Natural gas price for domestic consumers in regulated market in Italy Q1 2020-Q4 2023
In Italy, the regulated market price of natural gas for households with an average annual consumption of 1,400 cubic meters boomed at 137 euro cents per cubic meter in the first quarter of 2022, after the cut-off of natural gas exports from Russia. The price decreased in the following months, dropping below 90 euro cents per cubic meter in 2023.
Natural gas price trends
The natural gas price started to increase in 2021, when the natural gas consumption worldwide and in Italy increased compared to 2020 due to the economic recovery after the COVID-19 crisis. In the second and third quarters of 2021, the additional natural gas price growth was driven by the global gas market tightening in Europe and Asia. In 2022, Italy was strongly hit by the energy crisis, since Russia was one of the main natural gas suppliers to this country, providing around 40 percent of the total natural gas imports.
Impact of natural gas on electricity prices in Italy
Natural gas is the main source of electricity in Italy. For this reason, the electricity price for average household consumers in Italy increased along with the natural gas price, reaching an all-time record of over 66 euro cents per kilowatt-hour in the fourth quarter of 2022.
