Rome, 24 September 2024 - With the energy release, energy-intensive companies can now cut energy costs by up to one third of their annual consumption for the next three years and invest in renewable projects. A large participation of companies will be crucial to maximise the benefits of the measure.

The number of energy-intensive companies in Italy is about 3,800, of which 400 are large and 3,400 are small to medium-sized. They come from diverse sectors of the economy: from food, chemical-pharmaceutical, automotive, ICT, petrochemicals and refining to textiles, glass, ceramics, cement and wood, metal, rubber and plastic processing.

Confindustria today presented to the associations and companies of the confederal system the long-awaited Energy Release measure on the definition of which it has been working with the MASE and the GSE to provide companies with a multi-year clean energy supply mechanism at competitive prices.

Indeed, high energy costs are a significant barrier to industrial competitiveness and growth, especially for Europe's energy-intensive sectors, which have seen a reduction in production of 10-15% from 2021. In order to preserve industry's resilience in the long term, in addition to promoting investment in low-carbon technologies, energy prices that are comparable with those of Member States and non-EU countries are also and above all needed.

The Energy Release is aimed at promoting and accelerating investments in self-generation of renewable energy in energy-intensive sectors, taking into account the objectives of the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan - PNIEC. Specifically, the measure supports the energy transition of industrial sectors exposed to international competition and, therefore, at greater risk of delocalisation, by providing energy-intensive end customers with: a priority in the concession of public areas for the construction of plants in the event that the granting bodies receive several requests for the same areas; the right to request for 36 months (3 years) a 50% advance on the energy that will be generated as a result of their investments and the related Guarantees of Origin.

"Today, a worrying trend is taking place, according to which the differentials between Italy and other European electricity exchanges are widening: last month, the Italian electricity price was €128.44/MWh, 57% more than Germany, 41% more than Spain and 135% more than France," said the Delegate of the President of Confindustria for Energy, Aurelio ReginaHe went on to emphasise how this measure can ease the competitive pressure on companies if it is sufficiently participatory: 'Confindustria's work has focused on dialogue with the institutions in order to broaden the range of beneficiaries as much as possible, because we see the energy release as a first step in the reform of the electricity market. We are proceeding in the direction of decoupling the price of green energy from the price of fossil energy as also indicated by Draghi in his report on European Competitiveness'.

The conference was also attended by the Minister for the Environment and Energy Security Gilberto Pichetto Fratin and the GSE President Paolo Arrigoniin order to deepen all aspects of the measure and provide companies with the necessary support to participate in the call, while waiting for the operational rules that are currently being defined.

In testimony of industrial consumers Antonio Gozzi, Special Advisor for European Strategic Autonomy, Plan Mattei and Competitiveness - as well as President of Federacciai - who emphasised the importance of making it structural: 'This measure represents a major breakthrough in the battle that the manufacturing system has been fighting for years to close the price differential that undermines its profitability and ultimately its very existence. We are now asking the government for an effort to make it structural. Today we are mainly talking about photovoltaics, but we are already imagining how to extend the measure to other sources such as hydroelectric power, Italy's renewable par excellence. As De Gasperi said, our real oil'.

To ground the energy release measure and, in general, to achieve decarbonisation targets, it will be crucial to work on the permitting of green plants and the availability of areas where they can be installed. Rules such as Article 5 of the DL Agricoltura, also taken up in the DM Aree Idonee, will have to be reconsidered to allow the development of utility scale plants necessary for sustainable industrial transition.