of Unem (Union of Energy for Mobility), during the association's customary annual assembly, which took place in the presence of the ministers for the Environment, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, and for Enterprise, Adolfo Urso. "The decisive drop in the gas component, which fell from EUR 62 billion to EUR 28.3 billion, weighed on the contraction of the energy bill. The oil bill was also smaller, amounting to EUR 28.1 billion, some EUR 4.5 billion less than in 2022 due to the drop in oil prices. Whose trend, with consumption standing at 53.2 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe) in 2023, down 1.4 per cent on the year before, brought oil back to the top of Italy's energy sources after seven years of gas dominance, with its weight on the total rising to 37 per cent. As for gas, on the other hand, with consumption of 50.3 million Mtoe there was a drop of over 10 per cent as a result of the contraction of all end uses, especially civil (-9 per cent). Translated: 35% incidence on the overall mix and second source behind oil.

Murano explained that supporting oil consumption were, in particular, the contributions made by road and air transport products. "It is a trend confirmed in the first five months of 2024," he added, "with petrol, diesel, LPG and jet fuel exceeding the volumes of the same period last year by 756 thousand tonnes (+5.1%), and by 313 thousand tonnes (+2.1%) those of the pandemic period.

The data presented yesterday by Unem also indicate a growth in petrol consumption, which, in 2023, increased by more than 11% compared to 2019 (+830 thousand tonnes). "Evidence," clarified Unem's number one, "of a gradual recovery of private transport that is accompanied by a consolidated penetration of hybrid motorisation, mainly petrol, which today represents around 4% of the circulating fleet and 39% of the newly registered vehicles.

The annual assembly then offered the association's top management the opportunity to reiterate the recipe to be undertaken on the road to green transition. Which, to be carried out without any particular impact on the competitiveness of the system, requires, explained Environment Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, 'a realistic and concrete approach based on technological neutrality'. A direction also shared by President Murano, who insisted on the need for 'a plurality of solutions to achieve the crucial goal of net zero'.