Ipsos, 16% of Italians fear they cannot pay their energy bills

Attention to energy consumption remains an important issue for Italians: 40% of households look carefully at bill-saving strategies, even though only one Italian in five (22%) claims to have implemented efficiency-driven consumption. 16% of Italians are concerned about the fear of not being able to pay their electricity and gas bills, a percentage that is decreasing compared to 2022: if two years ago it was in fact one family out of two that had a "very real concern", today it is less than one family out of three. The data emerges from the survey conducted by Ipsos in collaboration with Banco dell'Energia, presented during the sixth plenary of the signatories of the Manifesto "Together to fight energy poverty", an initiative launched in 2021 by the Banco dell'Energia Foundation.

"The difficult situation is behind us, but the worry of 2022 has left some dross," commented Nando Pagnoncelli, president of Ipsos Italia, explaining the results of the survey. In October 2024, 76% of Italians still say they are worried (29% very, 47% fairly) about the impact of increases in the cost of energy and gas on their household budget, compared to 80% in October 2023 and 86% in October 2024. The perception of current and future bill increases is reduced, but the estimated cost increase is around 20 per cent.

According to Nando Pagnoncelli, 'the phenomenon of energy poverty remains a critical issue with which Italians are, however, unfamiliar. It is certainly important to intensify educational efforts to increase awareness of these issues among citizens, making them fully aware of the real extent of the problem and how they individually can contribute to making choices that are consistent with personal and collective goals'.

From this perspective, RECs, Renewable Energy Communities, "could represent a valid and potential solution to address this problem as well," stressed Pagnoncelli. Italians' openness to RECs, in fact, remains high (57%), a propensity fuelled mainly by the prospect of economic savings, and the possibility of preventing and combating energy poverty, although according to Italians a brake on their diffusion is represented by initial economic obstacles and administrative complexities, to which is added limited familiarity with the topic (12% in 2024 vs 9% in 2023).