Sand in these last months of the year the Government will not plan a further extension, the The protected energy market will end on 10 January 2024, i.e. the one in which supplies take place at prices and contractual conditions established by ARERA, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, Networks and the Environment. So what will happen when we can move to the free energy market? Let’s go step by step.
The future of energy
At the moment electricity and gas users are divided between those who have already switched to free energy market and those, approximately 10 million domestic customers, who remained in the so-called “protected market”. The former took up one of the offers advertised by the various suppliers. The latter enjoy economic conditions defined by the Energy Authority which reflect the trend in wholesale electricity and gas prices. And they are precisely the latter who will have to decide whether to choose the free market or remain in the protected one. To put it this way, it all seems simple, but to make these assessments it will be necessary to disentangle various issues.
Free market and protected market: what Italians know
On the eve of the complete liberalization of domestic energy, Pulsee Luce e Gas, Axpo Italia’s digital brand, wanted to analyze the level of awareness of Italians on the topic. To then present a Communication Campaign that will start this week on the End of the Protected Market. The initiative is inspired by a research carried out for Pulsee by the NielsenIQ company, which involved a representative sample of the Italian population on the topic. The analysis highlights that it is still a rather high percentage of people declares herself unprepared regarding the difference between the Protected Market and the Free Marketas well as on the words that characterize the users.
One in four doesn’t know the difference
One Italian in four claims not to know the difference between the free and protected market at all. A figure that rises to 54.1% in the age group between 18 and 25 years, and which sees the over 65s among the best prepared at 14.6%. 44.6% of the sample declared themselves aware of the distinction, providing the web, TV, word of mouth between friends and newspapers as the main sources of information. Again from the analysis it emerges that the change also raises some concerns, at least for one Italian in three. So much so that a good portion, 45.8%, thinks of switching to a free market operator, before the end of the protected market.
Uncertainties and questions, who answers?
Pulsee’s objective after the initiative entitled “The Future of Energy” is to become a point of reference on the topic. fundamental consideration contribute his knowledge of the sector available to all users. From this perspective, it is particularly important to understand in a more in-depth and simple way what are the relevant components of our bill. Again, NielsenIQ research helps frame the current context on this specific topic.
The important words on the bill
In fact, Italians, in addition to the amount, declare that they pay particular attention to the summary of consumption on the bill, 55.7% of those interviewed and 49.8% based on the invoice data. But also the summary of taxable expenses and taxes 45.6%, the summary of meter readings 40.6% and the historical consumption of the last year 39.6%. The good news it is the degree of awareness of some expense components present in the bill. These include the cost of energy transportation, meter management and system charges. Among the words with which you are most familiarIndeed, the POD emerges, the “Point of Delivery”. While little is known about the difference between contractually committed and available power, the cost of dispatching and the PUN, which however are equally important elements.
on January 10, 2024 the protected energy market will end. But what does it mean? (Getty)
Energipedia, to better understand the end of the protected market
To answer these questions, Pulsee Luce e Gas has published on its website a short guide which he gave the name of Energipedia. Here it is clearly explained how to read a bill, and a simplified glossary of those terms that sometimes seem indecipherable but which characterize the energy market is provided. Energipedia joins a video tutorial that also explains the differences between the free and protected market and addresses some issues with which we are familiarizing ourselves and which could represent new opportunities for home energy from a sustainability and transition perspective: from CERs (Renewable Energy Communities) to AUCs (Collective Self-Consumption Groups).
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