Utility bills, after record increases next quarter drop by 19.5%. Consumers estimate savings of 348 euros

For families with the electricity contract in greater protection there is good news. Arera, the Energy Authority which periodically communicates the conditions on the enhanced protection market, announced a 19.5% reduction in the price of electricity in the first quarter of 2023. wholesale of energy products and the implementation by Arera of the Government interventions contained in the Budget law, for the first quarter of 2023 the reference price of electricity for the type1 family under protection is reduced: -19.5%” this is what we read in the note released this evening (the typical family has an average consumption of electricity of 2,700 kWh per year and a committed power of 3 kW).

«With the level of European gas storages standing at the end of the year above 80% of available capacity and forward prices indicating less tense conditions for the balance of gas supply and demand in the first quarter of 2023 than expected at the beginning of October 2022 and at the prices formed in December, forward electricity prices have also moved downwards. Already in the fourth quarter of 2022, based on preliminary data, the single national electricity price (PUN) was down by around 48% compared to the very high levels of the third quarter of 2022 (246 €/MWh against 472 €/MWh quarterly average).

The Authority communicates that the change in the final price paid by electricity customers is also affected by the ordinary year-end updates of network tariffs which, especially due to the ongoing inflation dynamics, undergo a slight adjustment, but whose impact overall remains very limited (+0.3% on the typical user).

Based on the provisions of the “Budget law”, Arera also for the first quarter of 2023 intervened on the components of general system charges, zeroing them for the electricity sector for all domestic and non-domestic customers with available power up to 16 .5 kW, and for gas to the generality of users. In this context, it should be noted that the taxation of the so-called “nuclear charges” starting from 2023 assumes a definitive nature: they will be borne directly by the State Budget and will no longer be included in the bill. The application of the negative UG2 component was also confirmed to benefit gas consumption up to 5,000 sm3/year. Interventions that go hand in hand with the confirmation of the 5% VAT reduction on gas.

Boosted bonuses

Again as envisaged by the “Budget law”, the Authority also confirmed for the first quarter of 2023 the strengthening of the electricity and gas social bonuses which, for the sixth consecutive quarter, will allow families admitted to this protection instrument to support the own energy expenditure and significantly offset the increases recorded compared to the spending levels of mid-2021. Furthermore, as expected, the range of beneficiaries admitted to the social bonuses will be expanded, with the ISEE level necessary to use them rising by 2023 to 15,000 euros (from the previous 12,000, with a threshold still at 20,000 euros for large families). Bonus that will have a different intensity between the different ISEE brackets that ARERA will define in January. The bonuses are paid directly on the bill to all eligible families, provided they have an ISEE valid during 2023 and within the indicated threshold. In this regard, it should be remembered that, as known, the ISEE is valid for the calendar year and it is therefore important to resubmit the Single Substitute Declaration (DSU) at the beginning of the year in order to obtain the certification valid for 2023.

The gas price will be updated in January

Based on the new calculation method introduced last July by Arera (resolution 374/2022/R/gas) the price of gas for customers still in protection is updated at the end of each month and published on the second working day of the following month to that of reference, based on the average of effective prices on the Italian wholesale market. The value of the gas price that will be paid by customers for December consumption will therefore be published on the Authority’s website on 3 January 2023.

“As on other occasions, the percentage change, albeit marked, in the cost of electricity should not lead to hasty conclusions. The situation on the wholesale markets has certainly been affected by particular environmental conditions but also by an evolution and strengthening of the system’s reaction capacity to the persistence of the tragic war events that still characterize the international scenario” – says the president of Arera, Stefano Besseghini –” However, the markets are still characterized by marked volatility, seasonality will affect gas price variations and absolute values ​​are still extraordinarily high. Government interventions in support of consumers keep their value unchanged and in particular remind citizens , to consumer associations and CAFs, how important it is to request ISEE certification for 2023 to allow for the quickest identification of the electricity withdrawal point or the gas redelivery point and the consequent provision of the expected benefits”.

Effects on the electricity bill

According to Arera, the strong growth in wholesale prices in the last year and their maintenance at very high levels is reflected in the expenditure on the electricity bill. In terms of final effects, the expenditure for the typical family in rolling year 2 (between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023) will be around 1,374 euros, +67% compared to the equivalent 12 months of the previous year ( April 1, 2021- March 31, 2022).

Customers

For the National Consumer Union, «the drop is certainly positive but insufficient to compensate for the record increases of the previous quarters. The bills remain a shelter» affirms Marco Vignola, head of the energy sector of the consumers’ association. According to the study by the National Consumer Union, in fact, if for a typical family the -19.5% means spending 348 euros less on an annual basis, the total expenditure in 2023 (not, therefore, according to the rolling year, but from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2023, assuming constant prices) actually reaches the lunar figure of 1434 euros (112 euros more than the 1322 spent in 2022 according to Arera), which added to the 1714 for gas due to the update of a month ago, determine a total sting of 3148 euros.

Customers

Codacons is on the same wavelength: «With the new tariffs that will take effect in January, the average electricity bill drops to 1,434 euros per year per family, with savings of around 348 euros per household on an annual basis – analyzes Codacons – However the tariffs for the first quarter of 2023 are still 15.4% higher than the electricity prices in force in the first quarter of 2022, with the balance therefore remaining negative for Italian families”.