Italy’s energy regulator Arera announced on Thursday that gas bills had dropped by an average 34 percent in January, marking a change in trend after increases recorded in December and November.

Arera said the fall in prices was largely driven by lower wholesale gas prices, but was also aided by “lower supply costs” and the government’s three-month suspension of gas-related standing charges.

But not everyone in the country will feel the effects of the price change.

The decrease reported by Arera will benefit customers on a ‘protected’ or maggior tutela contract, where rates are directly determined by Arera as opposed to private suppliers – this applies to approximately 41.5 percent of Italian households.

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For customers with private suppliers, who are instead on mercato libero (free market) contracts, any change in price will depend on the contract itself, particularly on whether it’s based on a fixed or variable rate.

Gas prices within the mercato libero (or ‘free market’) are determined by private companies, so variations in Arera’s tariffs do not directly affect these contracts.

Some ‘hybrid’ contracts from private suppliers index their gas prices to Arera’s rates, and customers with this type of contract are likely to see a reduction in fees.

That said, the European market registered comparatively low gas prices in January – gas cost an average of 0.74 euros per cubic metre last month, down from the average 1.25 recorded in December. This may very well result in lower gas bills for free market customers in Italy.

But overall, despite January’s decrease, gas tariffs remain much higher than they were before the start of the energy crisis.

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The average Italian household on a contratto tutelato will still spend 1,769 euros on gas bills alone in the next 12 months (from February 2022 to January 2023) – a whopping 36-percent increase against the same period of time last year.

National consumer group UNC warned against the optimism expressed by several government figures on Thursday, saying while “families may now take a breather”, bills are still “unsustainable for too many Italians”. 

UNC also urged the government to extend the three-month suspension of standing charges for another three months when it expires at the end of March.