Italy aims to defend national ownership of hydro power plants, minister says
Italy aims to defend national ownership of hydro power plants, minister says MILAN, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Italy is seeking to keep the contracts to run hydro power plants in the hands of domestic companies, Energy Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin said on Monday, as the U.S.-Iran conflict puts national energy security at the top of the government's agenda.
"Today, we recognise that we must also safeguard national ownership of hydro power plants," Pichetto Fratin said, speaking on the sidelines of a conference in Milan.
He said the government is talking to Brussels to try to row back on a previous commitment to put expiring hydro power concessions out to public tender for both domestic and foreign operators.
Hydro power plants are the biggest source of renewable energy in Italy.
Contracts to run them are mainly managed by domestic utilities - including Enel ENEI.MI, Edison EDNn.MI and A2A A2.MI - under long-term concessions.
Power costs in Italy, where around 40% of electricity comes from gas-fired plants, rose to around €225 per megawatt hour on Monday as Europe's wholesale gas prices hit their highest intraday levels since late 2022.
Italy last week adopted measures aimed at boosting domestic oil and gas production, including cutting red tape for drilling licences.
(Reporting by Francesca Landini, editing by Gavin Jones)
((francesca.landini@thomsonreuters.com; +39 02 66129437; Reuters Messaging: reutersitaly.thomsonreuters@reuters.net))