Energy system: 100 billion by 2035 to bring prices down
A portfolio of regulatory and authorisation measures to facilitate up to around €100 billion of private investment by 2035 and generate measurable impacts on prices, energy security and decarbonisation. This is the proposal set out in the study “Networks and infrastructure: the optimal mix of investments for the balanced development of the energy system”, presented today by Agici and Accenture at the annual workshop of their Utilities Observatory. Among the measures identified are: a fixed timetable for FER auctions; the completion of maps of suitable areas; the finalisation of the reform of transmission grid connection – to overcome virtual saturation, prioritise concrete projects and reduce authorisation times, which are currently among the longest in Europe; the unblocking of hydroelectric concessions due to expire by 2029, a plan that includes pumped-storage hydroelectricity as a storage system, and the management of data centres as energy assets. The Agici-Accenture study also outlines measures for gas – increasing regasification capacity and domestic production, and new gas pipelines – and cites nuclear power as a future direction, for which a regulatory framework should be established now, though with effects only after 2035. According to the study, all these energy policy measures could mobilise up to €100 billion cumulatively by 2035, of which around €60–65 billion would be allocated to renewables and grids.
And they could yield results: a potential reduction of up to 15 euros per MWh in the average electricity price by 2035; a reduction in energy dependence on foreign sources from the current 74 per cent to around 66 per cent; and an annual saving of 30 million tonnes of CO2. ‘Italia can tackle the energy trilemma with the tools it already has at its disposal. Utilities are investing, the technologies are in place, and private capital is available. What is lacking is not public money, but regulatory certainty and policy continuity. The initiatives we are presenting address price, security and sustainability simultaneously: their greatest value lies in preventing the system from being forced to choose between one objective and another every time a new emergency arises,” commented Pierfederico Pelotti, managing director and head of the Utilities Market at Accenture Italia.
The study shows that Italian utility companies already invest around 14 billion euros a year in the energy system, and the various Fer X and Macse schemes are tools that have proven to work. What is needed now is to ensure continuity and plan for harmonised development. Perhaps starting with the authorisation process, which takes an average of 4–7 years compared with 1–2 years in the main European countries, and accounts for 20–30 per cent of the total cost of the plant. ‘With the world having entered a phase of constant geopolitical tensions, utilities are taking on a central role in national security and the country’s competitiveness. The rapid construction of crucial infrastructure such as grids, renewables, reservoirs, storage facilities and plants for the recovery of critical raw materials now requires industrial and institutional capacity to rise to the challenge. In this complex context, action must be taken to address the bottlenecks that are still holding up the start of construction projects, starting with public-private partnerships and hydroelectric concessions: today more than ever, delays come at a cost that the country can no longer afford,” added Marco Carta, CEO of Agici.
