Read the study “Energy without Russia: The Consequences of the Ukraine war and the EU Sanctions on the Energy Sector in Europe” here
The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the energy crisis which came in its wake have produced significant impacts on the energy sector in many EU countries, including Italy. In 2021, prior to the war, Italy was strongly dependent on Russian natural gas imports with around 40% of total gas imports (72.6 billion standard cubic metres) coming from Russia. In 2022 Italy halved its Russian gas imports (to 19% of the total) and, at the same time, tripled its exports. Furthermore, whilst at least one fifth of the electricity consumed in Italy in 2021 was generated with Russian gas, this share was reduced to around one tenth in 2022. The government has drawn up a national plan for the containment of natural gas consumption, with energy bill containment measures in Italy estimated to cost €62.8 billion in the 2021–22 two-year period.
This study, carried out by ECCO in partnership with Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, shows that customers reacted to high gas prices by reducing consumption over and above the European target of 15%, with gas consumption dropping 18.6% from August 2022 to January 2023, in the absence of structural measures.
Read the study “Energy without Russia: The Consequences of the Ukraine war and the EU Sanctions on the Energy Sector in Europe” here
Photo by Miguel Á. Padriñán
