Antonio Caputo
Final electricity consumption grew constantly from 1990 to 2008 and then decreased due to the economic crisis. Following the effects of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, consumption in 2020 decreased by 5.7% compared to the previous year with a rebound of 6.2% in 2021 followed by a decrease in subsequent years. In 2024 there is a decrease of 2.8% compared to 2021, reaching a value of 24.4 Mtoe. The share of consumption in industry has fallen from 51.7% in 1990 to 37.6% in 2024, that of the tertiary and residential sectors has increased from 43.2% to 56.9%, that of agriculture and fishing has changed very little, going from 2% to around 2.4%, while that of transport, with some fluctuations, remains around 3%.
The indicator provides information on the electricity needs of the entire national economy and the various sectors.
Evaluate the trend in electricity consumption at a national level and by sector, in order to reduce energy use.
The evolution of the European Union's strategic planning in the ecological field documents the transition from a sectoral vision to an integrated and long-term approach. With Decision no. 1386/2013/EU, the community institutions had initially defined the VII General Program of Action on the Environment, which guided the priorities and policies of the Member States until 2020. To give continuity to this path and support the ambitions of carbon neutrality and circular economy outlined by the Green Deal, on 29 March 2022 the Council of the EU adopted the VIII Program of Action for the Environment, formalized with the Decision (EU) 2022/591, which extends strategic planning for the decade from 2021 to 2030. This new framework introduces an advanced governance structure and an annual monitoring system based on key indicators, designed to verify the real impact of systemic policies; however, with specific reference to the metrics taken into consideration, it is specified that direct quantitative objectives are not applicable or defined, the latter remaining a tool of a purely descriptive nature and analytical support within the general programming.
MASE, National Energy Balance (BEN), https://sisen. mase. gov. it/dgsaie/
TERNA S. p. A., Statistical data on electricity in Italy, various years
The national data has been updated according to the new Eurostat classification. From the 2019 data, TERNA has reclassified the product activities by introducing the ATECO2007 classification with the consequence that there may be misalignments between 2019 and previous years.
ENEA (Authority for New Technologies, Energy and the Environment)
Terna - Rete Elettrica Nazionale S. p. A.
TERNA S. p. A., Statistical data on electricity in Italy
ENEA, Regional energy balances
EUROSTAT, http://ec. europa. eu/eurostat/data/database
National
1990-2024
Final electricity consumption by sector (Mtoe/year). Total final electricity consumption (Mtoe/year).
The data is collected by Terna Rete Italia spa through a census survey of electricity sector operators, with web acquisition of the main electricity variables. The national data has been updated according to the new Eurostat classification. Alongside the national data collected by Terna and communicated to the Ministry of Economic Development, there are regional data estimated by ENEA on the basis of the Regional Energy Balances.
In 2024, electricity consumption was 24.4 Mtoe (+1.8% compared to the previous year). The residential and tertiary sectors represent by far the predominant sector, absorbing 13,894 units, equal to 56.9% of the entire basket of final consumption. Industry confirms itself as the second pillar of consumption with 9,169 units, covering a share of 37.6%. Transport, with 772 units, accounts for 3.2% of the total, while agriculture and fishing remains a marginal sector from an absolute quantitative point of view, with 575 units and a percentage weight of 2.4% (Table 1).
The global trend of final consumption over the 35 years analyzed highlights an overall increase of 32.3% (from 18,455 to 24,410 toe), developing through three very distinct macroscopic phases: a phase of uninterrupted growth from 1990 to 2007, culminating in the absolute historical peak of 2007 with 26,597 units, a phase of contraction and the adjustment from 2008 to 2019 (around 25 thousand toe) and finally in 2020 there was a temporary vertical collapse (23,663 toe) due to the lockdown restrictions, followed by a strong rebound in 2021 (25,119 toe) and a subsequent downward stabilization due, presumably, to the energy efficiency policies of recent years. (Table 1)
The Agriculture and Fisheries sector shows slow but extremely constant growth in the long term. It went from 364 toe in 1990 to 575 units in 2024, marking an overall increase of 58.0% with a historical peak of 577 units in 2021. The industrial sector is the only sector to record a net contraction in the long term (-3.9% between 1990 and 2024). After reaching its maximum peak in 2006 (12,671 toe), falling steadily below the threshold of 10 Mtoe starting from 2022. The Transport sector has experienced robust and prolonged growth for almost thirty years, starting from 578 toe (1990) and reaching its peak in the two-year period 2018-2019 with 992 toe. In the most recent years (2020-2024) there is a marked contraction and a downward adjustment (settling at 772 toe in 2024), with an overall long-term gain of 33.6%. The tertiary and residential sectors represent the real engine of the increase in global consumption, recording an impressive growth of 74.2% (from 7,976 to 13,894 toe). Despite having suffered a decline in 2020, it recovered immediately and closed the analysis period by recording its absolute historical maximum in 2024. (Figure 1)
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Table 1: Final electricity consumption by sector Data source
Compiled by ISPRA using data from Terna S.p.A. and Eurostat |
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Figure 1: Final energy consumption by sector Data source
Compiled by ISPRA using data from Terna S.p.A. and Eurostat |
The vertical and temporary collapse of 2020 due to lockdown restrictions was followed by a strong rebound in 2021 (25,119 toe) and a subsequent downward stabilization due, presumably, to the energy efficiency policies of recent years.
The industrial sector has been heavily affected by the economic crises and progressive delocalization/energy efficiency, falling steadily below the 10 Mtoe threshold starting from 2022.