The report describes the main cost items associated with natural gas and electricity consumption in Italy in recent years, with particular focus on 2021 (and for the electricity sector also a pre-consumptive estimate on 2022). The total cost thus estimated is intended to be a first approximation of the national bill, also expressed in terms of average unit cost.

The structure of the national bill is illustrated by the main components that contribute to the price charged to the end customer: the purchase cost of wholesale gas and electricity commodities (for electricity, this item also includes the cost to cover the net charges incurred by the transmission system operator for buying and selling dispatching services), the cost of transmission/distribution/measuring services, general system charges and tax impositions.

In 2021, natural gas consumption entailed a total expenditure of approximately 40.8 bn euros, to which nearly 10.3 bn euros of taxes should be added, for a total of about 51.2 bn euros. The largest share corresponds to the commodity component with a percentage share of nearly 62 percent; the other items weighed in at about 14 percent (transportation and distribution service), 20 percent (taxes) and 4 percent (general charges). The average unit cost, obtained as the ratio of the total cost to the national final consumption of natural gas, was about 67.2 € cents/Smc (before taxes).

As for electricity consumption, during the same period, the national electricity bill stood at approximately 76 bn euros (with an estimated 141 bn euros in 2022) with an increase of 67% compared to 2020 and 41% compared to 2019 (even for 2022 the estimated increase is 86% compared to 2021 and 163% compared to 2019). In terms of incidence, only the energy component weighed 56.5 percent in 2021 (and 70 percent in 2022); the other items weighed 9.8 percent (network services), 17.4 percent (overhead charges), and 16.3 percent (taxes) in 2021. The average unit cost, obtained as the ratio of total cost to final energy consumption, thus rose to 25.4 cents/kWh in 2021 (and 46.7 cents/kWh in 2022).