Regulation of the Electric Supply Industry in Italy

The Italian electric supplying activity has been concentrated in the hands of a State company (ENEL) since 1963, when private firms were privatised. Since then, for nearly three decades the sector has been run under a nearly absolute monopoly. The first innovations were approved in 1982, but only in 1990 were some exceptions introduced which proved to be of some practical relevance. At present ENEL is still the strategic (both for management and planning) core of the sector, although private operators have been given some spaces in electricity production. In such a concentrated situation, a complex regulatory system was not needed, nor was an independent body for coordination, control and planning considered necessary. From an international point of view, the sector is now undergoing a quick and radical process towards a more competitive structure. Building up a probable scenario even for the near future would be an extremely hard job, because the only thing which seems to be clear is that ENEL is going to be privatised in a short while. But how this is going to happen cannot be easily forecast. Three main options could emerge: a) ENEL could be transformed into a private monopolist acting under regulation. b) The firm could be vertically disintegrated, with the birth of many firms, active at the different stages of the electricity supply activity. c) ENEL could be divided geographically into a number of vertically integrated firms, acting as regional monopolists. Within this process of change, great attention should be paid to make Italian regulation more compliant with EC rules than it is now.