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ENERGY

How will Italy’s energy prices change in April?

April is the start of a new quarter and in Italy that means energy tariffs are revised. How much more - or less - can we expect to pay?

Published: 30 March 2022 16:47 CEST
How will Italy's energy prices change in April?
Photo by Niklas HALLE'N / AFP

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.

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TOURISM

Flights, hotels, beaches: How the cost of travel to Italy is rising this summer

Inflation may now be falling but the price of a summer holiday in Italy has risen again - by up to 20 percent compared to last year.

Published: 24 June 2024 10:53 CEST
Flights, hotels, beaches: How the cost of travel to Italy is rising this summer

Italian consumer rights groups said last year that the summer of 2023 would be remembered as “the most expensive ever” for travel. But 2024 has already smashed that record, according to the latest price surveys.

The rising cost of air fares, ferry tickets, hotels, restaurants and beach clubs add up to mean a holiday in Italy will be 15-20 percent more expensive this summer compared to last year, according to a survey conducted by the Assoutenti consumer research centre in June.

While price rises in recent years have been attributed to Covid and rising inflation, which is no longer thought to be a factor, this year Assoutenti said high demand was pushing up prices amid the post-pandemic tourism boom.

Prices in Italy were “out of control as a consequence of the resumption of tourism, after the stop imposed by Covid, and the record number of foreign visitors recorded in the last year,” the survey’s authors wrote, calling on the government to take measures to contain price increases.

READ ALSO: ltaly set for summer tourism boom as bookings increase again

They warned that more Italian families were likely to “give up the summer holidays this year, not being able to face an expense that increases from year to year,” and that those who do travel may book shorter trips to keep costs down.

Some 6.5 million Italians say they won’t be going on holiday this summer at all, with half citing economic difficulties, according to a separate survey commissioned by price comparison website Facile.it.

Meanwhile, there had been a nine percent increase this year in applications for personal loans for travel purposes, the survey found.

Flight prices

One of the biggest factors was the cost of air fares, as both domestic and international flights to and from Italy were found to be more expensive again this year.

While the cost of flights between European countries had fallen slightly following inflation-driven price hikes in 2023, Italy was bucking the trend.

Italy’s flight costs had risen instead, according to recent analysis in Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, with the average price of a summer flight between Italy and the rest of Europe up by seven percent and domestic flights by 21 percent.

READ ALSO: Why are flight prices higher in Italy than the rest of Europe this summer?

Industry sources suggest the price increase is again down to unprecedented demand, while consumer groups say the main culprit is a lack of competition on the Italian market.

Transport costs

There were price hikes too for those using other modes of transport, with the rising cost of fuel and motorway tolls in Italy named as another contributing factor in the Assoutenti survey.

Ferry tickets were also more expensive, it found, with the average increase this August at +6.3 percent compared to 2023.

Hotels and B&Bs

For a family of four, the Assoutenti survey found the most expensive place to stay in Italy this summer was Porto Cervo, Sardinia, where the average price of a week’s three-star accommodation in August came to 3,500 euros.

The cheapest options were found to be Bibione, outside Venice (872 euros) and Rapallo in Liguria (909).

READ ALSO: Tourist tax: How much is it increasing in Italy’s cities this year?

The cost of accommodation at coastal destinations had risen by 23 percent on average overall, a separate survey by consumer group Altroconsumo found.

Hotels in cities were found to be a less expensive option, with most Italian families heading for the beach or mountains to escape the heat.

Restaurants

Adding to the overall cost, prices also continued to rise this year at restaurants in holiday resorts and at beach clubs: Assoutenti recorded an average increase for the catering sector of +3.5 percent on 2023.

Beaches

Renting sunbeds and umbrellas at Italy’s beach clubs is seen as a necessity by many Italian families – and often by international visitors too, given the lack of free options in many areas.

This too was becoming more expensive in 2024, with the average daily rate for a slot at one of Italy’s private beach clubs up by more than five percent on last year. Prices had also risen by as much as 11 percent between 2022 and 2023.

Beachgoers can now expect to pay around €30-35 for two sun loungers and a beach umbrella for the day on average, though prices can rise as high as €90 in Salento and €120 in parts of Sardinia.

Both private and free-access beaches in Italy also increasingly require advance booking due to higher demand.

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