The bills for the last three months of the year are set to be more costly than previous months in 2023, according to the latest predictions from Italian energy tariff regulator ARERA.
Speaking at the Italia Energy Summit in September, Arera president Stefano Besseghini said the quarterly update for the last three months of the year would "record an increase", but that energy prices would nevertheless be a lot lower than they were this time last year.
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“There will be some shocks,” Besseghini said. “It won’t be like last year, but inevitably those fluctuations that we see on the market will be reversed in the next quarter, so there will be an increase.”
He added it would be difficult to return back to the rates seen in 2019 as shifts in the energy market are significant and unpredictable.
Davide Tabarelli, President of the research company Nomisma, predicted a five percent increase in gas bills and a further increase in electricity bills for customers in the protected market.
"For electricity we are moving towards 27 euro cents per kWh, which is still less than half of a year ago," he said.
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This is a substantial 57 percent decrease compared to the 66.01 cents per kilowatt-hour in the final quarter of 2022
As it stands, Arera estimates the current increase in electricity costs at 18.6 percent, with electricity expenditure for a typical family expected to be approximately 889.60 euros for the year.
At the beginning of the year, the Italian government raised the threshold for claiming its means-tested energy benefit or 'bonus' from an ISEE of 9,500 to 15,000 euros for economically disadvantaged households.
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