What is the Electricity Supply Free Market?
The electricity market has been fully liberalised since 1 July 2007. Before 1 July 2007, domestic customers had to contact their local distribution company for a supply contract, commercial services or any other matter concerning electricity.
Liberalisation was introduced to Italy with the Bersani Decree (Legislative Decree no. 79 of 16 March 1999).
The decree implemented the indications of the earlier EU Directive no. 92 of 1996 on the creation of the Single Energy Market, initiating the process of liberalisation of the production, import, export, purchase and sale of electricity.
What are the energy cost components?
The cost of supplying energy is made up of four components:
- one is set by the Authority for Electricity, Gas and the Water System to cover energy transport and distribution services (network services) and so-called general system costs to cover the charges introduced by various laws and ministerial decrees (the most relevant of which are Legislative Decree no. 79/99, the Decree by Minister of Industry of 26 January 2000, and Laws no. 83/03 and 368/03);
- another is the cost of marketing, established by Enel Energia to cover the costs incurred by the sales company to supply its customers;
- a third component is the cost of supplying the energy, which is set by Enel Energia to cover the cost of acquiring the electricity;
- the final component consists of taxes: VAT and excise duty.
Power Social Bonus
The Power Social Bonus is a billing reduction to assist families in financial difficulties. It was introduced in December 2009 and provides savings on annual amounts spent on electricity.
Fuel Mix
The energy mix is the range of primary sources used to produce electricity.
A primary source is one found in nature and therefore not derived from the processing of any other form of energy.
In accordance with the decree of the Ministry of Economic Development of 31 July 2009, Enel Energia provides information regarding the composition:
- of the average national mix used to produce the electricity fed into the Italian national grid in 2018 and 2019, as published by the GSE (Energy Services Manager) on 23 October 2020;
- of the energy mix used to produce the electricity sold by Enel Energia in 2018 and 2019, as determined by the GSE (Energy Services Manager).
How the energy supply for Free Market works
Since the energy market has been liberalized, all end customers can choose their supplier. The local distribution company is left with the management of the energy distribution service under concession and according to the rules and tariffs set by the Regulatory Authority for Energy, Networks and the Environment (ARERA). The liberalization of the electricity market has allowed suppliers to offer a new range of products and services to better satisfy their customers.
Choose the offers designed for you by Enel Energia.
Read more about the Free Market.
