ROME, March 13 (Reuters) – Italy’s energy authority said it had shelved plans for a tariff to cover the cost of keeping gas stockpiles full, following wide-spread criticism from energy companies and European Union objections.
The tariff, potentially worth 4.8 billion euros ($5.24 billion), would ultimately have hit consumers as energy firms passed on the costs to customers.
It was similar to one introduced by Germany in 2022 which is however now being looked at by the EU’s energy regulator ACER to see whether it breaches EU competition rules.
Italy’s authority, ARERA, said in a statement published on its website late on Tuesday that it did not intend to press ahead with the proposal, given “the ongoing debate at European level on the need to avoid unilateral measures that could endanger energy solidarity and frustrate efforts to diversify supply sources.”
ARERA had initially announced the so-called “neutrality charge”, a fee weighing on gas passing through the interconnection points of domestic and international grids, in December, with the aim of making it effective from April.
