MESTRE – It is a sting of 106 billion euros that awaits Italian companies for the extra costs of electricity and gas during 2022. The estimate is of the Cgia of Mestre, which warns: over 63% of this bill will be paid by the regions where the concentration of industries is greater, namely those of the North, Lombardy, Emilia Romagna, Veneto and Piedmont in the lead. And that of the studies office in Mestre is not even the most drastic scenario. Because, observes the CGIA, if Russia were to further shut down gas supplies to Europe next autumn, it is likely that the price of this raw material will undergo a surge that will push the average cost of the last part of the year to a level higher than that recorded in the first six months of 2022.
The estimate of 106 billion price increases was obtained by assuming, for the current year, the same consumption recorded in the pre-pandemic year, applying however for the whole of 2022 the average electricity and gas tariffs incurred in the last six months. . The CGIA has calculated that, if in 2019 the average cost of electricity amounted to 52 euros per MWh, in the first six months of 2022 it stood at 250 euros (+ 378%). Therefore, against a consumption of 217,334 GWh, the total cost to businesses in 2019 reached 35.9 billion euros; this year the bill could reach 108.5 billion euros (difference + 72.6 billion). For gas, on the other hand, if three years ago the average cost was almost 16 euros per MWh, in the first six months of 2022 it was close to 100 euros (+ 538%). Therefore, against an average annual consumption of 282,814 GWh, in 2019 companies incurred an average total cost of 9.5 billion euros, compared to 42.8 billion in 2022 (difference +33.3 billion euros) . Adding the 72.6 billion of extra costs for electricity and the 33.3 for gas, the 105.9 billion of additional costs that companies will have to bear compared to 2019 (pre-Covid year) are obtained.
A sting not the same for everyone. Companies from Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna and Veneto will in fact be the most penalized. At the territorial level, the realities that more than others suffer the increases are naturally those where the concentration of entrepreneurial activities is higher. If, compared to 2019, in Lombardy the additional cost to cope with the increases in electricity and gas prices will reach 24.4 billion euros this year, in Emilia Romagna it will be 12.4, in Veneto 11.8 and in Piedmont of 9.8 billion. Over 63% of the total national extra cost of electricity and gas will therefore be borne by companies in the North.
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