So Italy is preparing for a winter without Russian gas – Corriere.it

A combination of interventions for the coming winter with one big unknown: that Moscow decides to stop gas supplies from now on. An unlikely scenario, but not impossible: The Kremlin needs the proceeds from the sale of methane to fund the war in Ukraine. If he eliminates them, he will deprive himself of the income associated with it. So it makes sense to continue with the current strategy: Gradually reduce flows to Europe (and thus to Italy) Advertisement of technical problems, real or alleged, in order to raise the price in the market while ensuring the same income with less raw materials. Our energy stability is guaranteed, free from worst-case scenarios that would lead to the inevitable rationing of domestic and industrial consumption.

The government’s North Star is now refilling deposits to 90%. By the end of the year: There is a slight shift in time because this threshold was tentatively scheduled for the end of November. The roadmap changes because diversification of supplies, written in contracts signed by Eni, expects nearly 3 billion cubic meters of gas to flow from Algeria by the end of 2022 alone, boosting transit from the Mazara del Vallo entry point. and another 2.5 billion cubic meters from Azerbaijan from the Melendugno entry point. the quote Dependence on Russia decreased to 25% (from about 40% last year), Prime Minister Mario Draghi explained.

For a quarter of our needs (about 76 billion cubic meters) means approximately 19 billion cubic meters. Less than 2021, but not so little. For this reason, Manager Sanam immediately pumps deposits at the April pace when operators have stopped buying methane due to the prohibitive costs. Yesterday it stored 98 million cubic meters, and by the end of June it will be able to place 800, commissioned by the Ministry of Environmental Transformation. It is clear that he will not be able to continue to do so for this amount: an infrastructure operator and a listed company, albeit with a controlling stake in the public CDP.

From July, however, according to sources, GSE should buy it Where market demand is low. To do this, a specific decree would be required because the purchases by the Director of Energy Services, a company completely controlled by the Treasury, directly affect public accounting and the appeal is still short of nearly 4.5 billion cubic meters which at that price means more than 5 billion euros. With good storage coverage, the winter of 2023 will provide, but it will likely be necessary to make a decision to return to 100% of the electricity generation capacity of the six coal-fired plants. Purchases of raw materials are nowadays at higher prices, given the ban on the Russian product after six months: coordination was coordinated with Terna. Enel, which operates four of them, has already bought what it owes.

This maneuver will save another 5 billion cubic meters. Another billion will come from the gas-to-gas regasification capacity saturation of the three existing terminals: Porto Ferro, Livorno and Panigaglia. The contracts signed with Egypt, Qatar and Congo are especially useful for the next two to three years when two floating vessels of 5 billion cubic meters each, purchased by Sanam, will be installed. One of them may be based in Piombino, where the commission is already opposed to the lifting of the Minister of Development, Giancarlo Giorgetti, now that we are in a dangerous situation, including legalization. Meanwhile, the goal is to slightly reduce the requirements. There will be 3 billion cubic meters to be cut, affecting some large industrial users. They can be stopped on a voluntary basis, recognizing the economic incentive for businesses.

Another 4 billion will be expendable, affecting demand They have been denied homes and offices, but Terna’s latest data on consumption in May suggests it is increasing. The high billing price for 18 million users under the state-run pricing system should reduce consumption. It will depend on the bill families will pay in the next three months given the current price of gas to which tariffs are linked, which Arrera will announce on July 1.