How to read an Italian electricity bill

If you live in Italy, your electricity bill (bolletta) groups costs into four sections. Only one of them depends on which supplier you choose.

The four cost sections

• Spesa per la materia energia (energy cost): the electricity price, the supplier’s standing charge and dispatching. The only part that differs between suppliers.
• Spesa per il trasporto e la gestione del contatore (network and meter): the same with every supplier.
• Spesa per oneri di sistema (system charges): set by the regulator, the same for everyone.
• Imposte (taxes): excise duty and VAT, which is 10% for households.

Numbers worth knowing

• Consumo annuo (annual consumption) in kWh: needed to compare deals and to calibrate our calculator.
• Time bands F1, F2, F3: F1 is weekday peak hours (8am–7pm); F2 and F3 cover evenings, nights and holidays.
• Potenza impegnata (contracted power): usually 3 kW.
• Lettura reale / stimata (actual or estimated reading): submit your own reading to avoid adjustments later.
• Codice POD: your supply point ID, needed to switch supplier.

Your real price per kWh

Divide the bill total by the kWh used in the period to get your all-in price, typically €0.25–0.35/kWh. With your country set to Italy you can upload the PDF bill and we work it out (the file is never stored), then compare deals on your real consumption.