The price consumers in Italy pay for gas and electricity has risen for the past six consecutive quarters, leaving households and businesses facing record high energy bills.

With the price of gas soaring in March due to the impact of the war in Ukraine, the common assumption is that household energy prices are only going to rise further when the next quarter’s tariffs kick in on April 1st.

READ ALSO: Who can claim a discount on energy bills in Italy?

But it’s not certain yet by how much – or even if – our bills will be hiked up even further next month.

Italian energy regulator Arera is yet to publish its new rates for April to June.

While the energy body is analysing trends in both gas and electricity to adjust its prices for the second quarter of 2022, tariffs have been widely predicted to rise once again in April.

Increases of 25 percent for electricity and 2 percent for natural gas are likely, according to Nomisma Energia.

While gas prices are expected to remain almost “stationary”, the energy authority stressed that new tariffs for electricity are “uncertain” and “will depend on the price trend in the coming days”.

READ ALSO: Rising energy prices: How to save money on your bills in Italy

Nomisma predicts that gas prices will come in at around 80 euros per megawatt hour, which is “in line with that of the last adjustment”.

However, some reports suggest the opposite. Newspaper La Repubblica reported this week that the tariffs could, in fact, be revised slightly downwards.

This would be a welcome break from the upward trajectory – though would still be unlikely to compensate for January’s huge increase of 55 percent for electricity and 40 percent for gas.

In addition to billions of euros’ worth in previous funding from the Italian government aimed at keeping bills under control, Italy will offer new discounts on household energy bills under an updated scheme announced last week.

Under a new ‘Social bonus for electricity and gas’, support has been extended to more households from April 1st until December 31st 2022.

The measure forms part of a wider package worth €4.4 billion to curb the war’s economic impact on Italy, including a temporary reduction in fuel prices for motorists – which the government says will be funded by a one-off tax on energy companies’ “extra profits” this year.

READ ALSO: ‘The impact is zero’: Energy giants not worried by Italy’s tax on profits

Hundreds of thousands more families can now claim the discount on utility bills, as it will be available to those with an ISEE of up to €12,000 – an increase of the previous figure of around €8,000.

The size of the new discounts is yet to be confirmed, but between January and March this year the scheme saved eligible households anywhere between €165 and €800.