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The Bills Decree: the latest developments reviewed 20 February 2026

The Italian Council of Ministers has approved the so‑called “Energy Bills Decree” (“Decreto Bollette”), which contains: “…urgent measures to reduce the cost of electricity and gas for households and businesses, to enhance business competitiveness and industrial decarbonisation, as well as urgent provisions on resolving virtual saturation of the electricity grids and integrating data centres into the electricity system”.

Following its publication in Italy’s Official Gazette, the Energy Bills Decree may be subject to amendments during the conversion process, which will occur within 60 days of its publication.

Among the most significant provisions are those aimed at reducing the “ASOS” (general charges for renewable sources and cogeneration) component of electricity bills and general system charges from bioenergy sources, as well as those concerning amendments to the minimum guaranteed price mechanism (“PMG”) for plants fuelled by sustainable bioliquids, biogas and biomass.

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Temporary reduction of incentive tariff for PV plants with eligible nominal capacity above 20 kW

In order to lower electricity bill costs, Art. 2 provides that eligible PV plant operators (those with a nominal capacity exceeding 20 kW and receiving fixed premiums under the first four “Conti Energia” schemes, expiring 1 January 2029) may choose – by 31 May 2026 – between two temporary tariff‑reduction options for the period between H2 2026 and 31 December 2027. In exchange, the incentive period may be extended by three or six months depending on whether the operator opts for a reduction of 15% or 30%.

The provision also allows operators, by 30 September 2026, to withdraw a maximum of 10 GW from relevant incentive mechanisms from 1 January 2028. Plants that have joined one of the two reduction options have priority to withdraw. The Gestore dei Servizi Energetici – GSE S.p.A. (“GSE”) will grant such plants a fee of €/MW equal to 90% of the discounted value of the remaining cash flows of the incentives due between 1 January 2028 and the expiry date of the incentive contract – based on the average production of the plant over the previous five years.

New provisions on biogas, biomass and sustainable bioliquids

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"Eligible PV plant operators (those with a nominal capacity exceeding 20 kW and receiving fixed premiums under the first four 'Conti Energia' schemes) may choose – by 31 May 2026 – between two temporary tariff reduction options."

Art. 5 introduces amendments concerning both plants powered by sustainable bioliquids and support schemes for electricity generation from renewable sources.

For plants powered by sustainable bioliquids, after repealing Art. 5(1) of Decree‑Law No. 181 of 9 December 2023 – which abolished the previous system for contracting generation capacity using sustainable bioliquids designed to meet the objectives set out in the Piano nazionale integrato energia e clima (the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan) – the provision extends the applicability of PMGs established under Art. 24(8) of Legislative Decree No. 28 of 3 March 2011 (“Legislative Decree 28/2011”) to 31 March 2026. This is for plants meeting the requirements set out in Art. 40 and 42 of Legislative Decree No. 199 of 8 November 2021.

At the same time, the Italian Regulatory Authority for Energy, Networks and Environment (“ARERA”) is entrusted with defining the rules of this mechanism from 1 April 2026 to 31 December 2030, based on principles which include:

  • defining a maximum number of PMGs per six-month period, with different limits based on plant type and considering expected demand and operational needs of the plants, including self‑production configurations; and
  • GSE will provide an estimate of the mechanism’s cost. If there is a risk of exceeding the projected expenditure, the recognised six-monthly hours may be reduced (or even eliminated), with priority given to plants not serving an industrial production process.

Art. 5 also amends Art. 24 of Legislative Decree 28/2011 by introducing paragraph 8‑bis, requiring ARERA to update the PMG mechanism for plants powered by biogas and biomass between 1 April 2026 to 31 December 2037. In addition to the two principles highlighted above relating to the maximum number of PMGs per six-month period and the GSE’s estimates with possible reduction of the six-monthly hours, this includes the following:

  • biogas plants exceeding 300 kW – or the same plants whose incentives have or are expiring and have not applied for the mechanism by the date of entry into force of the Energy Bill Decree – must convert to biomethane in order to apply for, or maintain, incentives until 31 December 2030;
  • access to PMGs after 31 December 2030 until 31 December 2037 is only for biogas plants with a capacity up to 300 kW that have not been converted to biomethane; and
  • PMG payments for biogas and biomass plants whose previous incentive scheme expires after 2030 will terminate at the original expiry of the previous mechanism.
New provisions on biomethane plants

"Whilst recognising fees related to the operational management of a biomethane purchase contract, the transfer — even indirect — of the value of the guarantees of origin to other cost items under the agreement is not permitted."

Art. 11 amends the rules set out in Article 5‑bis (2) of Decree‑Law No. 63 of 15 May 2024 (“Decree‑Law 63/2024”). It clarifies that, whilst recognising fees related to the operational management of a biomethane purchase contract, the transfer — even indirect — of the value of the guarantees of origin to other cost items under the agreement is not permitted.

Furthermore, new paragraphs 2‑bis and 2‑ter of Art. 5‑bis of Decree‑Law No. 63/2024 provide that:

  • biomethane purchase agreements referred to in paragraph 2 must clearly set out individual cost components. Operators may use standard contractual clauses prepared by ARERA upon proposal by GSE, which will monitor the agreements for potential reports to ARERA; and
  • the provisions of paragraph 2 also apply to purchase agreements entered into with the final customers in hard‑to‑abate sectors relating to biomethane incentivised under the Ministerial Decree of 15 September 2022, up to 35% of the consumption of such customers.

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There are numerous additional provisions concerning both electricity and gas, set out in Chapter I and Chapter II of the Energy Bills Decree, respectively.

Further provisions on electricity

Extraordinary electricity supply contribution

Art. 1 allocates €315m for 2026 to fund an extra €115 electricity bill contribution to those who already receive the social energy bonus. It also allows electricity suppliers, in 2026 and 2027, to give an additional special contribution intended to cover electricity costs for resident households that are not entitled to the social bonus and have an annual ISEE of €25,000 or lower.

Increase in IRAP rate (Art. 3)

Art. 3 increases the IRAP rate applicable to companies in the energy sector by 2% for the tax period following the one in progress on 31 December 2025 and for the subsequent year.

Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs)

Art. 4 aims to promote long‑term contracting of renewable electricity by companies, including SMEs, by adjusting the relevant platform managed by GSE. This is to allow contracts of at least three years. GSE is assigned the role of guarantor of last resort, whilst Acquirente Unico S.p.A. will provide demand aggregation services.

Natural gas charges and wholesale electricity markets

Art. 6 aims to lower the cost of natural gas used to generate electricity. It also aims to strengthen competitiveness in the electricity wholesale markets, as well as promote pass‑through into offer prices of the valuation to reflect the variable costs of non‑programmable renewable energy sources.

ARERA will define the terms under which, as of 1 January 2027, certain gas-related charges can be reimbursed to thermoelectric producers. These include the variable unit charges of the gas transmission target and additional tariff components that cover general gas-system charges. The refunds apply specifically to natural gas used to produce electricity fed into the grid.

ARERA will also adopt measures for assessing the withholding of capacity by wholesale market operators; clarifying that the only legitimate reason for offering electricity at a price higher than the marginal generation cost on the day-ahead market is if there are opportunity costs that can be estimated at the time of trading.

"Upon publication of ARERA’s resolutions, connection solutions to the RTN relating to renewable energy projects or to storage plants that are not enabled or authorised, which have already been issued but not validated by the national transmission system operator, will cease to have effect."

Grid connection provisions

The Energy Bills Decree introduces extensive measures on connection to the electricity grid. Art. 7 requires Terna to publish and update the maximum additional capacity from renewable energy plants and storage facilities that can be integrated into each portion of the national transmission grid (“RTN”) on a quarterly basis. A new Art. 10‑bis is added to Legislative Decree No. 190 of 25 November 2024, requiring ARERA to update the technical, economic and procedural conditions for connecting renewable plants and storage systems. Upon publication of ARERA’s relevant resolutions, connection solutions to the RTN relating to renewable energy projects or to storage plants that are not enabled or authorised, which have already been issued but not validated by the national transmission system operator, will cease to have effect.

Data centre authorisation procedure

Art. 8 governs the single procedure for the issuance of authorisations for data centre projects. The procedure, which falls within the remit of the same authority responsible for issuing the integrated environmental authorisation, cannot exceed a duration of 10 months and may be extended only in exceptional circumstances for a further period of three months.

Further gas‑related measures

Chapter II of the Energy Bills Decree sets out measures aimed at reducing gas bills for businesses, promoting competition and integration of gas wholesale markets, enhancing business competitiveness and supporting the decarbonisation of industry. These measures include, among other interventions, GSE’s sale of gas reserves held in storage.

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