Electricity Bills for Italians Will Increase 50% in January

Dec. 27, 2021 (EIRNS)—The head of the regulatory agency in Italy has announced that starting January, electricity bills will increase 50% and gas bills 40%. It is the highest price hike in Italian history.

The government has allocated a miserable €4 billion for relieving conditions for poorer families, but not a cent for industry.

Lega party head Matteo Salvini said on Christmas Eve, “We need more natural gas; stop quarreling with Russia because our firms are going to get hurt.” Salvini also insisted on research on “clean, healthy, safe, last-generation nuclear energy.”

Salvini joined representatives of steel producers in a press conference on the energy emergency today in Northern Italy. The Lega leader said his party will shortly announce some proposals. “In an emergency moment, prices must be controlled and profits should be shared.” Salvini said the energy crisis is as serious as the health crisis and used the word “lockdown” to make the point, remarking, “The energy lockdown is a real big national emergency.”