Hydroelectricity, sale of 15% of production to energy users: agreement in Lombardy

The sale of 15% of hydroelectric production at a subsidised price to energy-intensive companies located in the regions where the plants are located. This is the solution that emerged from yesterday's meeting of the energy round table held at Palazzo Lombardia, attended by the region's president Attilio Fontana, regional councillors Massimo Sertori (in charge of mountains, energy resources and use of water resources) and Guido Guidesi (economic development), with the president of Federacciai Antonio Gozzi, the president of Confindustria Lombardia Giuseppe Pasini and the CEOs of Edison Nicola Monti and A2A Renato Mazzoncini, the main hydroelectric power producers with concessions that have already expired in Lombardy.

Set up in July, the round table worked to find a solution shared by the various actors on the issue of renewing hydroelectric concessions through a regulatory proposal that envisages, as part of the so-called fourth way of reallocation, the sale of part of the energy produced at a reduced price to energy users: the so-called Hydro Release.

"The Lombardy Region is the first region for industrial production and hydroelectric production; this agreement will be a strong support for sectors that contribute substantially to the country's GDP," reads a note released yesterday, which indicates that during the meeting, leaked rumours were also discussed in relation to a government measure on energy, the so-called Bollette (energy bills) decree, "which could contain highly critical elements

"If these rumours are confirmed, such a measure could strongly damage both energy-intensive companies and electricity producers, and thus preclude the application of the agreement," reads the note, which continues: "The Lombardy Region, hydroelectric producers, and energy-intensive industries started from very different positions, but managed to find a concrete and effective solution to a complex problem, using the method of confrontation, and arriving at a proposal that is useful to families, workers, and companies. This experience therefore represents a hope for the opening of a discussion table at the national level on all the measures currently being considered in the energy field'.

The President of Confindustria Lombardy, Giuseppe Pasini, commented: 'With the proposed agreement reached today in the Lombardy Region between energy-intensive industries and hydroelectric producers, Lombardy shows that it is possible to tackle the issue of energy needs and high energy prices in a virtuous way. Thanks to this agreement, Lombardy's energy-intensive production system would obtain a share of Lombardy's hydroelectric power production at reduced prices.