G7 Energy, Italy ready to mobilize up to 12-13% of gas reserves for solidarity

"We are calculating and we need to verify how much there is in total gas reserves both within the country and outside but can be mobilized. I am being very cautious, we are not going beyond 12% or 13%." The Minister of the Environment and Energy Security, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, speaks about Italy's potential commitment to countries that are already in deficit of energy resources, in a voluntary solidarity effort decided yesterday during the G7 energy.

For Italy, it is not about strategic reserves "that would not be touched, but about total reserves," the minister clarified, a guest at the ANSA Forum on "government voices."

Coming from a busy day in Paris, between an international summit for the revival of civil nuclear and an emergency G7 of energy ministers convened due to the spike in oil prices, Pichetto believes that citizens and businesses must try to face this moment "as unemotionally as possible," despite the presence of "a war-like scenario that is creating global repercussions."

The current gas stocks that Italy has are not a concern, "we have the highest storage in Europe," the minister recalls, who nevertheless insists on the need for an energy mix with nuclear and renewables also because "the system is dynamic," "we are one step away from reaching the target of 80 gigawatts of renewables, but I myself say that perhaps by 2030 it is too little. It seemed like a lot when it was conceived."

Therefore, we need to integrate with other sources but "we cannot carpet the most beautiful country in the world with wind turbines and photovoltaics," he added.

Moreover, regarding renewable sources, "there is a blockage of entire territories, of entire regions" he reminds those who complain about bureaucratic slowness. Not to mention the "block last year due to the intervention of the judiciary that halted the decree on suitable areas." However, Pichetto sees "positively that many regions have already started with the implementation law and are accelerating."

The next-generation nuclear is a flagship of the minister who recalls how "Canada is starting with the industrial sector of Small Modular Reactors in 2030, we have planned in the PNIEC for the next decade."

Italy is asking Brussels to suspend the ETS, the carbon dioxide emissions trading system, which weighs on businesses and their competitiveness and is included in the Bill Decree. While the principle of the ETS "those who pollute more should pay more, the principle of decarbonization" is correct, it is proving to be "a boomerang for companies" according to Pichetto. "Alongside thermoelectric power, which is the electricity production system that sets the price in Italy, I must promote renewables as a compensatory element," he insists.

However, the ETS divides European countries: "In Europe, each country pursues its own interests" admits Pichetto, recalling that Italy is the most affected and "partially Germany. And so it is clear that it is very much a national interest and less of a European one."

Regarding mobile excise duties, "there is a framework regulation that may need to be corrected, from 2023. And the assessment is being made by the Ministry of Economy," the minister said. "Of course we should act, but we must be cautious in light of the 20% price fluctuations within a few hours, in the interest of the country."

Finally, regarding the renewal of hydroelectric concessions, even without a tender, Pichetto highlighted the risk that one might raise funds through a pure tender where perhaps a fund may only be interested in the profit margin of the water that decreases and not in production.