Electricity & gas in Italy: your rights

The market

Electricity and gas are fully open: every household can choose any supplier. Regulated 'tutela' prices ended for non-vulnerable gas customers in January 2024 and for non-vulnerable electricity customers in July 2024. Only vulnerable customers keep a regulated option.

Energy regulator

ARERA - Autorità di Regolazione per Energia Reti e Ambiente

Dispute resolution

Servizio Conciliazione ARERA · free

First send a written complaint to your supplier or distributor. If the reply is unsatisfactory, or 40 days pass without one, file online. This conciliation attempt is compulsory before going to court.

Compare prices official

Portale Offerte luce e gas (ARERA)

Switching supplier

Switching is free, needs no new meter and causes no interruption. The new supplier handles the cancellation of your old contract. Today a switch takes effect on the 1st of the month (request by the 10th of the month before), usually 1-2 months. From 1 December 2026 electricity switches for households can take effect on any day, from one working day after the request.

Price rises

If your contract allows the supplier to change terms, it must tell you in a separate written notice at least three months before (one month if the price only goes down), explaining how you can leave. If it breaks these rules you get an automatic 30 euro compensation. Price changes from indexation clauses need no advance notice.

Regulated price

Only for vulnerable customers: aged 75+, entitled to the social bonus or health bonus, disabled under Law 104/92, living in emergency housing, or (electricity) on small non-interconnected islands. Non-vulnerable electricity customers in the 'Servizio a tutele graduali' move to a market offer from their current supplier on 1 April 2027 unless they choose one first.

Help if money is tight

Discount applied automatically on electricity and gas bills for 12 months if your household's ISEE is up to 9,796 euro (20,000 euro with at least 4 dependent children). Just submit the DSU to INPS to get an ISEE; the contract must be in the name of a household member. A separate bonus exists for serious health conditions.

Protection against cut-off

For unpaid bills the supplier must send a formal notice by registered letter or PEC. Cut-off cannot happen before 40 days from receipt, and power may be reduced to 15% in the last 15 days. No cut-offs on Fridays, Saturdays or holidays. Customers on life-support equipment can never be disconnected.

If your supplier goes bust

If your supplier goes bust you are never left without energy. Electricity passes automatically to a last-resort service (maggior tutela for vulnerable customers, tutele graduali for others); gas passes to the local Fornitore di ultima istanza (FUI) until you sign a new contract.

Power cut

For a power cut call your local distributor (its number is on your bill), not your supplier. If an outage lasts longer than ARERA's standards, households up to 6 kW get automatic compensation of 34.50 euro plus 17.25 euro per extra 4 hours, up to 240 hours.

Cooling-off period

You can cancel within 14 days a contract signed away from the supplier's premises or at a distance (phone, online). If it was signed during an unsolicited home visit, you have 30 days.

Smart meter

Distributors are replacing meters with second-generation smart meters; the rollout is in its final phase nationwide. Replacement is free, and you cannot refuse it because the meter belongs to the distributor.

Solar panels

Net metering (Scambio sul posto) is closed to new systems: only plants in operation by 29 May 2025 could apply, until 26 September 2025. New solar owners can sell exported power to GSE through Ritiro Dedicato.

Free energy advice

ARERA's free helpdesk explains your rights, bonuses and the end of regulated prices. Toll-free 800.166.654, Monday to Friday 8:00-18:00, free from landlines and mobiles.

Fixed and dynamic contracts

In Italy every household can ask for a fixed-price electricity contract of at least one year, and every supplier with more than 200,000 customers must offer it. This comes from Legislative Decree 3/2026, which transposed Directive (EU) 2024/1711 into Legislative Decree 210/2021.

• If you have a smart meter, you can ask any supplier with more than 200,000 customers for a dynamic-price contract that follows the spot market. The supplier must explain the conditions, the opportunities and the risks before you sign. (normattiva.it)
• During a fixed-price, fixed-term contract the supplier may not change the price or duration to your disadvantage on its own. Every offer must say whether the price is fixed, variable or dynamic. (normattiva.it)

Energy sharing and communities

Italy has 'autoconsumo diffuso': renewable energy communities (CER), groups of self-consumers acting together in the same building, and remote self-consumers. The plants must sit under the same primary substation. GSE runs the incentive for shared energy; a 'referente' applies on the GSE portal.

• The rules are set by the CACER Decree (Ministry of Environment and Energy Security decree no. 414 of 7 December 2023, in force since 24 January 2024) and ARERA's TIAD (Delibera 727/2022/R/eel). (gse.it)
• Legislative Decree 3/2026 added energy sharing between active customers to national law: they may appoint an organiser of renewable energy sharing and have the right to have the shared energy deducted on the bill. (normattiva.it)

Heating without the gas grid

District heating (teleriscaldamento) is regulated by ARERA since Legislative Decree 102/2014: quality and continuity standards, transparency of prices, connection and disconnection rules, and tariffs. Complain in writing first; the operator must answer within 30 days or owe you compensation.

• Every district heating bill must show at least one postal address and one e-mail address for written complaints. (arera.it)
• As for electricity and gas, you must try conciliation before going to court: at ARERA's Servizio Conciliazione, an ADR body on ARERA's list, or a participating Chamber of Commerce. (arera.it)

Grants for heat pumps and insulation

Two main routes: the Conto Termico 3.0, a GSE grant paid by bank transfer for heat pumps, solar thermal and other efficient heating, and the Ecobonus tax deduction (Agenzia delle Entrate), for which you send the data to ENEA.

• Conto Termico 3.0: private individuals apply on Portaltermico within 90 days of the end of the works (advance booking is not available to them). (gse.it)
• Ecobonus for expenses in 2025 and 2026: 36%, raised to 50% for the main home, spread over 10 yearly instalments. Replacing heating with a single fossil-fuel boiler is not deductible. (agenziaentrate.gov.it)
• For Ecobonus and Bonus Casa, send the data to ENEA on bonusfiscali.enea.it within 90 days of the end of the works, logging in with SPID or CIE. (efficienzaenergetica.enea.it)

Charging an electric car at home

In a condominium, works to install EV charging points are approved by the owners' meeting with the majorities of Art. 1136 of the Civil Code. If the condominium refuses, or does not decide within three months of your written request, you may install the charger at your own expense.

• The rule covers a charging point for each covered or uncovered parking space and each garage box. The limits of Articles 1120 and 1121 of the Civil Code on common parts still apply. (normattiva.it)

Back-billing and estimated bills

Electricity, gas and water amounts for periods more than two years old are time-barred (Law 205/2017), also for recalculations. It is not automatic: you must tell the supplier you will not pay them. The bill must warn you and offer a form.

• If you pay by direct debit, only the amounts that are not time-barred may be charged. The supplier may also choose to waive the old amounts and must tell you. (arera.it)
• For electricity meters that are not smart meters, the supplier must let you send a self-reading (autolettura) in the window shown on the bill, and must accept it unless it is clearly wrong. (arera.it)

Energy costs for tenants

In buildings with central heating or district heating, individual meters or heat cost allocators have been compulsory since 30 June 2017 where technically feasible (Legislative Decree 102/2014). At least 50% of the heating costs must be split by each flat's actual use.

• If individual metering is not possible, a qualified technician must document why. The rest of the cost can be split by thousandths, floor area or installed power. (normattiva.it)

Vulnerable and medical customers

If someone in your home depends on electromedical life-support equipment, the electricity supply can never be suspended, not even for unpaid bills (ARERA, TIMOE art. 23). The same household can also get the bonus for serious health conditions.

• Bonus for serious health conditions: apply at the municipality of residence of the account holder or at an authorised CAF, with an ASL certificate on the equipment and daily hours of use. No ISEE is needed. (arera.it)

Grid connection

For a new low-voltage connection the distributor must send the quote within 15 working days and carry out the work within 10 working days (simple works) or 50 working days (complex works). You usually ask through your supplier.

• If the distributor is late through its own fault, a household on low voltage gets an automatic indemnity of 40.25 euro, doubled beyond twice and tripled beyond three times the deadline. (arera.it)
• The supplier has two working days to pass your request to the distributor and two working days to send you the distributor's quote. (arera.it)

Consumer organisation

Altroconsumo