Gas bills, 12.5 % increase in six months on the free market: here are the reasons
The Italian association of utility managers, Assium, has produced a report analysing the offers active as of November in Italian cities and published on the portal managed by Arera and Acquirente Unico: 190 euros more per year for those activating variable-piece supply today
2' min read
Key points
2' min read
Offers for the supply of electricity and gas on the free market are registering strong upward alignments, to the point that to activate a variable-price gas contract today one spends an average of 12.5% more in major cities than only six months ago. This is what the Italian association of Utility Managers, Assium, has highlighted in a report analysing the offers active since November in Italian cities and published on the portal managed by Arera and Acquirente Unico.
Gas
If we consider only the best offer available today on the free market for a typical family with an average consumption of 1,400 cubic metres per year, the average bill for a fixed price contract ranges from a minimum of 1,618 euro per year in Milan, Trento and Trieste to 1.825 euro in Rome - explains Assium - Compared to the best offer available in May 2024 for the same type of supply, the average increase in the cities monitored is +6.17%: in Naples the lowest increase (+4.49%), in Milan, Trento and Trieste the highest (+6.6%). Translated into jargon, the higher expenditure for this type of contract averages +100 euros per year per user.
It is worse for those who choose a variable price contract: the best offer available today on the free market is on average 12.5% higher than six months ago, with a range that goes from +11.3% in Palermo to +13.5% in Trento, for an average bill in the main Italian cities of €1,697 per year compared to €1,508 last May, and a price increase of almost €190 per year for those who activate a variable price supply today.
Electrical Energy
.On the deregulated electricity market, on the other hand, there is a concentration of offers that are homogeneous throughout the territory - analyses Assium - The best offer available today on the Arera portal is in fact the same in all cities and provides identical conditions throughout the territory: considering a family with 3 kW of power and a consumption of 2,700 kWh per year, the average bill is equal to 735.08 euros if you opt for the fixed price, slightly less for the variable price, 732.51 euros. Compared to six months ago, the electricity bill for those who now activate a supply on the free market, taking advantage of the best proposal of the Arera portal, is higher by 8.43% for the fixed price, with an increase in expenditure of about 57 euros per year per user, and 7.5% for the variable price (+51 euros per year). Compared to the protected market where vulnerable customers remained, on the other hand, the higher expenditure with these offers is around 100 euros per year per user.
"As is to be expected in view of winter and the greater demand for energy by households during the cold months, commercial offers are registering significant increases in the tariffs proposed to the public as a result of price increases on the markets,' explains Assium president Federico Bevilacqua. 'The consequence is that those who now switch to the free market or decide to change supplier are faced with less favourable economic conditions and will have to put their hands in their pockets.
