The Italian energy regulator Arera has increased electricity price by 55% and gas price by 42% for the first quarter of 2022, due to the rise in the prices of wholesale energy products and CO2 emissions permits. Without the intervention of the government, which cancelled general charges and reduced VAT rates on gas bills for 35 million domestic customers and enhanced social bonuses and the possibility of paying in instalments for families in difficulty, electricity prices would have increased by 65% and gas by 42%.
In 2021, spot price of natural gas at the TTF (the European reference market for natural gas) increased sixfold, from €21/MWh to €120/MWh in average values monthly; in the same period, the price of CO2 more than doubled, from €33/tCO2 to €79/tCO2. Italy, which has already set aside €2bn in its 2022 budget to help households overcome rising energy prices, doubled that amount to €4bn as energy cost pressures continue to drive consumer price inflation. In September 2021, the country unveiled a plan worth €4bn to curb increases in energy prices until the end of 2021 with a focus on the poorest and most vulnerable households.