Italy's Power Bills Among Europe's Highest, and the South Pays First

Households in Italy pay more for electricity than most of their European neighbours, and consumer groups are warning of another spike in bills as autumn begins, according to The Local Italy. The outlet reports that the gap is not marginal: Italian consumers are, in its words, "forking over more" than people elsewhere in the bloc for the same basic service.

The explanation the foreign press returns to is structural rather than seasonal. Italy imports a large share of the gas it burns for generation, and the price of that gas is set in markets it does not control; the country's generation mix, its grid and its taxes and levies all add layers that northern European systems do not carry in the same proportion.

The story is national, but its weight is not evenly distributed. In a region such as Basilicata, where incomes run below the national average and winters are continental in the mountains, a high unit price for electricity is felt in the household budget before it is felt anywhere else.