What happens if we don’t switch to the free market for electricity and gas?
A transition fee, called "Gradual Protection Service", will be applied to users who have not made the transition to the free market. Here's what it consists of
From 2024, the protected electricity and gas market will gradually disappear. Families who have not yet switched to the free market until now will have to do so from next year. The operation will be carried out starting from 10 January 2024 for the gas market and from 1 July for the electricity market.
HOW THE TRANSITION TO THE FREE MARKET WORKS
Many wonder what will happen if the transition to the free market is not made. The answer is nothing. In fact, there are no penalties or interruption of service. A transition fee called "Gradual Protection Service" will be applied to families who have not made the transition by the end date of the protected market.
WHAT IS THE GRADUAL PROTECTION SERVICE
The Gradual Protection Service will be set up by Arera, which will thus accompany customers towards the free market. All non-vulnerable domestic customers who have not chosen a free market seller are automatically included in the STG. The service will be provided by some retailers, selected by Arera, following competitive procedures. Each territory is served by a single supplier, who can however also cover multiple areas at the same time.
Anyone who intends to claim the right to fall into the category of "vulnerable customers", but does not appear to be such, can complete the vulnerability self-certification form which can be downloaded on the ARERA website, in the Consumers/Attachments section.
WHAT ARE PLACET OFFERS
Those who prefer to maintain the same contractual conditions and obtain an indexed energy price will be able to choose the "Placet offers", which have the same characteristics as the protected market, but are prepared by a free market operator.
As regards the contractual conditions of the Gradual Protection Service, the rates correspond to those offered by PLACET (Free Price Under Equal Protection Conditions), which have the following characteristics:
– bimonthly invoicing;
– no guarantee request to the customer for payment by postal or bank direct debit. The customer can choose to have the bill charged to a credit card, in other cases a security deposit of 11.50 euros is required for each kW of contractually committed power (which will be charged on the first bill);
– payment methods: bank or postal direct debit, credit card or postal order.
The contracts of the Placet offers have an indefinite duration, but the economic conditions are renewed every 12 months. The supplier, 3 months before the expiry, is required to inform the customer of the new conditions, with the customer being free to accept them or not. Placet offers do not provide for a joint supply of gas and electricity, but it is still possible to sign two separate contracts, one for electricity and one for gas.
OFFERS WITH SIMILAR PROTECTION
In addition to these options, the so-called "Similar Protection offers" have also been introduced to encourage the transition to the free market, which however exclusively concern electricity. These are promotions that give customers on the protected market the opportunity to try a rate similar to that available on the free market for one year. The Similar Protection offer is not renewable, the characteristics are decided by Arera and, after 12 months, the customer will be able to choose whether to remain with the same supplier or change it.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/energia/passaggio-mercato-libero-luce-gas-cosa-cambia/ on Mon, 25 Dec 2023 05:01:02 +0000.