Starting from January 1, 2021, the free market becomes official for all small businesses, which have a number of employees between 10 and 50 and a turnover of between 2 and 10 million euros per year, and micro-enterprises with less than 10 employees, a turnover of less than 2 million euros per year and a committed power greater than 15 kW. The gradual transition from the protected market to the free market will therefore take place, based on the gradual removal of price protection. What will happen to companies that have not chosen a free market tariff in time and independently?
The process will be characterized by two well-defined phases which will have the aim of supporting companies in the change. With regard to the liberalization of the energy market, Sostariffe.it has created a list of 10 questions and 10 answers to clarify the methods, timing and characteristics of this procedure which involves many Italian companies.
The first phase is the gradual protection service: one of the advantages of the free market consists in the fact that companies have the possibility to choose the supplier they prefer, based on the factors they consider most significant. If the small and micro enterprises that are obliged to change have not yet identified a new supplier in the free market, they will re-enter the gradual protection service (stg).
What does this mean in practice? Which will be served by the same supplier with which they have an active contract in greater protection until 30 June 2021, when the end of the first phase will occur. There will therefore be no interruption of the supply. However, the contractual conditions will be different as they will correspond to those of the so-called placet offers (free price with equivalent protection conditions), while the price will remain virtually unchanged, except for the item ‘energy expenditure’. In this regard, please note that the total price will always be determined by the cost of the raw material, the cost of transport and the meter and the system charges. On the bills of each individual customer there is a notice containing information relating to the gradual protection service, deadlines and channels for information.
The second phase begins from 1 July 2021: customers who have chosen a new operator on the free market will be able to stipulate a supply contract that will replace the previous one: the new seller will take care of the withdrawal (which does not provide for additional charges or interruption of the supply), by sending the request for termination of the previous contract to the old supplier. In the event that, instead, from 1 July 2021 there is still no active supply in the free market, there will be auctions on a territorial basis through which we will proceed with the assignment of a supplier, whose contractual conditions will be those of a placet offer. Each area will be served by a single operator.
The marketing and unbalancing costs will always be fixed by Arera before the auctions and there will be a single national price (pun), deriving from the hammer prices of the individual auctions. The various customers will receive a communication from the incoming supplier, or the one who won the auction, which will indicate the operator’s contacts, the conditions for providing the service as well as the activation date, those to withdraw from the contract and the information tools of Arera.
What are the main tools to get information: in order to accompany the end customer in overcoming the greater protection and promote a better understanding of the free market, the authority has made available a whole series of information tools, first of all the help desk for energy and environment consumer, thanks to which it will be possible to resolve any disputes related to a change of supplier. The consumer help desk is made up of a series of services, including the contact center, to which you can turn for any doubts relating to the functioning of the free market, and conciliation, smart, complaints and reports services. There are also the electricity and gas offers portal, the consumption portal and purchasing groups, created precisely to provide information and assistance to consumers.
How much do the electricity and gas offers on the free market cost: Sostariffe.it examined the average unit costs of the most common electricity and gas business offers, comparing the price per kWh for the light component and that per m3 in the case of gas. The single-hour fixed price electricity offers of the free market have an average cost of € 0.069 per kWh, while the variable price offers of € 0.061 per kWh. In the case of a multi-hour tariff, with bands F1, F2 and F3, the costs are respectively equal to 0.073 euros, 0.073 euros and 0.060 euros per kWh for fixed price offers, while they become 0.072 euros, 0.070 euros and 0.052 euros per kWh in the hypothesis of variable price. Gas offers have an average cost of 0.253 euros per m3 if the price is fixed, while in the case of a variable price the amount to be incurred is 0.239 euros per m3.
The advantages of the free market for businesses: the offers of the free market for businesses are very advantageous as they have the right to be able to decide independently on the best tariff solution, evaluating the numerous proposals on the market. Not choosing a new supplier on the free market means, in other words, giving up the possibility of saving. The switch can be made at any time, even after the end of the service to gradual protection and the automatic assignment of a supplier with the system of territorial auctions. The choice can be made directly online, through the comparison mechanism of the electricity and gas offers available at https://www.sostariffe.it/energia-elettrica-gas/.
In view of this new stage of the liberalization of the energy market, Massimo Bello, president of Aiget-Italian Association of Energy Wholesalers and Traders, declares: “The first phase of the path that will lead to the end of regulated tariffs is very important. In 2021 we begin with SMEs and all energy suppliers will be committed to ensuring that the procedure works in the interest of end customers. The mechanism devised of competitive auctions will certainly lead to affordable prices for customers. Just as the choice for customers is very valid. to move in advance and choose their preferred energy supplier “.
On the advantages available to end customers, Bello emphasizes: “Today there is the possibility of saving compared to protection by choosing the most convenient offers on the free market. There is also the possibility of obtaining a personalized service, for example a fixed price, certified renewable energy, digital services. This phase must be approached with confidence, competition is a source of development and innovation in many sectors and will prove to be so also in energy “.
With regard to the postponement of the end of the protected market for domestic customers and VAT numbers, the president of Aiget adds: “After having done the general rehearsals with the SMEs, it will then be necessary to proceed well in organizing the end of the regulated tariffs also for customers. domestic and VAT numbers. The continuous postponements only create confusion in users without obvious benefits “.