The decline in electricity consumption continues in Italy. In April – reports Terna, the company that manages the national transmission grid – electricity demand was 23.4 billion kilowatt hours, a decrease of 4.3% compared to the same period of 2022. This is the ninth consecutive month with a decline. Italians started consuming less electricity in August when energy prices reached all-time highs: in fact, the gas price on the TTF in Amsterdam, the European reference market, exceeded 350 euros/MWh in the second half of August. The price of electricity is generally twice as high in relation to the price of gas (which is the main source of production for our country). Today, May 19, gas costs around 33 euros per megawatt hour on the Italian wholesale market (Psv), electricity around 102 euros/MWh.

Industrial consumption also fell, registering a 9.1% drop compared to April 2022. Compared to the same month of the previous year, 2022, consumption in the areas of ceramics, glass and means of transport is increasing. In the first four months of the year, national demand decreased by 4.1% compared to the corresponding period of 2022 (-3.7% of the adjusted value).