(ANSA) - ROME, AUG 30 - Italy's political parties on Tuesday
urged Premier Mario Draghi to act fast on the energy squeeze
that has Italian households
and businesses facing potentially crippling power bills.
The centre-left Democratic Party (PD) asked the government to
recoup taxes on energy firms' extra profits from soaring gas and
electrical power bills amid the Ukraine war, sources said.
Senate Whip Simona Malpezzi and Lower House Whip Debora
Serracchiani slammed the "firms that are refusing to pay the tax
on extra profits", amid the huge energy squeeze and gas
blackmail by Moscow.
The two PD officials said the firms were "putting at risk the
economic and social resilience of the country's society,"
sources said.
For this reason, they said, the government must intervene "as
soon as possible with all the instruments at its disposal to
recover what is due from the firms."
Rightwing League party leader Matteo Salvini called for the
urgent reopening of parliament to place a cap on energy bills,
emulating French President Emmanuel Macron.
"This is another war and the workers risk dying with closed
firms," he said, saying "this is the League's proposal" and
accusing PD leader and ex-premier Enrico Letta of "keeping
silent on this for days".
Letta responded by saying "an intervention of energy bills can
no longer be put off".
Conservative Brothers of Italy (FdI) leader Giorgia Meloni said
action must be taken to curb bill hikes but that "going into
further debt is the last resort because Italy is already
indebted out of control".
Meloni, who is on track to becoming Italy's first women premier
on September 25, said she would back urgent measures to "enable
citizens to have a sustainable situation" even though FdI were
officially in opposition to Draghi's government.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said "we must
act together and with urgency" against record energy price
hikes.
She said the European Union had reached its target of 80% for
gas stocks.
Meanwhile the northern Italian head of industrial employers'
group Confindustria warned against the consequences of the
energy squeeze.
They said the extra costs of the energy emergency amount to some
40 billion euros and would have a massive effect on the
country's economy.
"The impact is devastating with the risk of de-industrialization
and a threat to national security," the Confindustria northern
branch heads warned.
The Italian government is studying more moves to help households
and businesses cope with spiralling energy hikes amid a Russian
gas squeeze and as political parties clamour for rapid action.
The measures are being considered as gas and electricity prices
in Italy continue to rise and Mario Draghi's government is also
redoubling its efforts to secure an EU-wide gas price cap,
sources said.
Amid the crisis, the European Commission said EU energy
ministers would meet on September 9 to discuss action.
An EC spokesman said Tuesday that the emergency measures to
address the energy market price crisis would see the light of
day "in the next few weeks"
He said he could not rule out there being measures before the
extraordinary summit on the energy crisis on September 9,
sources said.
"Member States have strong competences on the subject and
therefore we must sound out all the positions," he said, adding
that members would have to wait until the start of next year for
structural changes to the electricity market.
Meanwhile plans are afoot to decouple the electricity and gas
markets.
Italy's average electrical power price will fall to 612.36 euros
per MWh Wednesday, from 740 euros Monday, the energy market
manager GME said Tuesday. The hourly maximum will be 759.99
euros against 867.28. The minimum will be 538.9, against 688.24
on Monday.
Gas prices also fell in Amsterdam. Gas dropped 2.37% to 279
euros for shipments on September 22. For the Italian market, GME
indicated a reference price of 278.745 euro per MWh, ranging
from a minimum of 273,.99 to a maximum of 288.999 euro. (ANSA).