Following Eni and Ip, Q8 has also accepted the government’s invitation to impose a price cap on fuel prices

On Monday 28 September, some petrol stations – from Naples to Florence and Rome – were reported to be sold out. Queues of cars and an initial fall in prices, even at national level, characterised the first day of the fuel price cap at Eni and Enilive petrol stations.

Meanwhile, taxi drivers and lorry drivers have said they are ready to take action against high fuel prices: Sicilian lorry drivers have already announced a five-day strike starting on 16 October. Petrol station operators are also in a state of unrest: whilst in favour of a price cap, they are concerned about the repercussions of Eni’s initiative; ‘part of the network will not be able to compete’, emphasised Bruno Bearzi, president of Figisc Confcommercio. Faib, Fegica and Figisc are also pressing for increased compensation and safeguards for petrol station operators. There are also concerns about possible fuel shortages. “There have been queues, but only in a few cases have petrol stations run out of stock. If there are to be logistical problems, we will see them in the coming days,” observed Bearzi.

If we limit the analysis to Eni and IP, the fuel discount could potentially cover around 8,500 outlets in Italia: in addition to the approximately 4,000 Eni/Enilive outlets, plus 4,500 IP outlets out of approximately 22,000, extending the progressive discount to a total network accounting for around 39 per cent of Italy’s approximately 22,000 petrol stations.

According to well-informed sources consulted by AdnKronos, all eyes are on the behaviour of other major operators. For example, Esso (already part of the IP Group controlled by the Azerbaijani company SOCAR), which will almost certainly proceed with a cut.

An average saving of 9.35 euros on a full tank of diesel and 8.45 euros on a full tank of petrol. This is the benefit of the fuel price cap introduced by Eni (a maximum limit of 2.19 euro per litre for diesel and 1.99 euro per litre for petrol), which, from today, will be felt in the pockets of motorists who choose to fill up at the ‘Six-Legged Dog’ petrol stations.

Adusbef has carried out the initial calculations, based on the average fuel prices reported by Mimit.

Across the standard retail network, Eni’s initiative will mean that a litre of petrol will cost 16.9 euro cents less than today’s list prices, equating to a saving of 8.45 euros per full tank, explains Adusbef.

For diesel, Eni’s fixed price will result in a saving of 18.7 euro cents per litre, equivalent to a saving of 9.35 euros per full tank.

When calculating the expenditure of a household with two cars, the savings could rise to as much as 17.80 euros a week – that is, approximately 80 euros a month – according to estimates by the Unimpresa Research Centre, which also extends its calculations to small businesses that use vans and light commercial vehicles: for them, the savings range from €12 to €37 per week per vehicle, excluding VAT, i.e. from €50 to €160 per month; for a fleet of ten vans, the benefit amounts to €245 per week and over €3,300 by the end of the year.

The savings will obviously be greater in those parts of Italia where average pump prices are higher than the national average, notes Adusbef: for example, in Bolzano, where diesel currently costs 2.428 euros per litre, the saving on a full tank of diesel will be almost 12 euros (11.9 euros to be precise), and 10.5 euros on a full tank of petrol.

Next come the Aosta Valley , which currently has an average diesel price of 2.404 euros per litre and where the average cost of a full tank will be 10.7 euros; and Friuli, with a saving of €10.5 (the average price of diesel is €2.4 per litre).

As for petrol, however, the biggest savings – apart from Bolzano – will be in Friuli Venezia Giulia and Calabria, averaging -9.6 euros per full tank.

The situation “remains very critical, however”, warns the Research Department of the CGIA in Mestre (Venice), whilst welcoming Eni’s price cut “with satisfaction”. Compared with 27 February, the day before the outbreak of the war between the US and Iran, the Venetian tradespeople note that “those who fill up at Eni petrol stations in the coming days will still pay 19.2 per cent more for petrol and 27.3 per cent more for diesel”.