Panel 1
Antonio Caputo, Francesca Palomba
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.
White certificates, also known as “Energy Efficiency Titles” (EET) were introduced by ministerial decrees of 24 April 2001, with the aim of increasing energy efficiency interventions in end uses to meet national 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 indicator shows the primary energy saved through efficiency improvement interventions in final uses by electricity and gas distributors with more than 50,000 final customers (obligated parties) and by parties eligible to submit projects to increase energy efficiency. The indicator assigns objectives to be achieved for each year.
The purpose is to monitor primary energy savings through the White Certificates mechanism.
The White Certificates (WC) mechanism (or Energy Efficiency Certificates – TEE), introduced by the ministerial decrees of 24 April 2001, has undergone several revisions over the years to align with legislative developments. Notably, the Ministerial Decree of 28 December 2012 and the Legislative Decree (D.L.) 102/2014 introduced significant updates regarding application scope, eligible parties, and operational tools for certificate recognition. Parties eligible to submit projects for accruing WC are:
- Electricity and gas distributors with more than 50,000 final customers (obligated parties and their controlled companies);
- Non-obligated distributors;
- Companies operating in the sector of energy services (ESCOs);
- Companies or organizations with an energy manager or an ISO 50001-certified energy management system in place.
In addition to energy efficiency projects, High-Efficiency Cogeneration is also eligible, under the White Certificates mechanism, as regulated by DM August 4, 2011, and DM September 5, 2011.
Since February 3, 2013, DM December 28, 2012, transferred management, evaluation, and certification of energy savings from AEEG (Authority for Electricity and Gas, now ARERA - Authority for Energy, Networks, and Environment) to GSE (Energy Services Manager). In line with commitments under the Climate-Energy Package, Italy’s national indicative energy efficiency targets for 2020, as per Legislative Decree 102/2014, aimed for a reduction of 20 Mtoe in primary energy consumption, equivalent to 15.5 Mtoe of final energy. Savings have been counted since 2010, consistent with the National Energy Strategy (SEN 2013), in line with the National Energy Strategy (SEN 2013). Article 7 of Legislative Decree 102/2014 established mechanisms to achieve the mandatory minimum energy savings target under Directive 2012/27/EU. The regulatory framework has been revised multiple times to strengthen the mechanism. Notable recent regulations include DM January 11, 2017, DM May 10, 2018, and the Ministerial Directive of April 30, 2019.
The Clean Energy Package set new EU-wide 2030 targets, calling for a 32.5% reduction in energy consumption compared to the 2007 reference scenario (Primes Model 2008) and extending mandatory energy efficiency obligations for Member States to 2030 (Directive 27/2012/EU, Article 7);
According to Italy’s Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan, the country aims for a 43% reduction in primary energy consumption and a 39.7% reduction in final energy consumption by 2030 compared to the Primes 2007 scenario. These targets require annual final energy consumption reductions of 0.8% from 2021 to 2030, equivalent to a reduction of 0.93 Mtoe per year. Following the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the regulatory framework was updated, and DM May 21, 2021, revised national energy savings targets for 2021-2024. It introduced extraordinary and transitional measures to restore the mechanism’s functionality and market balance, reducing the 2020 savings target. Recent updates include Ministerial Directives of May 3, 2022, and May 4, 2023, which updated and integrated standardized projects, and the Ministerial Directive of October 13, 2023, which updated the list of eligible project types.
Panel 2
Annual White Certificates Report, GSE
Data quality assessment
Energy Services Manager (GSE)
Annual White Certificates Report, GSE
National
2006-2023
Indicator assessment
The methodology for calculating energy savings is defined by Ministerial Decree January 11, 2017, which set quantitative national energy savings targets for 2017-2020 and established procedures for implementing energy efficiency projects under the White Certificates mechanism starting April 4, 2017. The decree outlines methods for evaluating and certifying achieved savings and issuing White Certificates. GSE is responsible for managing, evaluating, and certifying savings related to energy efficiency projects.
In 2023, 784,000 TEEs (italian acronym for “Energy Efficiency Titles”) were issued, equivalent to 0.22 Mtoe of certified savings, with a 19.9% increase from 2022 (654,000 TEE). In 2023, 51.4% of recognized TEEs were for the industrial sector, 5.6% for the civil sector, 2.4 for lighting, 40.7% for networks and transport sectors.
Between 2006 and 2023, 29.3 million tons of oil equivalent (Mtoe) of additional primary energy savings were achieved overall and 58.5 million energy efficiency certificates were issued, which was an increase of 1.4% compared to the previous year (Figure 1 and 2). In recent year, the trend in certificates and savings shows a decline compared to the volumes recorded in 2013 and 2014, with a particularly noticeable contraction since 2017. The difference between issued TEEs and certified savings since 2012 is due to the introduction of the durability coefficient (tau)—a multiplier used in Italy's white certificate scheme to account for the difference between savings over a certificate's recognition period and savings over the project's lifetime.
Data
Figura 1: Valore annuale TEE riconosciuti e dei risparmi annuali di energia primaria certificati [tep]
GSE
Figura 2: Ripartizione dei titoli di efficienza energetica riconosciuti (kTEE), per settore di intervento
GSE
Between 2010 and 2023, the annual certified savings generated by the white certificate system decreased by 93% (Figure 1). After peaking in 2011, annual savings followed a declining trend. In 2023, savings were 4.4% lower than the previous year. This trend signals a slowdown in national energy efficiency progress compared to the 2009–2014 period.