This report describes the update to 2019 of the most significant cost items listed in Chapter 4 (“The National Electricity Bill and Its Main Components”) of the RSEview monograph titled “Electricity, Anatomy of Costs,” published in early 2014 [1].

The structure of the national electricity bill is illustrated through its main components that contribute to the price of the consumed kWh: procurement cost of energy on wholesale markets, dispatch service cost, transmission/distribution/measurement service costs, general system charges, and tax impositions. The first item pertains to the cost of procuring the ‘electricity’ product and includes, in addition to the cost of the commodity, the marketing and sales costs incurred by the energy supplier. The dispatch service cost covers the resources acquired by the network operator to ensure the safe management of the power system. The third item includes costs related to infrastructure (transmission network, distribution, and measurement) necessary to deliver electricity from power plants to consumers and measure the quantities supplied. The fourth item includes general system charges introduced by legal regulations, such as incentives provided to support the development of renewable sources. Finally, the tax component relates to VAT and excise duties.

In 2019, the total expenditure borne by the Italian System (the entire community) for electricity consumption is estimated at approximately 53.4 billion euros, divided into sales services (40.1%), general charges (28.2%), taxes (18.1%), and network services (13.5%). The expenditure amount increased in the last year by nearly 1.14%. This corresponds to an estimated unit cost of 17.69 cents per kWh consumed (equivalent to 16.08 cents per kWh in constant 2010 currency).