Italian exchange to be delayed again

Resumen de Prensa            Enervía, lunes, 22 diciembre 2003

FUENTE: Platts


The launch of the Italian power bourse is to be delayed again because the Italian government has failed to complete work on
regulation, according to the association of power producers, Assolettrica. "Some important rules still remain undefined that
must govern the market in upcoming months and in future years," Assolettrica president Giordano Serena. Assolettrica said a new delay in the launch "seems likely" despite recent official announcements to the contrary. It said a new government decree
this week, outlining import capacity levels and remuneration for so-called interruptible clients in 2004 "doesn't go far enough to
eliminate uncertainty." Before launching the exchange, Assolettrica said it was essential to clarify the role of the single buyer set to secure power for captive clients and how it must be supplied and operate in the new market, the group said. Clarification is also needed on the transfer of single buyer prices to distributors, and tariff indexing criteria of the captive market for bourse quotation, the group said.
"The launch of the supply system must be based on solid market rules, and accompanied, where necessary, by guarantee instruments of protection for final clients, without introducing further forms of price administration that would conflict with the
logic of the market," Serena said. The group said it seems "useless and inopportune" to redefine the wholesale power price
for the captive market. This week's decree calls for an increase of 550MW of capacity reserved for clients who accept nterruptible power supply contracts. However, the Energy Authority approved an interruptible program earlier in December allowing clients to opt for direct remuneration from 2004-2006 based on a Eur21/MWh rate for relinquished power imports. As a result, the government said it is likely that most, if not all, of the total 1.75GW of capacity reserved for interruptible clients would be returned to the market.