Gasoline, gas, and electricity: prices increased in 48 hours. The government implements anti-speculation measures

by Francesco Carbone

The government is on alert and activates the legal safeguards against price speculation triggered by the U.S.-Iran crisis. Interventions are still timid for many, also because, for example, in just one night some oil brands have raised the price of diesel by as much as 10 cents. And this - consumers remind - using stocks purchased 4 months ago, therefore paid much less. The Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, threatens to raise taxes on those who speculate on bills. Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin echoes her: "We are paying attention to all those who might use this fraudulently and, therefore, possibly hit them from a fiscal point of view. It is a matter of evaluating how to intervene, if intervention is needed, I hope not."

Meanwhile, three fronts have been activated: the Mimit announced today the meeting of the price alert committee which also includes the Gdf and consumer associations. A dossier on fuels has already been sent to the Fiamme gialle. The Arera announces that it has activated the Energy Surveillance Unit: a permanent presence for real-time monitoring of wholesale and retail prices of gas and electricity, to "evaluate the possible effects on the fees applied to end customers and provide the government, Parliament, and European institutions with the necessary analytical elements for their assessments." Finally, the Antitrust: there are already many complaints that have reached the authority, which could evaluate, for example, the presence of a cartel among energy operators to keep prices high.

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But the government can do more: as Meloni explained, it could act on the fiscal lever and target the famous "extra-profits", that is, the additional profits that would come precisely from speculation. This topic has already been extensively addressed in the Maneuver, but ultimately set aside. The path could be to rewrite the recently enacted "Bills" decree: benefits that, for many, have been largely absorbed by the explosion of prices. Concerned is the president of Confindustria, Emanuele Orsini, who urges the decree: "It is a problem for both businesses and Italian families." We need to "block financial speculation on energy, because a week after the conflict, the prices we see are outrageous."

There is also a request that has come from various quarters: reactivate the mechanism of mobile excise duties already provided for. "The government - reminds the Codacons - already has tools to at least partially limit the weight of the ongoing crisis: it is possible to resort to "mobile excise duties" as established by decree number 5 of 2023 which, simplifying a measure already introduced with the 2008 Finance Law, allows the government to use the extra VAT revenue guaranteed by the increases in fuel prices to reduce excise duties on gasoline and diesel, thus keeping final pump prices under control."