Energy alarm from the Mef to companies, 'it's so impossible to compete'

The alarm is still rising over the high energy prices in Italy. Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti warns that with prices so high it will be impossible for Italian companies to compete on international markets while the president of Confindustria, Emanuele Orsini, warns of the risk that the cost of gas for January could skyrocket to 110 euros per megawatt hour. On the Amsterdam market it showed an increase of 2% to 86.5 euros per megawatt hour. The owner of the Mef and the number one industrialist discuss it at the conference: 'The country that changes', organized by Sole 24 Ore, and which also saw, among others, the participation of Enel's CEO, Flavio Cattaneo. "Italy is a large manufacturing country, the network of small and medium-sized enterprises has incredibly and brilliantly overcome the crisis of the tariff war, but objectively - I read the Federacciai press release with great attention - with energy prices of this type it becomes impossible to compete at an international level", says Giorgetti, speaking via video link. Therefore "for a country dedicated to exports and which can promote its growth through exports, we need to stabilize the situation", he underlines. For his part, Orsini sees the future in gloom. "We expect that gas in January could reach 110 euros per megawatt hour, if this were the case we must prepare to do what we did in 2022 with tax credits", he says, reiterating that "the country needs more renewables, we need to decouple the price of gas from electricity to be more competitive". The president of Confindustria therefore urges the Regions "to quickly ground the 1,400 renewable energy concessions that exist". A request that also comes from Cattaneo. "In addition to the wars that have pushed gas prices up, there is another factor that puts pressure on the world of energy: the climate effect", he observes in his speech. "In recent months it has not rained, there is no sun and there is no wind: the component of energy produced from renewable sources is missing, there is no water to cool the nuclear power. The result is a wholesale price of electricity which in Italy is 270 euros, in Germany 316 euros, in France 252 euros", explains Cattaneo. Therefore "we need to generate new energy", underlines the CEO of Enel, pointing out that "there are 150 Gw of renewable plants awaiting authorisation" in Italy. Meanwhile, in its press release Federacciai described a "dramatic situation" and companies in the sector that "have already stopped or are stopping the plants". Among these, Avf Acciaierie Beltrame announced production stops on some days in November and December. "It is the price of energy that decides when and how much to produce, no longer the company. The stops we have planned are the concrete consequence of this imbalance", said vice-president Barbara Beltrame Giacomello. Casting further shadow on the energy front is the ECB's analysis: the real bottleneck in the Eurozone is not oil, it is refining costs and margins, with global refinery activities having collapsed compared to previous years, writes Frankfurt in its bulletin. Between China's export restrictions and Ukrainian attacks on Russian infrastructure, the EU saw maritime imports of diesel (-56%) and petrol (-52%) collapse at the end of September compared to pre-conflict levels. As a result, European diesel refining margins have tripled, from a historical average of $10 to as much as $28 per barrel. A flare-up that pushed fuel inflation, making the 2026 excise duty cuts insufficient and forcing the Eurotower to revise its estimates on overall energy inflation upwards.