The authorities of this small southern area announce the measure in the middle of the election campaign, which will save about 350 euros for 110,000 families
In the midst of an election campaign starring the energy price emergency, a problem for which the parties offer solutions for all tastes, in Italy the recent announcement by Vito Bardi, president of the Basilicata region. From October you will not pay for the consumption of natural gas in the first homes in this small area in the south of the country. The neighbors, yes, will have to continue to pay the costs of transportation, network maintenance and other services that are on the bill. It is estimated that some 110,000 families will benefit from this, saving an average of 350 euros per year. Companies are excluded from this measure (so as not to receive unauthorized state aid) and residents who use other energy sources in their home, who still receive a subsidy for installing solar panels.
Bardi’s welcome announcement is the result of the regional government’s agreement with the oil companies that exploit the hydrocarbon resources in Basilicata, known as the “Texas of Italy” for its wealth of oil and natural gas. As compensation to the local population for environmental damage, Eni and Total have agreed to give away a total of 200 million cubic meters of natural gas per year, more than enough to cover the consumption of the inhabitants of this region, the second with the lowest per capita rent. of the population in the country and with strong emigration to other richer areas.
The decree signed by Bardi hopes that by offering free natural gas, the repopulation process will be “favoured” in Basilicata, an area controlled by the same coalition of conservative parties favored in Sunday’s parliamentary elections.
“It is logical that citizens have seen this measure very well, especially at a time when gas has reached a record price,” Michele Catalano, regional president of the consumer association Federconsumatori, explains to this newspaper. “We would have liked the exemption to be linked to family income, but they have not listened to us,” regrets Catalano, however, who has little hope that this announcement can help young people not leave this country in search of better job opportunities. .
“I don’t think I’m going to achieve a change in trend. For that we would have to have a strong industrial sector, but here the hydrocarbon deposits provide little work. They should have a greater economic impact.” It would have been very helpful, he said, if local companies had also benefited from free natural gas or at least from a significant price reduction.” This would have facilitated the creation of a local industrial pool, while now all refining and auxiliaries in neighboring Taranto are carried out.”
Matteo Salvini, leader of the League, is pleased with the idea developed in Basilicata that he would like to expand to the whole country, even promising to talk about it with outgoing Prime Minister, Mario Draghi. Extremely unsettled in the run-up to Sunday’s election due to the way Fratelli d’Italia (FdI, Brothers of Italy), the far-right party led by Giorgia Meloni, has eaten his field, Salvini has been over-optimistic. It seems very difficult to find an oil company willing to offer the country’s gas requirement for free, which is about 70,000 million cubic meters per year, about half of which is for electricity generation.
In addition to the impossible idea of extending the existing exemption in this small southern region to the entire national territory, Salvini is committed to solving the current energy crisis by having Italy rebuild nuclear power plants, closed after the decision taken in a referendum held in 1987. “It would be necessary to build the first nuclear power plant in my neighborhood, Milan,” he declared last June to show his composure in the face of the risks of atomic energy.
Less convinced is Meloni, favorite to become Italy’s next prime minister, who fears that if the country returned to nuclear power, it could bet on “outdated technology”. In any case, the center-right bloc’s election manifesto calls for “creating state-of-the-art factories without vetoes or preconceived concepts, appreciative of resorting to clean nuclear.”
Carlo Calenda, leader of the center bloc, also demands a return to this energy, while Enrico Letta, head of the list of the Democratic Party, the main formation of the center left, advocates the construction of regasification plants as a “bridge solution” until complete by 2050. can meet the energy needs of the country with renewable sources. However, there is agreement among all candidates in the request to set a ceiling for the gas price at European level.
Source: La Verdad
I am an experienced and passionate journalist with a strong track record in news website reporting. I specialize in technology coverage, breaking stories on the latest developments and trends from around the world. Working for Today Times Live has given me the opportunity to write thought-provoking pieces that have caught the attention of many readers.
