This document discusses Italy's open electricity market and lessons that can be learned. It provides an overview of Italy's electricity market, including sources of production, typical costs per kWh, and the roles of the independent regulator and the protection market. While an open market aims to encourage investment and competition, reduce prices and improve transparency, consumers have remained less interested in switching due to unfair practices, limited economic benefits, and weak consumer protections. The document also describes bilateral alternative dispute resolution procedures that aim to rapidly resolve consumer claims against electricity providers.

1. HOUSEHOLD IN THE
OPEN ELECTRICITY MARKET
Lesson to learn from Italy
Challenges, opportunities and
risk for consumers
Riga, 14 Marzo 2014
Fondazione Consumo Sostenibile www.consumosostenibile.eu

2. OPEN ELECTRICITY MARKET
Electric market in Italy
Open market, protection market,
switching
Consumers and open market
What is the protection market
Cost /benefit of open market
Consumers interest
Fondazione Consumo Sostenibile www.consumosostenibile.eu

3. ELECTRIC MARKET IN ITALY
Open market: 10 years (2004)
Production:
-50% gas/oil
- 28% renewable
-12% import (nuclear)
 Cost 1Kwh: 20 cent/euro
-50% energy
-14% transport (grids)
- 14% tax
-20% contribution to renewable
Regulator: Indipendent Authority Electricity, gas and water.
Fondazione Consumo Sostenibile www.consumosostenibile.eu

4. PROTECTION MARKET &
OPEN MARKET
 Total customers: 37 million
-11,5 million open market (80% of consumption)
- 25,5 million protection market (20% of consumption)
Retail market (household 27 million)
-5 million of open market
- 22 million protection market
 Switching 300.000 monthly
-120.000 from protection to open
-30.000 back from open to protection
-150.000 inside the open market
Fondazione Consumo Sostenibile www.consumosostenibile.eu

5. WHAT IS THE PROTECTION MARKET
Acquirente Unico
It is a public company which buy electricity in the open
market
 In relation of the cost paid the Authority fix the tariffs
for the protection market
The price tariffs is very to mounts
It is a market price in competition with the open
market
N.B. Acquirente Unico has a rule of information and ADR
procedures
Fondazione Consumo Sostenibile www.consumosostenibile.eu

6. COST BENEFIT OF OPEN MARKET
Main goals from the open market
New investment in gas generation (positive)
 better quality/service (positive)
Indipendent Regulator (positive)
Open market has a free choice (positive)
Reduction of cost/ price (negative)
Trasparency and consumers realtion (negative)
N.B. Consumers on the open market are pain a bill +
12,5% on electricity and +6,5% on gas.
Fondazione Consumo Sostenibile www.consumosostenibile.eu

7. CONSUMERS ARE LESS INTEREST
TO OPEN MARKET
Too many claims
 Too many unfair practices
To small the economic benefit
 difficult/impossible to compare
tariffs
Too weak the protection by the
Regulator
Fondazione Consumo Sostenibile www.consumosostenibile.eu

8. BILATERAL & ALTERNATIVE
DISPUTE RESOLUTION
 It’s a rapid procedure to solve the claims
In every companies there is an adr
agreement
The ADR commission (1 from consumers
organisation, 1 from industries)
The negotation of the ADR solution
Written agrrement (positive or negative)
For every positive ADR procedures (70/100
euro to the consumers association)
Project by Ministry/Regulator (1,5 million
to support ADR procedure and consumers
information)
Fondazione Consumo Sostenibile www.consumosostenibile.eu