Luigi Ferraris (Terna) at the Conference on 20 Years of Electricity Market Liberalisation

20 years ago liberalisation revolutionised the Italian electricity market. To celebrate this anniversary, on 29 May GSE organised a conference for big players in the industry. Participants included former minister Pierluigi Bersani, after whom the decree that gave the green light to the liberalisation of the sector in 1999 was named, and Terna, the Italian electricity grid company established thanks to the same decree, represented at the event by its CEO and General Manager, Luigi Ferraris. The top manager recalled the deep transformation brought about by the decree, with the introduction of previously non-existing mechanisms. In particular, Mr Ferraris highlighted the establishment of numerous benefits, the creation of a generation market and the key role given to networks and infrastructure supporting the transition and development, “entailing the progressive opening of the market to end customers“. In fact, according to Luigi Ferraris, “today customers can freely choose their own provider, thanks to an operation that developed and accelerated the plant renewal process as well as new investments in electricity generation and distribution networks“. The main themes of the event included energy transition and the need to focus on decarbonisation. As stated by GSE Chairman, Francesco Vetrò, “the energy world has experienced a profound change and will continue to evolve in the coming years. The inevitable fact is that the environmental emergency, the energy demand and the development of renewable sources will shape GSE’s outlook and the future of the country.“