Aree

Final electricity consumption exhibited a steady upward trend from 1990 to 2008, subsequently declining as a consequence of the economic crisis. In 2020, in the wake of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, consumption contracted by 5.7% relative to the previous year, followed by a rebound of 6.2% in 2021, and a subsequent downturn in the following years. By 2023, consumption had decreased by 4.6% compared to 2021, stabilizing at 24 Mtoe. The share of industrial consumption declined from 51.7% in 1990 to 38.3% in 2023, while the combined share of the tertiary and residential sectors increased from 43.2% to 56.3%. The contribution of agriculture and fishery remained nearly constant at approximately 2%, whereas the transport sector, despite fluctuations, accounted for around 3.4%.

White Certificates, also known as “Energy Efficiency Titles” (EET) were introduced by Ministerial Decree of 24 April 2001 to promote the implementation of energy efficiency measures in end-use sectors to meet national energy savings targets for obligated parties. TEE are tradable securities that certify energy savings achieved in energy end-use through the implementation of specific interventions to increase energy efficiency. Each certificate represents a saving equivalent to one tonne of oil equivalent (toe). The White Certificates (WC) mechanism has been gradually modified over the years, in line with legislative developments. In the 2006-2023 period, additional primary energy savings equal to approximately 29.3 Mtoe were certified and 58.5 million energy efficiency certificates were recognised.

The indicator is based on the ratio between atmospheric greenhouse gas emissions and final energy consumption by sector. The average value of emission intensities shows a difference between sectors related to the varying adoption of renewable sources. Overall, the emission intensity for final uses has decreased by 25.1% from 1990 to 2022.

The indicator measures the primary energy, expressed in MJ, required to produce one kWh of electricity, or more precisely, it reflects the efficiency of converting primary energy from fossil fuel sources into electricity for final consumption. Available data highlight a reduction in specific energy consumption related to electricity production of 18.4% for gross production and 20% for net production between 1996 and 2022. The long-term trend of the indicator therefore shows an improvement in the electricity generation efficiency of the thermoelectric power plants.