Italian Energy Ministry: “Too late to change capacity and MACSE auction rules”

At KEY – The Energy Transition Expo in Rimini, Alessandro Noce, Director General for Energy Markets and Infrastructure at Italy’s Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security (MASE), addressed several unresolved regulatory issues, including the Energy Bill Decree (the Bollette Degree which aims to reduce electricity and gas bills for households), the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), and the design of upcoming storage auctions. His remarks responded to concerns from industry operators seeking greater regulatory clarity for the storage market. The discussion was moderated by Emiliano Bellini, News Director of pv magazine.

Regarding the Bollette Decree, Noce explained that, as of the day of the conference (Thursday the 5th), the ministry had not yet begun negotiations with the European Commission, although it expects to do so “very shortly.” He added that the timing of the discussions remains uncertain and noted that issues related to state aid and compatibility with European market design are also under consideration. The Director General also pointed out that the ministry already has several open dossiers with Brussels, including FerX, FerZ, and Fer2, describing a situation of “physical saturation” in the number of topics currently under review.

Turning to the ETS, Noce said the matter is expected to be on the agenda of the European Council on March 18 or 19, with the European Commission likely to respond to member states’ comments in the following quarter. Substantively, he characterized the ETS applied to thermoelectric power generation as “a tax” and linked the issue directly to the competitiveness of battery storage systems, noting that “BESS compete with combined-cycle plants in selling energy during off-peak hours.”

On capacity auctions, Noce indicated that there is little time to modify the existing criteria. “With a capacity auction expected in July and a MACSE auction in September or October, there isn’t enough time to change the rules,” he said. “We are in a sort of ‘do-it-yourself’ phase,” in which authorities are determining how best to apply the criteria within the auction procedures, considering that the GSE will be responsible for certifying the required validations.

Fabio Bulgarelli, Terna’s head of regulatory affairs, also emphasized the need for greater market predictability and expressed support for establishing fixed time windows for storage auctions. He added that he sees no need to modify the existing mechanisms and noted that merchant initiatives have accelerated, particularly in response to recent tensions in spot electricity prices. According to the discussion, a capacity market auction could take place before the summer break in 2028, while the MACSE auction is likely to be held in 2029.

Representing the industry association Anie, Matteo Lionetti stressed that Italy “cannot ignore storage” if it wants to strengthen its energy independence, given its current reliance on gas. Davide Tinazzi called for greater market openness, even if this means reducing certain incentives. Fabio Zanellini highlighted the potential of small-scale storage systems when aggregated, both for dispatching and within distribution networks.

On the European industrial policy front, Jacopo Tosoni of the European Association for Storage of Energy (EASE) described the outcome of the Industrial Accelerator Act as broadly positive, while noting that key issues related to storage cells and the broader manufacturing supply chain remain unresolved.

From pv magazine Italy