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Italy's power users pay the rate for high reliance on gas: Maguire

Italy's average wholesale power prices have been the highest amongst significant European markets for the past 3 years, raised by a. substantially greater reliance on natural gas for electrical energy. generation than rival economies.

Wholesale power prices in Italy balanced 127 euros. ($ 137.80) per megawatt hour in 2023, according to LSEG, which. was a 3rd more than the typical power rates in Germany and. France last year, and over 50% greater than the typical rate in. Spain.

Italy's power expenses have actually climbed up even more above some key. competing economies up until now in 2024, with wholesale rates last month. balancing almost 40% above costs in France and 60% more than. wholesale costs in Spain.

Such a stiff power cost premium over regional counterparts. has hurt major power customers in Italy, specifically market and. big producers, a few of which have been required to cut. energy usage and production over the past year or so to avoid. racking up high monetary losses.

GAS DEPENDENCE

Italy's relatively higher reliance on natural gas for. electrical power generation was a key motorist behind the elevated. power expenses.

The share of natural gas in Italy's electrical power generation. mix in 2023 was simply over 45%, compared to 6% in France, 15% in. Germany and 23% in Spain, information from think tank Coal shows.

Such a high reliance on gas indicates Italy's. energies have actually had little scope to dispatch other forms of power. for generation, even with annual increases in sustainable power. production in the country.

This in turn has suggested that as regional gas rates. have skyrocketed because Russia's intrusion of Ukraine in 2022, and. replacement materials in the kind of liquefied natural gas (LNG). imports and alternate pipelines have also leapt in rate,. Italy's power firms have actually needed to pass on those higher expenses to. consumers.

Some big energy consumers, specifically industry, have. balked at paying greatly greater power expenses, and instead decreased. overall energy use - and organization output.

This in turn allowed power companies to cut electricity output. from natural gas-fired power plants to the lowest considering that 2015. in 2015, and coal-fired output to the most affordable in three years,. while lifting the percentage of renewables in the total. generation mix.

Moving forward, nevertheless, any sustained increase in total. electrical energy generation levels will need energies to burn. more gas in power stations, exposing them to potential even more. walkings in power costs.

BREAKING THE FOSSIL REPAIR

Fossil fuels have actually represented roughly 60% of total. electrical power generation in Italy over the previous decade, with. gas alone accounting for around 50% in the last few years.

Until 2019, thermal coal had represented an extra 12%. to 15% of electrical power output, but pollution decrease efforts. resulted in the closure of some dated coal plants which served to. push coal's share of the electricity generation mix to a record. low of 5.3% in 2023.

Lowered coal-fired output has actually required power companies to. even more boost their reliance on gas as the main pillar of the. nation's power system, even as gas costs climbed up in the wake. of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Italy's power firms have actually likewise tried to boost electricity. generation from other sources, with solar generation up by 37%. and wind generation up by 34% considering that 2018, Coal data programs.

Hydro centers likewise play a crucial function in clean power. generation in Italy, and in 2023 represented 15% of overall. electrical power output.

Hydro output levels can be volatile due to. dry spells, such as in 2022 when overall hydro generation dropped to. the most affordable in over 20 years and accounted for simply 10% of overall. electrical power output.

Such unforeseeable output from hydro plants, together with the. intermittent generation from solar and wind farms, indicates that. Italy's power companies are not likely to be able to cut their usage of. natural gas for baseload generation whenever quickly.

Which, in turn, suggests any additional boosts in local. gas prices might keep Italy's power rates greater than in. elsewhere in Europe.

<< The viewpoints revealed here are those of the author, a. writer .>> . ($ 1 = 0.9217 euros)

(source: Reuters)