The “APE – Appunti di Energia” series continues with a new in-depth analysis dedicated to an update on the Italian Capacity Market, a regulatory instrument designed to ensure the adequacy of the national electricity system by securing sufficient availability of generation capacity, storage, imports and demand-side resources to meet electricity demand, including during critical periods.

Significant attention is devoted to the results of the latest main auctions for delivery years 2025, 2026 and 2027, highlighting that the largest share of awarded capacity is still represented by existing capacity, while newly authorized capacity accounts for more limited volumes. At the same time, a gradual shift is emerging in the technological composition of new capacity, with electrochemical storage systems playing an increasingly important role and gaining more weight in the most recent auctions compared with traditional technologies.

The document also stresses that, in the absence of adequate long-term signals, part of the dispatchable capacity could become economically unsustainable, with possible implications for the system’s ability to comply with adequacy standards.

The note further illustrates the main regulatory and technical elements currently under discussion ahead of the 2028 main auction, including derating coefficients, the demand curve and participation rules. These elements directly affect how different technologies are valued within the market, helping to define the economic and regulatory balance of the new auction.

Finally, the note addresses several emerging issues, such as the growth in electricity consumption associated with data centers and the need to ensure that the mechanism remains consistent with the evolution of the national electricity system.